{"id":2069102,"date":"2023-10-16T15:21:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T19:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-versus-trump-uaw-workers-split-on-who-is-best-champion-of-working-class\/"},"modified":"2023-10-16T15:22:40","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T19:22:40","slug":"biden-versus-trump-uaw-workers-split-on-who-is-best-champion-of-working-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-versus-trump-uaw-workers-split-on-who-is-best-champion-of-working-class\/","title":{"rendered":"UAW Workers Divided: Biden or Trump for Working Class?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-versus-trump-uaw-workers-split-on-who-is-best-champion-of-working-class%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2069102&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>The Battle for Michigan:\u2064 Union Members Divided on Biden and Trump<\/h2>\n<p>Since the United Auto Workers (UAW) went on strike\u2062 against the country&#8217;s top automakers on Sept. 15, the key \u2062battleground state of Michigan has become a focus for President\u200d Joe Biden and his leading Republican rival, \u2064former President Donald Trump. Last month, both visited the epicenter of the U.S. car industry to win\u200d blue-collar support for the 2024 presidential race.<\/p>\n<p>The Epoch\u200d Times spoke with more than a dozen UAW members to find out who they believed was \u2064the best \u2063president \u2064to\u2062 protect the rights of the working\u2062 class. Although union members seem \u200bto be united in their fight for better pay and\u2063 benefits, they find themselves divided on the political side.<\/p>\n<p>President Biden has repeatedly called himself the\u2064 \u201cmost pro-union president\u201d in U.S. history, but Kim Fenner, \u2064a UAW member for 28 years, disagrees.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/nearly-9000-ford-kentucky-truck-plant-workers-walk-out-in-new-phase-of-uaw-strike-5508796?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><strong>Nearly 9,000 Ford\u2062 Kentucky \u2062Truck Plant Workers \u2062Walk Out in\u200d &#8216;New\u200d Phase&#8217; of UAW\u2063 Strike<\/strong><\/a>  &#8211; 10\/12\/2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/uaw-members-walk-off-job-at-mack-trucks-as-strike-expands-5506578?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><strong>UAW Members Walk Off Job at Mack \u2062Trucks as \u200cStrike Expands<\/strong><\/a>  -\u200d 10\/9\/2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cBiden is \u200bnot for the unions. He proved that, literally, in his first day in office,\u201d she told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>The president\u2062 killed thousands of union jobs on\u2064 his first day, \u2062she noted, by signing an executive order to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Fenner works at Stellantis&#8217;s Sterling \u2062Stamping factory in Michigan, which employs 1,732 people \u200dand is the world&#8217;s largest stamping plant, according to the company&#8217;s website. Even\u200d though her plant isn&#8217;t \u200bon\u2064 strike right now, she stands with autoworkers on picket lines at dozens of General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis \u2063factories, as\u200c does\u2062 every UAW member.<\/p>\n<p>Autoworkers haven&#8217;t received\u2064 much of a\u2064 raise in the past \u200c13 years and are now feeling the pinch of\u2062 rising prices, Ms. Fenner said. \u2064&#8221;Bidenomics,&#8221; in \u2064her opinion, is failing blue-collar workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the \u200c28 years that I&#8217;ve been with the\u200b UAW, the four years that Trump\u2062 was\u2064 in office were \u200bby far \u2064the best four years for my\u200d 401(k), for the working environment, and for the economy in general. I don&#8217;t know of \u200banyone who had\u2062 a \u200cbad lifestyle when Trump was in office,\u201d Ms. Fenner said.<\/p>\n<p>She also raised concerns \u200dabout \u2063the\u2062 aggressive rules proposed by the Biden administration in its push for a\u200b nationwide shift away from fossil fuels \u2063to electric\u200b vehicles (EVs).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI honestly am\u200b scared to say it, but I think it&#8217;s going to\u2063 kill our industry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>President Trump spoke to blue-collar workers in Detroit on Sept. 27, including dozens of current and former members of the UAW. Ms. Fenner was among those who watched the former president\u2019s speech at Drake Enterprises, located in Clinton Township, a northern suburb of Detroit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Former \u2064President Donald Trump \u200bspeaks at a campaign rally event\u200b in Clinton Township, Mich., on Sept. 27,\u200b 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In his speech, President Trump \u2063told UAW members that no amount of extra pay would make a difference\u2063 \u201cbecause \u200cin two years, you&#8217;re all going to be out of business.