DETROIT – Former President Donald Trump is expected to visit Michigan next week to meet with striking autoworkers, but the United Auto Workers president completely dismissed Trump’s attempts to appear sympathetic to the union’s situation.
As the current Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, Trump has recently zoned in on this year’s historic UAW strike against Detroit’s Big Three in an effort to appear supportive of the union’s actions and demands. According to reports, the former president will skip the second GOP debate on Wednesday, Sept. 27 and instead visit Michigan to meet with striking UAW members.
In light of the expected visit, union President Shawn Fain -- who previously said a second Trump presidency would be a “disaster” -- essentially denounced Trump’s efforts, saying he is part of a class of people who benefit from the conditions autoworkers are fighting against.
“Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers,” Fain said. “We can’t keep electing billionaires and millionaires that don’t have any understanding what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to get by and expecting them to solve the problems of the working class.”
The former president has long sought to establish himself as a leader for the working class, and spent a significant amount of time in the Rust Belt during his 2016 campaign. With the UAW at odds with General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Stellantis this year, Trump has been accusing President Joe Biden, his successor, of trying to ruin the car industry through his push toward electric vehicles and clean energy policies.
Last week, the UAW announced a first-ever simultaneous strike against all three automakers after both sides failed to reach a new agreement by their Sept. 14 contract deadline. As of Wednesday, about 13,000 of the UAW’s 146,000 autoworkers were striking at three facilities to start: the GM Wentzville Assembly, the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex, and the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant (final assembly and paint only).
More UAW members may be called on to strike this week after the Fain threatened to expand strikes if talks don’t make “serious progress” by Friday, Sept. 22.
The only Michigan facility included in the strike as of Wednesday was the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant located in the city of Wayne. That could change by next week, however, if more Michigan auto facilities are asked to join the UAW strike.
It’s currently unclear where in Michigan Trump might visit. The former president is expected to deliver a speech during his visit, according to reports.
On Monday, a campaign spokesperson for Biden, who is running for office again in 2024, argued that Trump doesn’t care about autoworkers and would have let the Big Three go bankrupt from the 2008 financial crisis rather than bail them out.
“Donald Trump is going to Michigan next week to lie to Michigan workers and pretend he didn’t spend his entire failed presidency selling them out at every turn. Instead of standing with workers, Trump cut taxes for the super-wealthy while auto companies shuttered their doors and shipped American jobs overseas,” spokesperson Ammar Moussa said.
The UAW is seeking job security for its members in addition to a long list of aggressive demands that include a 36% wage increase, an end to wage tiers, pension restoration, cost of living adjustments, and more. Workers are particularly concerned about what the EV shift will mean for their futures, since fewer workers are required to make those vehicles -- though EV workers require more thorough training.
After the strike began Friday, the UAW and the Detroit carmakers agreed to resume talks over the weekend. The parties have been in discussion since, but union leaders are dissatisfied and say talks still aren’t progressing much.
Automakers were given a deadline of noon on Friday before more autoworkers join the strike.