UAW President Shawn Fain dismissed former President Donald Trump's plan to speak to auto union workers next week instead of going to the Republican presidential primary debate.
In a statement released Tuesday, Fain said in part, "Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers."
On Monday, it was reported that Trump would come to Detroit and speak to striking UAW workers instead of participating in the debate.
Since the UAW went on strike overnight Friday, they have been joined by several prominent Democrats, including both U.S. Senators from Michigan – Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters – plus House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and others.
"We can’t keep electing billionaires and millionaires that don’t have any understanding what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to get by and expecting them to solve the problems of the working class," Fain added in the statement.
Many Republicans have used the strike to criticize President Joe Biden and his administration's push toward more electric vehicles.
Last week, Biden briefly spoke on the strike, calling on the Big Three to go further in contract negotiations and said he was sending White House advisers to Detroit to help negotiate.
"In the past decade, auto companies have seen record profits, including the last years, because of the extraordinary skills and sacrifices of the UAW workers. Those record profits have not been shared fairly, in my view, with those workers," Biden said.
On Monday, Fain also said that there's a new deadline of Friday to reach a deal before expanding the strike. Currently, workers are striking at three plants in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri as part of what Fain called the "Stand Up Strike" strategy which targeted specific plants.
Fain says if there are not better deals on the table by this Friday at noon, the union will call on other locals to walk off the job.