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Biden on \u200dPicket Line<\/h2>\n<p>A day before the former president\u2019s speech, President \u2063Biden was also in Detroit to show \u2064solidarity with auto union\u2063 members who have been on strike against the Big Three automakers. It was a &#8220;historic&#8221; move, according to the White House,\u2062 as he\u200b was the first sitting \u2062president\u200c to join a picket line in modern history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>However, Ms. Fenner \u200bsaid she was unimpressed with \u2062President Biden\u2019s\u200d speech and support for the \u200bunion workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe showed \u200cup for \u206312 minutes\u2062 on the picket\u200b line. It was a photo op, and he only did \u200bit because he heard that Trump was coming first,\u201d Ms. Fenner said.<\/p>\n<p>On the picket line,\u200d President Biden grabbed\u2062 a bullhorn, urging striking auto workers to \u201cstick with it\u201d and telling them that they deserved a &#8220;significant raise.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bill Crews, 74, was among the\u2063 nearly two dozen striking\u200c UAW \u2062members who watched \u200bPresident Biden&#8217;s speech in front of the Willow Run\u2063 parts distribution \u2062center of General Motors in Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s a former employee of GM and a retired member of the UAW. He left his job in 2016, but he is still active in the union, overseeing retirees.<\/p>\n<p>He said he sees the president as a friend of the working class and refers to him as \u201cJoe.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:525px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Bill Crews speaks during an interview with The Epoch Times after President Joe Biden addressed \u2062a UAW picket line at a General Motors \u200cService Parts Operations plant in Wayne, Mich., on Sept. 26, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt was a great day to have Joe here on the picket line. Like he always has \u200cbeen. He comes to picket lines. He&#8217;s a union guy,\u201d he told The Epoch Times. \u201cJoe \u2062tries to strike a balance between management, labor, business, and consumers. That&#8217;s what we need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Crews didn&#8217;t\u2063 share the same enthusiasm for President Trump&#8217;s visit to Detroit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe&#8217;s a billionaire. He&#8217;s never supported labor,&#8221; Mr. \u2063Crews\u2064 said.<\/p>\n<p>Nikola Gjonaj, a \u2063UAW member picketing at the\u2062 Stellantis Mopar factory in Center Line, Michigan, said\u2062 that \u200bPresident \u200cTrump has always used the\u200d UAW and the working class as &#8220;pawns.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;re \u200dnot even following the \u2064politics,\u201d Mr. Gjonaj told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll we want is to go back to work and make a fair living wage,\u201d he said,\u2063 noting that workers \u2063at the Mopar facility didn\u2019t get a raise for 12 years.<\/p>\n<p>He said that most \u2062UAW\u2062 members, including \u200bhimself, \u200bback Democrats. But he also \u2064said he thinks President Biden&#8217;s picket-line speech could have been much\u200b better.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted \u2064him to come out here and say, \u2018Hey, we got the full power of the White House behind you.\u2019 \u2063We didn&#8217;t get that. &#8216;Oh, you \u200bguys should make more \u200dmoney.&#8217;\u2062 That&#8217;s it. That&#8217;s all you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Nikola Gjonaj, a UAW member, speaks during an interview with The Epoch Times at the Stellantis Mopar factory in Center\u200b Line,\u2063 Mich., on Sept. 27, 2023.\u200c (Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>EVs Worry Union\u200c Members<\/h2>\n<p>Although Mr. Gjonaj \u2063said he \u200bdoesn\u2019t support the former president, he agrees that there is cause for alarm over the EV transition push.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cTrump was\u200c right about one thing. All the cars might be made in China. And we don&#8217;t want the jobs to leave here,\u201d Mr. Gjonaj said. \u200d\u201cIf you turn everything to EV, 30 percent of these people are gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The UAW, which has historically supported Democrats and endorsed President Biden in 2020, has so \u200cfar \u200bwithheld its \u2063endorsement for the 2024 presidential election, citing concerns about a forced EV transition, which is estimated \u2064to cut the\u2063 jobs of thousands of traditional auto workers.