On Saturday more than 1,000 protesters will rally outside a Nissan assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi, a demonstration that is the culmination of years of corporate policy intended to dissuade workers from unionizing. Marching alongside employees, activists, and politicians alike will be Nina Turner, the Democratic leader and former Ohio state senator who has spent decades advocating for everyday Americans. During her time in the Ohio Senate, Turner fought for legislation that would level the playing field for women and men—including introducing the “Viagra bill,” which would subject men to the same scrupulous levels of regulations women face over their reproductive choices—and her dedication has continued into her postlegislative role.

The Canton plant first opened in 2003, and Mississippi residents hoped it would be a boon to their local economy. Though Nissan says the factory has added $2.9 billion each year to the state’s economy, and created 25,000 jobs, the state still remains the poorest in the nation, and workers have spent nearly a decade and a half fighting for better conditions and fairer treatment. The Japanese automaker is currently facing fines at several of its U.S. plants for safety violations—including the one in Canton—and workers say the company has tried to hinder their attempts to join the United Automobile Workers union (it doesn’t help that Mississippi is a right-to-work state, meaning the law gives workers the option not to join a union, or allows them not to pay union dues if they do). And because 80 percent of the plant’s employees are African American, protesters argue that not only is it a fairness and safety issue—the plant’s difficult relationship with its workers is a civil rights one.

“I’ve had a long history with the UAW, particularly in my home state of Ohio,” Turner recently told Glamour. “In places like Ohio [and 27 other states, including Mississippi], these antiworker’s rights bills were filed back in 2011. It was a really big deal in Ohio and motivated me to cement my relationship—or ’street cred,’ if you will—with the labor community in my stance to protect their right to collectively bargain.”

Joining Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Congressman Bennie Thompson (D–Miss.), as well as autoworkers and activists, Turner will use Saturday's demonstration to stand up for employees’ rights. Ahead of the Nissan rally, Glamour spoke to Turner, who is on the board of Sanders' Our Revolution grassroots coalition, about her support of labor movements, how better conditions can benefit all workers, and her hopes for the future of the Democratic party.

Glamour: I wanted to talk a little bit about the rally in Mississippi. You’ll be joining Senator Sanders and Nissan workers as they rally against unfair labor conditions and corporate policy that dissuades workers from unionizing. Can you tell me a little more about your role in the march and how everything came together?

Nina Turner: We’re there to let workers at this particular Nissan plant in Mississippi know that they are not alone. Workers should have a right to sit across from management to collectively bargain about their work conditions, their wages, and the future direction of the company. To me, that’s just a humane thing to do. It is unacceptable in the twenty-first century to have companies not want to do that with their employees and create a great work environment. The better a work environment is, the better it is for the employer—not just the employee.

Glamour: There is a trend now in dissuading people from unionizing, and more right-to-work policies, like those in Ohio and Wisconsin, are being passed at the state level. What do you think this implicates for workers across the country?