UAW President Criticizes Donald Trump as Detrimental to Auto Industry During Michigan Tour
The leader of the United Auto Workers, the largest autoworkers union in the U.S., on Thursday sharply criticized former President Donald Trump for his actions contrary to his campaign promises to safeguard the American auto industry. This critique came ahead of Trump’s visit to Michigan as the 2024 Republican presidential candidate. During his tenure, the industry saw a significant downturn with hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs lost.
In a conference call organized by Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, UAW President Shawn Fain drew a distinct comparison between Trump and Harris, the Democratic nominee. Fain stated, “There is a stark contrast between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.”
According to Fain, “Kamala Harris has consistently supported labor. She’s proven her commitment through actions. In contrast, Donald Trump has always put his own interests first.”
Confronting Trump’s Promises to Autoworkers
Fain challenged Trump’s assertions of being the best candidate for U.S. autoworkers and his claims of always supporting them by pointing to specific failures. “Look at the Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant. Trump told workers there, ‘Don’t sell your houses.’ Yet, the plant closed. He came to Warren, Michigan, recently and once again professed his care for autoworkers. However, we saw General Motors’ powertrain plant in Warren close under his administration. He stood there in 2016 promising no plant closures, yet that’s exactly what happened,” Fain recounted.
Under Trump’s administration, the U.S. saw an increase in plant closures and offshoring, with domestic auto production dropping significantly from nearly 12.2 million units in 2016 to just under 8.2 million units in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. While the Covid-19 pandemic did impact production in 2020, the number of vehicles manufactured domestically was already less than 10.9 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Fain, pointing out this downward trend, labeled Trump as the “job-killer-in-chief.”
The UAW leader also criticized the authenticity of Trump’s support, noting reports that many attendees wearing “autoworkers for Trump” T-shirts at a recent rally weren’t actually autoworkers. “It’s pathetic. Everything he does is a con,” said Fain.
Fain also took a jab at Trump’s support for controversial figures in the tech industry, saying, “Trump sits there and applauds Elon Musk for attempting to dismiss striking workers, and they laugh about that.”
“That’s why I call Donald Trump a scab,” Fain added, using a term that describes nonunion workers who cross picket lines during strikes.
Democratic Support for Labor
During last year’s UAW strike for fair contracts, President Joe Biden made history by being the first sitting U.S. president to join striking workers on the picket line. Four years earlier, Harris, then a senator from California and a presidential candidate, joined striking UAW workers on a picket line in Reno, Nevada.
The Biden-Harris administration has been frequently hailed as the most pro-labor presidency in recent history.
Hours before Trump’s inflammatory comments at a Detroit rally, where he claimed the entire country would “end up being like Detroit” if Harris wins—despite the city’s economic resurgence—Fain made his remarks. Congressman Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), representing the city, sternly told Trump to “keep Detroit and our people out of your mouth.”
“Detroit is thriving economically, culturally diverse, and home to some of the finest people in America,” Thanedar said, affirming the city’s strong support for Harris.
Lavora Barnes, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, asserted on Thursday: “Plain and simple, a second Donald Trump presidency would be disastrous for Michigan workers. His policies would raise costs and result in job losses.”
“While president, Trump enacted tax cuts benefiting the wealthy at the expense of Michigan’s working families, mishandled our economy during the pandemic, and primarily aided the wealthy in becoming wealthier,” Barnes added.
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