Ariana Baio
Wed, September 20, 2023
GOP presidential candidate Tim Scott claims auto workers should be fired for striking
In his pursuit of the White House, Republican candidate Tim Scott is weighing in on current issues like the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike to try to prove to voters that he would make a good president.
However, Mr Scott may have stumbled over his understanding of the strike while speaking with potential voters in Iowa on Monday – claiming they were federal workers who should be fired for striking.
Calling on the likeness of Ronald Reagan, Mr Scott said if he were president he would be dealing with the strikers in a much different manner.
“I think Ronald Reagan gave us a great example when federal employees decided they were going to strike. He said, ‘you strike, you’re fired,’” Mr Scott said.
Mr Scott was referring to the 1981 Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike when Mr Reagan fired approximately 11,000 air traffic controllers.
“Simple concept to me,” Mr Scott said adding that he would “absolutely” implement that same policy “to the extent that we can use that once again.”
Seemingly, the South Carolina senator and 2024 candidate was trying to depict his hard-line approach to being pushed around by federal employees.
UAW members began a targeted strike last week to seek 40 per cent pay increases over four years, restoration of traditional pensions, elimination of compensation tiers, cost-of-living adjustments as well as a 32-hour work week.
However, Mr Scott may have confused some of the circumstances surrounding the 1981 strike with the ongoing UAW strike.
UAW members are not federal employees therefore the president cannot fire them.
Also, federal labour laws forbid employers from interfering or restraining union members from working together to improve terms and conditions of employment.
Mr Scott went on to criticise federal funding for union pensions, claiming President Joe Biden is “leased by unions” and overpromising union members while underdelivering.
“[The federal government] keep making these deals and as a result of the deal they promise too much, deliver too little and the taxpayers pick up the tab,” Mr Scott said referring to Mr Biden’s American Rescue Plan which allocated several billion dollars for certain pension plans
On Wednesday, Mr Scott clarified his statements regarding Mr Reagan and firing the UAW workers, at an event in New Hampshire.
“Obviously the president doesn’t fire folks in the private sector, but he can do in the public sector,” Mr Scott said. “I brought up the Ronald Reagan years because I do think that we need to have front and center the example of a president who stood strong and today’s president, he stands weak.”
UAW files complaint against Tim Scott over threats to fire workers if they strike
Nick Robertson
Thu, September 21, 2023
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is in the crosshairs of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike after he suggested that striking workers should be fired.
UAW President Shawn Fain filed a complaint against the presidential candidate with the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday, alleging that Scott violated the rights of his campaign staff by threatening their federally-protected right to strike.
The complaint, first reported by The Intercept, came after Scott came out against UAW’s strikes against the “Big Three” automakers at an Iowa rally on Monday by invoking President Ronald Reagan’s response to federal air traffic controller strikes, saying “You strike, you’re fired.”
“I think Ronald Reagan gave us a great example when federal employees decided they were going to strike,” Scott said in Iowa. “He said, ‘You strike, you’re fired.’ Simple concept to me, to the extent that we can use that once again.”
The complaint alleges that his statement violates federal labor law in Scott’s capacity as an employer for his campaign, not as a sitting Senator.
Fain denounced Scott’s statements on Thursday.
“Just another example of how the employer class abuses the working class in America, employers willfully violate labor law with little to no repercussions,” he said. “Time for more stringent laws to protect workers rights!!”
The Hill has reached out to the Scott campaign for comment.
The historic UAW strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis is focused on demands for higher wages, shorter work weeks, union representation for battery plant workers and better retirement benefits — including restored pensions for new hires.
Strikes are expected to expand on Friday after Fain threatened more workers will join picket lines if negotiation progress isn’t made.
“Our members have been clear about their demands, and we know the companies can afford to make things right. Record profits mean record contracts,” Fain said Tuesday. “We’ve been available 24/7 to bargain a deal that recognizes our members’ sacrifices and contributions to these record profits.”
The union strike strategy has called on only a few local facilities to strike at a time, with little to no notice. The strategy reserves strike funds and, as Fain said, is intended to “keep the companies guessing.”
The strikes are backed by the Biden administration, though controversy has erupted over whether President Biden — who branded himself as pro-union during his campaign — should show up and speak with striking workers. He made statements in support of the strikes last week.