<\/p>\n<p>Isaiah Goddard, a UAW member who works at Ford Motor Co.&#8217;s Rawsonville\u200d Components Plant in Michigan,\u200d said\u2062 that a total switch to electric\u200d vehicles\u2064 isn&#8217;t a good idea. He \u200dwas one of the auto union members who attended the\u2064 former president\u2019s rally in Michigan on Sept. 27.<\/p>\n<p>However, Mr. Goddard, a \u200bthird-generation autoworker, said he faced a lot of \u201cbacklash\u201d from his family and \u2063co-workers for\u200b attending the rally. Even so, he said he\u200c believes that President Trump is the best candidate to protect union jobs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe \u2063in Donald Trump. I believe \u2064him.\u2062 I think he&#8217;s a smart businessman,\u201d he told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we reelect President Trump, he is going to make\u200d amazing \u200cdeals,\u2063 keep \u2064our \u2063auto industry booming, and keep union\u2064 jobs, \u200cand I believe he&#8217;s our best \u200bshot at that.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:525px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>A union member, Isaiah Goddard, waves a banner while waiting for former President\u2064 Donald Trump to speak at\u2063 a campaign rally event in Clinton Township, Mich., on Sept. 27, 2023. \u2063(Courtesy of\u200b Isaiah Goddard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mr. Goddard also\u2063 praised the 45th president \u200dfor repealing\u200d the North\u2062 American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was replaced by the USMCA. He \u200dsaid\u200b that NAFTA was responsible for the\u2063 loss of\u2062 U.S. jobs.<\/p>\n<p>He said \u200cthe UAW\u2062 should endorse the former\u2064 president instead of\u200d President Biden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wouldn&#8217;t necessarily be such a \u200dbad thing if our UAW president met with Donald Trump, talked to him, and tried to\u2063 endorse him,\u201d Mr. Goddard said.<\/p>\n<p>Patrick Smalley, who has worked at \u2063Ford Motor Company for 35 years, said he has similar concerns about the EV push.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not\u200b affecting my job\u2062 now,\u2064 but \u2064what I&#8217;m concerned about is\u200c that it could possibly cut\u2062 jobs. And I don&#8217;t like seeing anyone lose their jobs,\u201d he told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Smalley has been on strike since Sept. 15 at the Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan, where he worked as a quality inspector.<\/p>\n<p>Even though President Biden \u2062didn&#8217;t show up at the Ford picket line, Mr. Smalley \u200bsaid he thinks \u2062the president&#8217;s joining other UAW members at the GM facility is\u200b important.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe could be doing so \u200bmany other things. But he\u2019s here and supporting us, which\u200c is a wonderful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Patrick Smalley, a Ford Motor employee, strikes outside\u2062 of Ford&#8217;s Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., \u200bon Sept 26, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>But Justin Green, another striking Ford worker, said he wasn&#8217;t overly excited about President\u2063 Biden\u2019s\u200c visit because he has been disappointed with the administration\u2019s track record.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel that \u200dBiden hasn\u2019t shown an immense\u200c track record of supporting\u200d the union,&#8221; Mr. Green told The Epoch Times. \u201cWe would\u2062 like\u2063 to see him support us a good bit more\u2064 before we do actually endorse\u2062 him.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<em>Joshua Philipp and Andrew Moran contributed to this report.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2>What impact did President Biden&#8217;s\u200b cancellation of \u200dthe Keystone XL pipeline have on union jobs and how do union members view this decision?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  The ongoing battle for Michigan and the divided opinions of union members on President Joe Biden and former President Donald \u2064Trump\u2063 have brought to light the complexities of the relationship\u2064 between the working\u2064 class and the political landscape.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan, being \u2063a key battleground state, has garnered significant attention \u200dfrom both President Biden and former President \u2063Trump.