DETROIT (AP) — Putting Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket increases her chances of winning Michigan and keeping the White House in November, according to the head of the United Auto Workers (UAW) auto workers union.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Friday, Shawn Fain said former President Donald Trump is beholden to billionaires, knows nothing about the auto industry and would send the labor movement into the basement if re-elected.
“Trump has never supported the working class. He has never supported unions,” Fain said. “But now he’s certainly trying to get our votes.”
Fain has become one of the Republican presidential candidate’s biggest enemies, frequently criticizing him at rallies and in speeches. Trump has called him an idiot and courted autoworkers’ votes by claiming Fain would put their jobs at risk by advocating a shift to electric cars.
Although the UAW has members across the country, many auto jobs are concentrated in the Great Lakes region and in Michigan, a key swing state that could decide the presidential election in November. This week, the UAW endorsed Harris.
Trump and Harris are aware that a larger share of the union vote could significantly improve their chances in Michigan, where the last two presidential elections were close, said Marick Masters, an emeritus economics professor at Wayne State University who studies labor issues.
Trump won the state in 2016 by just 11,000 votes over Democrat Hillary Clinton, but then lost it four years later to President Joe Biden by nearly 154,000 votes.
By appealing to autoworkers, you win votes from other union members, and union membership is high in the state, at about 556,000, Masters said. That doesn’t include thousands of dependents and union retirees, he said. Any change in those votes would impact the race.
During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last month, Trump urged union members to fire Fain, falsely claiming that Chinese auto companies were building factories in Mexico to ship vehicles to the U.S. tariff-free. Industry analysts say they know of no such factories currently under construction, at least not yet.
“You probably need to get rid of that fool, that stupid idiot that represents the United Auto Workers,” Trump said at a July 20 rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump claimed he would get 95% of the UAW vote because Fain is pushing electric vehicles. “They’re made in China,” he said.
He also promised to save the automobile industry from ruin if elected.
But the industry is far from finished. Since Biden took office in January 2021, the number of people employed in auto and parts manufacturing has increased by 13.8% to just over 1 million, according to the Labor Department. Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have made billions in profits annually.
Fain dismissed the insults as typical Trump behavior. “The man insults and labels people. He never has solutions,” Fain said. “That’s the problem with leadership. You have to find solutions.”
The transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles is inevitable, Fain said, and union members need to be prepared. During the transition, auto companies will continue to make gasoline vehicles and keep factory workers employed, he said.
Trump, he said, did nothing for autoworkers when General Motors closed its miniature car assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in 2019. Biden, who announced last month he would drop out of the race and endorse Harris, helped get GM to build an electric vehicle battery factory in the Lordstown area, replacing some of the jobs lost, Fain said.
On Friday, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee said Harris had received enough delegate votes to become her party’s nominee.
Fain said he was confident Harris would continue to be an advocate for working people, citing her trip to picket with striking GM workers in 2019. “She supported the president through a lot of things we went through,” he said. “She was there for the workers.”
Among the candidates for Harris’ vice presidential nomination, the union favors Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, followed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Fain said.
The union does not support Arizona Senator Mark Kelly because he opposed a bill to encourage unionization. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro supports education vouchers, which would direct tax money to private schools and harm public schools, Fain said.
But even if Harris does not choose one of the union’s favorites, the 370,000-member UAW would still throw its political power behind her, Fain said.
“I think she’s a brilliant woman. A very strong person,” Fain said. “She understands the issues. I think Trump is all talk. That’s all he’s ever been. He’s a showman.”
Trump’s campaign team called Fain a “puppet of the Democratic Party” in a statement who does not stand up for union members who support Trump.
“Shawn Fain’s empty words don’t count – President Trump will take action to fight for America’s autoworkers,” the statement said.
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Associated Press writer Mike Householder contributed to this report.
