Only “a handful” of striking auto workers showed up for former President Donald Trump’s Wednesday speech in Michigan aimed at wooing blue-collar, unionized workers, according to reports.
Trump, 77, appealed to members of the United Auto Workers union to urge their leaders to support his 2024 presidential campaign during his inaugural address at Drake Enterprises – an auto parts manufacturer outside Detroit that boasts Ford and General Motors among its clients.
However, the 150-employee operation is a non-union facility, with none of its workforce represented by the UAW, according to the Detroit News.
One person in the crowd of between 400 and 500 spectators for the former president’s speech held a sign that read, “Union Members for Trump,” while another waved to one that read, “Auto Workers for Trump” — but was not a union member. or autoworker, according to the outlet.
“Hardly any striking workers are on hand.” NBC News reported Wednesday.
“There are some attackers here, yes,” Brian Pannebecker, a former auto worker who runs the Auto Workers Facebook page for Trump, told the outlet. “I don’t know where they are. But there are a few – a handful.”
Only a “handful†of striking auto workers showed up for former President Donald Trump’s speech Wednesday in Michigan aimed at wooing blue-collar, unionized workers.ZUMAPRESS.com
Scott Malefant, who told NBC he was one of the few UAW members on the picket line in attendance, stated, “I haven’t seen anybody yet,” when asked about others in the crowd.
“I’m sure there might be a few,” he surmised.
Union brass were not impressed with the 45th president’s choice of venue.
“I find it strange that he would go to a non-union business to talk to union workers,” UAW President Shawn Fain said before Trump’s visit. “I don’t think he understands.”
UAW Vice President for General Motors Mike Booth told the Detroit Free Press that the Michigan trip made Trump look “arrogant.”
“Coming to Michigan to talk to non-union employers and pretending it has anything to do with our fight at the Big Three is just verbal diarrhea from the former president,” Booth told the outlet in an email.
“Where was his rally for the striking workers when we were on the picket line in 2019? Where are the jobs he promised to bring back to the US while campaigning in 2015?” Booth added, deriding Trump’s speech as a “stunt.”
Trump, 77, appealed to members of the United Auto Workers union to urge their leaders to support his 2024 presidential campaign during his inaugural address at Drake Enterprises.REUTERS
Democratic strategist Rich Luchette echoed criticisms of Trump’s campaign events hurled by the same leadership he hopes to woo.
“From a general election standpoint, Trump’s non-union shop speech was a mistake,” Luchette told NBC News. “It will certainly remind voters of Trump’s poor record on labor issues. Trump fills the National Labor Relations Board with anti-union appointees. Trump failed to bring back auto manufacturing jobs.”
Former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich said Wednesday that the fact that “a ‘pro-worker’ event was held at a non-union auto parts supplier” should not be ignored.
“Trump can claim he’s an advocate for blue-collar workers until he’s blue in the face. But he may be one of the most anti-worker presidents in American history. Know the truth,” Reich tweeted.
The 150-employee operation is a non-union facility, with no workforce represented by the UAW, according to Detroit News.ZUMAPRESS.com
Trump, who skipped the second Republican primary debate and programmed it with a speech at Drake Enterprises, touted his track record of protecting American workers and jobs and outlined his “vision for the revival of economic nationalism and the heart of our auto manufacturing” during the rally.
“To the striking workers, I support you and your goal of fair wages and greater stability, and I sincerely hope you get a fair deal for yourself and your family,” Trump said. “But if your union leaders aren’t going to demand that Crooked Joe repeal his electric vehicle mandate immediately, then it doesn’t matter what hourly wage you get.”
“It doesn’t make a bit of difference,” he added, “because in two to three years, you won’t have a single job in this state.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
