U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks throughout an NCAA championship groups celebration on the South Garden of the White Home in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2024.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Pictures
The United Auto Employees on Wednesday endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris over Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump.
The union’s endorsement should not be shocking. UAW President Shawn Fain has been outspoken against Trump. The Detroit union additionally has traditionally supported Democrats, together with President Joe Biden.
Fain’s criticism of Trump continued when endorsing Harris.
“Our job on this election is to defeat Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris to construct on her confirmed monitor file of delivering for the working class,” Fain mentioned in a press release. “We will put a billionaire again in workplace who stands in opposition to every part our union stands for, or we are able to elect Kamala Harris who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our warfare on company greed.”
The endorsement comes after Biden withdrew his re-election bid and endorsed Harris to develop into the Democratic nominee in opposition to Trump.
Fain and Trump have been at odds – publicly trading remarks – because the union chief was elected early final yr. Trump referred to as for Fain to be fired throughout a speech earlier this month on the Republican Nationwide Conference.
The union responded with a put up calling Trump a “scab and a billionaire,” persevering with “that is who he represents. We all know which facet we’re on. Not his.”
President Joe Biden celebrates with United Auto Employees President Shawn Fain after Fain and the UAW endorsed Biden for president at a Group Motion Program legislative convention in Washington, Jan. 24, 2024.
Leah Millis | Reuters
Rapidly after Biden dropped out of the election, the UAW praised him and confirmed help for Harris, who walked a picket line with union members throughout a strike in 2019.
“The trail ahead is evident: we’ll defeat Donald Trump and his billionaire agenda and elect a champion for the working class to the very best workplace on this nation,” the union mentioned in a press release July 21 after Biden had dropped out of the 2024 race. That assertion stopped in need of formally endorsing Harris.
The UAW’s endorsement is essential for any candidate seeking to safe the battleground state of Michigan, due to the UAW’s potential affect there. The Detroit-based union has roughly 370,000 lively members and 580,000 retired members, a lot of whom reside within the Midwest.
“For our a million lively and retired members, the selection is evident: We are going to elect Kamala Harris to be our subsequent President this November,” Fain mentioned Wednesday.
Michigan voters, a lot of whom work within the automotive trade, helped each Biden and Trump to win the White Home through the previous two presidential elections.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump seems on on the day he addresses auto staff as he skips the second GOP debate, in Clinton Township, Michigan, September 27, 2023.
Rebecca Prepare dinner | Reuters
