You Betta Thank a Union Memba - Union Leader Who Endorsed Kamala Harris Explains Why He Backs Trump Tariffs

Bunchy Carter

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Union Leader Who Endorsed Kamala Harris Explains Why He Backs Trump Tariffs​


Shawn Fain, president of United Auto Workers (UAW) union, who endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, explained on Sunday why he has spoken out in favor of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment on Sunday.

Why It Matters​

Trump's tariffs targeting adversaries and allies of the United States alike, have faced significant criticism from Democrats, some conservatives and many economists. Critics have said the moves will worsen inflation and raises prices for consumers.
The president and his supporters contend that the tariffs are necessary to bring back manufacturing and production to the U.S., which they believe will create many more American jobs. Fain, despite endorsing then-President Joe Biden and Harris when she took over the Democratic campaign in 2024, has been vocally supportive of Trump's tariffs moves.
Fain's support is also notable due to his staunch criticism of Trump during the 2024 election, when he dubbed the president "a scab." He famously wore a T-shirt at a Harris event reading, "Trump is a scab, vote Harris."

What to Know​

Fain sat for an interview on Sunday with CBS News' Face the Nation. During the interview, the prominent union leader who represents more than 400,000 members, was asked about his favorable views of Trump's tariffs.
"All you have to do is look at the history of the United States, especially in auto manufacturing in the last 30 years, with the inception of NAFTA [The North American Free Trade Agreement] and unfair trade laws. We've seen over 90,000 manufacturing facilities leave the United States. We've seen—in the Big Three [General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company] alone, in the last 20-plus years, 65 plants have closed," Fain said.
He added: "Tariffs aren't the total solution. Tariffs are a tool in the toolbox to get these companies to do the right thing, and the intent behind it is to bring jobs back here. And, you know, invest in the American workers. The American working-class people have been left behind for decades, and they're sick of it."
The union leader's remarks align with the views of Trump and his economic advisers. While they have said the tariffs may cause some economic disruption in the near term, they believe they will ultimately benefit the country significantly moving forward.
A report by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation think tank released last week said Trump's tariffs "will reduce U.S. GDP [gross domestic product] by 0.4 percent and hours worked by 309,000 full-time equivalent jobs, before accounting for foreign retaliation." Many economists have raised similar concerns, saying the tariffs will raise costs and potentially spur a recession.
Fain previously praised the new tariffs last week in an official UAW statement.
"We applaud the Trump administration for stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working class communities for decades. Ending the race to the bottom in the auto industry starts with fixing our broken trade deals, and the Trump administration has made history with today's actions," he said.
shawn-fain.webp


UAW President Shawn Fain speaks during a Kamala Harris rally on October 4, 2024, in Flint, Michigan. Inset: President Donald Trump is seen at the White House on March 28 in Washington, D.C. Scott Olson/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

What People Are Saying​

President Donald Trump to NBC News on Saturday: "I couldn't care less if they [foreign automakers] raise prices, because people are going to start buying American cars."
He added: "I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars. We have plenty."
Stanford University economist Professors Neale Mahoney and Ryan Cumming in a January analysis: "Economists reject tariffs as an effective tool to improve the welfare of Americans or strengthen key industries. In a survey conducted during the first Trump administration, 93 percent of economic experts disagreed that the targeted tariffs on steel and aluminum would improve Americans' welfare, and this was for a targeted policy. Recent research has only solidified economists' opposition to this policy instrument. Studies show that tariffs imposed during the first Trump administration were almost entirely borne by U.S. consumers, with disproportionately large impacts on lower-income households which spend a larger proportion of income on goods made abroad. Indeed, the tariffs did not even help the manufacturing firms they were designed to protect, with higher input costs and retaliatory tariffs outweighing the direct benefits of the tariff policy."
Trump adviser Peter Navarro to Fox News Sunday: "The message is that tariffs are tax cuts, tariffs are jobs, tariffs are national security, tariffs are great for America, tariffs will make America great again."
 
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Shawn Fain is being naive. Trump's tariffs are not going to result in re-shoring jobs in any meaningful way. He's also ignoring how those tariffs are already harming workers and how Trump has destroyed the Labor Department and the NLRB by shifting their focus from protecting workers to protecting corporations, as well as how he has undermined collective bargaining for federal workers.
 

At30wecashout

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I'm a UAW member and a lot of people out here would agree with that dude.

I don't.
Former Teamster here: same. Worst part is we will know in weeks, not months or years, how quickly this policy is going to ruin the economy while not doing a damn thing to protect labor.
 
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Buckeye Fever

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Former Teamster here: same. Worst part is we will know in weeks, not months of years, how quickly this policy is going to ruin the economy while not doing a damn thing to protect labor.
Yep. This shĂ­t is definitely fast-tracking.
 

Voice of Reason

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OP you are an idiot that has been brainwashed by your daddy Tariq Nasheed.


Nothing Trump is doing will benefit Black Americans except his immigration policies.
 

Bunchy Carter

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Are you telling me that I caused millions of people not to vote for Kamala Harris?

Kamala Harris having this at her campaign caused million to vote for her:



It's 7 p.m. Friday (yup)
It's 95 degrees (hoo)
I ain't got no nikka, and no nikka ain't got me (let's go)
I'm 'bout to show my ass (baow)
These nikkas love a freak (huh)
How the fukk is that your man (huh?)
If he right here with me? (The fukk?) (ayy)
Turnt up with my nikkas (ayy)
Turnt up with my bytches (ayy)

Thecoli is powerful:troll:
 
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Strapped

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The unions are all ran by bigots
The automakers have already lost market shares in South America, Asia , the EU & Africa that they'll never get back . Trying to save them is a waste of money , whatever happened to letting the free markets decide . I guess it's not free if Uncle Sam isn't in control of it
 
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