Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has called for the firing of United Auto Workers (UAW) leader Shawn Fain, escalating his ongoing feud with the union. Trump made the comment during his party's national convention on Thursday night, stating that China is building auto plants across the southern border in Mexico and planning to sell Mexican-assembled vehicles into the United States.
Trump criticized the UAW for allowing this to happen and called for Fain's immediate termination. He also urged every single auto worker, union and non-union, to vote for him in the upcoming election. The "should be fired" comment was not included in the excerpts of Trump's prepared remarks provided by his campaign to reporters ahead of the speech.
The UAW, which is headquartered in Detroit, endorsed Democratic President Joe Biden's reelection in January. Fain scored victories for his union last year in a round of high-stakes negotiations with Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV. In April, the UAW won a union organizing election at Volkswagen AG's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a breakthrough for the union into a foreign-owned assembly plant in the South.
However, a court-appointed monitor has been investigating allegations that Fain and his team demanded a subordinate take action to benefit his fiancée and her sister, according to a court filing. Trump vowed in Thursday's night speech to end electric vehicle mandates if he's elected in November, contending the move would save "the U. S. auto industry from complete obliteration."
Biden's administration has supported policies to promote electric vehicles and to boost the manufacturing of batteries and other parts needed for them in the U. S. In April last year, the administration released the "strongest ever" tailpipe emissions standards that were expected to push automakers to accelerate the proportion of electric vehicles.
Trump also said he would impose tariffs of 100% and 200% on cars being built by Chinese companies in Mexico. "They will be un-sellable in the United States," he told the crowd.
The number of jobs in vehicle and parts manufacturing in Michigan has held relatively steady during Biden's term in the White House, decreasing by less than 1% to about 165,000 jobs in May, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During Trump's four-year term, the number of jobs in vehicle and parts manufacturing in Michigan fell by 5% to about 166,000, according to the bureau's tracking.
Sources:
al.comdailycallernewsfoundation.orgthepostmillennial.com