UAW leader says Trump will set labor movement back if he's re-elected
DETROIT: Putting Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the Democratic primary would boost the Democrats' chances of winning Michigan and retaining the White House in November, the head of the United Auto Workers union said.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, Shawn Fain said former President Donald Trump is indebted to billionaires, doesn’t know anything about the auto industry, and will fail the labor movement if he is re-elected.
“Trump has never supported working-class people. He has never supported unions,” Fein said. “But now he’s definitely trying to appease our voters.”
Fein has become a bitter enemy of Republican presidential candidates, who frequently attack Fein at rallies and in speeches. Trump has called Fein a fool, while trying to appease auto workers by suggesting that Fein is risking their jobs by switching to electric vehicles.
While the UAW has members across the country, many of its auto manufacturing jobs are concentrated in the Great Lakes region and Michigan, a key state that could determine November's presidential election. The UAW has endorsed Harris this week.
Trump and Harris realize that increasing their share of the union vote will give them a much better chance of winning Michigan, where the last two presidential elections were close, said Marik Masters, a business professor emeritus at Wayne State University who follows labor issues.
Trump won the state by just 11,000 votes in 2016 against Democrat Hillary Clinton and lost it four years later by nearly 154,000 votes to President Joe Biden.
Petitions against auto workers have helped win votes from other union members, and union membership in the state is high at about 556,000, Masters said, not including thousands of family members and union retirees. Those vote changes could sway the election.
During his acceptance speech at last month's Republican National Convention, Trump called on union workers to fire Fenton, using a false claim that a Chinese automaker was building a factory in Mexico to ship cars to the U.S. without paying tariffs. Industry analysts said they were unaware of the plant being built, at least not yet.
“You might have to get rid of this fool, this fool who represents the American Auto Workers Union,” Trump said at a July 20 rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump claimed he would get 95 percent of the American Auto Workers Union’s votes because of the group’s push for electric cars. “These cars are going to be made in China,” he said.
He also pledged to bring the auto industry back from the brink of destruction if he is elected.
But the sector is far from wiped out. Since Biden took office in January 2021, employment at auto and parts makers has grown 13.8 percent to more than 1 million, according to the Labor Department. Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis bring in billions of dollars in profits each year.
Fain sees the insults as typical of Trump. “This guy calls people names, calls people names, he never has a solution,” Fain said. “That’s the problem with leadership. You have to find a solution.”
Fain said the shift from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles was inevitable, and union members had to be ready for it. During this transition, automakers would continue to make gasoline-powered vehicles and keep hiring workers in their factories, he said.
Trump said he did nothing for auto workers when General Motors closed a small car assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in 2019. Biden, who last month announced he was dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris, has helped push GM to build an electric vehicle battery plant in the Lordstown area, which has replaced some of the lost jobs, Fain said.
On Friday, the Democratic National Committee chair said Harris had received enough delegate votes to become her party's nominee.
Fein said he believes Harris will continue to support working people, citing her 2019 march with GM workers. “She’s been there with the president on a lot of the things we’ve been through,” he said. “She’s been there for workers.”
As for Harris' choice for vice president, the union chose Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, followed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Fein said.
The unions have not backed Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly because he opposes legislation that would promote unionization, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro supports tuition vouchers, which would funnel taxpayer money to private schools but hurt public schools, Fain said.
Even if Harris doesn’t pick a union favorite, the UAW’s 370,000 members will still use their political power to help her, Fein said.
“I think she’s a very strong woman, very strong,” Fein said. “She understands the issues. I think Trump is very talkative. He’s a showman.”
In a statement, Trump's campaign called Fain a “Democrat puppet” who failed to serve union workers who supported Trump.
“Shawn Fain’s nonsensical remarks have no bearing. President Trump will take action to fight for American auto workers,” the statement said.