“I believe they should go further. … Record corporate profits, which they have, should be shared by record contracts for the UAW,” Biden said.
Sen. Tim Scott Praises Reagan's Firing Of Strikers When Asked About UAW Walkout
Dave Jamieson
Tue, September 19, 2023 at 9:33 AM MDT·4 min read
An Iowa voter on Monday asked Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) whether he would insert himself into the United Auto Workers strike as president. The GOP presidential hopeful responded by praising Ronald Reagan’s firing of federal workers who went on strike.
“I think Ronald Reagan gave us a great example when federal employees decided they were going to strike. He said, ‘You strike, you’re fired.’ Simple concept to me,” Scott said to laughter. “To the extent that we can use that once again, absolutely.”
It’s actually not as simple a concept as Scott suggests.
Former President Ronald Reagan famously fired the air traffic controllers when their union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, or PATCO, called a strike in 1981. The saga was a pivotal moment in U.S. labor relations, when the federal government signaled to corporate America that it was open season on unions. Private-sector collective bargaining has continued to decline since then.
The air traffic controllers were federal workers who didn’t have the legal right to strike or even to bargain over wages with their employer, though they were demanding raises. Reagan acted within his powers when he fired them. The thousands of controllers who participated in the strike were never allowed to return to their jobs.
‘You strike, you’re fired.’ Simple concept to me.Sen. Tim Scott
But the UAW strike, which has hit Ford, General Motors and Jeep parent company Stellantis, involves private-sector workers bargaining with private-sector employers. It is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act to fire workers for taking part in a lawful strike. So far, none of the “Big Three” have claimed that the auto worker strikes are unlawful.
A spokesperson for Scott said the candidate was not suggesting auto workers should be fired for striking.
“He was clearly talking about federal workers in that first exchange,” Matt Gorman, the spokesperson, said in an email. “Senator Scott repeatedly made clear, both at that event and others, that Joe Biden shouldn’t leave taxpayers on the hook for any labor deal.”
At the Iowa event, Scott said that President Joe Biden, the self-styled “most pro-union president” in history, is “leased by the unions,” if not “bought and paid for.”
The senator went on to criticize the decision by Biden and other Democrats to rescue defined-benefit pension plans as part of a nearly $2 billion coronavirus aid package in 2021. The plans ― negotiated over the years between unions and employers ― were on the brink of insolvency, and the move backstopped pension payments for an estimated one million workers and retirees.
Like other candidates, Sen. Tim Scott is trailing Donald Trump by double-digits in his run for the GOP presidential nomination.
Like other candidates, Sen. Tim Scott is trailing Donald Trump by double-digits in his run for the GOP presidential nomination.
“When they overpromise, taxpayers should not be on the hook,” Scott said. “They end up on the hook when the president negotiates and provides your dollars to their pensions even though you didn’t work for them.”
Scott also appeared to criticize the UAW for demanding large raises and a reduced work schedule as part of the negotiations.
“[T]hey want more money working fewer hours,” he said. “They want more benefits working fewer days. In America... that doesn’t make sense.”
The UAW workers are known legally as “economic strikers” ― they are demanding better pay and working conditions. They can’t be fired, but they can be replaced while they’re on strike. And in what unions consider a travesty of labor law, that replacement can become permanent. Once the strike is over, and if the worker hasn’t found similar work, he can apply for his old job as positions open up, but there is no guarantee he will return if a worker has taken his place.
It would be a difficult time for Ford, GM and Stellantis to find permanent replacements even if they wanted to. Workers would need to be trained to replace the strikers at the plants, and many employers are still having a hard time finding workers as it is. The unemployment rate is hovering near historic lows, at just 3.8%, despite voters’ gloomy outlook on the economy.
At this point, the UAW seems to have little fear of striking workers losing their jobs. The union has struck three plants so far ― one apiece for Ford, GM and Stellantis ― but has vowed to strike more if the companies don’t improve their offers. UAW President Shawn Fain said Monday that barring a settlement, more targets will be announced on Friday.
“We’re going to keep hitting the company where we need to, when we need to,” Fain said. “And we’re not going to keep waiting around forever while they drag this out.”
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