\u200c They have \u2064made efforts to win the support of blue-collar\u2063 workers and secure their backing for the \u200dupcoming presidential race in 2024. Last month, both visited Michigan, the epicenter of the U.S. car \u2062industry, in an attempt to gain the favor of \u200dunion members.<\/p>\n<p>To gain a better understanding of the sentiments of union members, The Epoch Times interviewed more than a dozen United Auto Workers (UAW) members. Despite their shared fight for improved pay and benefits, union members find themselves divided when it comes to their political preferences.<\/p>\n<p>President Biden has often referred to\u200c himself as the &#8220;most pro-union president&#8221; in the history of the United States. However, Kim Fenner, a UAW member\u200c of 28 years, disagrees \u2062with this claim.\u2064 She criticizes\u200d President Biden for his actions on his first day\u2064 in\u2064 office when he signed an executive order to cancel the Keystone XL\u2063 pipeline, resulting in the loss of\u200c thousands of union jobs. According to Ms.\u2063 Fenner, this move demonstrated that President Biden\u200c is not truly supportive of unions.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Fenner works at Stellantis&#8217;s Sterling Stamping factory in Michigan, which is the \u2062world&#8217;s largest stamping plant and\u2064 employs 1,732 people. Even though her plant \u2062is not currently\u2064 on strike, she stands in solidarity with autoworkers on picket lines at various General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis factories, just like all UAW members.<\/p>\n<p>According to Ms. Fenner, autoworkers have faced stagnant wages for the \u200bpast 13 years and are now \u200cfeeling\u200b the impact of rising prices. She believes that \u2062the economic policies of the Biden administration, referred to as &#8220;Bidenomics,&#8221; are failing blue-collar workers. \u2064In contrast, \u200dshe praises the \u2063Trump administration, stating that the \u200dfour years under President Trump were the \u200dbest for\u2062 her 401(k), the working environment, and the overall economy. She claims that nobody she knows had a bad lifestyle during Trump&#8217;s presidency.<\/p>\n<p>Another concern raised by \u200dMs. Fenner is the Biden administration&#8217;s aggressive push for a nationwide shift from fossil fuels to electric vehicles (EVs). She expresses fear that this\u2063 move will ultimately kill the \u200cindustry she works in.<\/p>\n<p>Former President Trump addressed blue-collar workers in Detroit on\u200b September 27, where he spoke to both \u200ccurrent and \u2062former UAW members. Ms. \u2063Fenner was among those who listened to his speech at \u200dDrake Enterprises in \u2064Clinton\u2064 Township, a northern suburb of Detroit. During \u2063this speech, former President Trump suggested that no \u2063amount of increased pay would matter because\u200d the auto industry would be out of business within two years.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, President Biden made a historic move\u200d a\u2062 day before former President\u200b Trump&#8217;s speech. He showed solidarity with the striking\u2062 auto union members by joining them on the \u2062picket line, making him the first sitting president in modern history to do so.<\/p>\n<p>The battle for Michigan and the divided opinions among\u2062 UAW members highlight the complexity of the relationship between unions and their political affiliations. While union members are united in their fight for better \u2064pay \u2064and benefits, their political preferences differ. President Biden&#8217;s claims of \u2064being pro-union are challenged by union\u2062 members like Ms. Fenner, who believe that the Trump administration was more beneficial to the working class, both economically and in terms of\u2062 job opportunities. \u200bThe shift toward EVs proposed by the Biden administration also<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UAW strike on Sept. 15 made Michigan a key focus for Biden and Trump. Both visited the state to gain support from blue-collar workers, recognizing its significance as the epicenter of the U.S. car industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":531,"featured_media":2069103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2069102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/531"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2069102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2069103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2069102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2069102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2069102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}