Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
August 20, 2024
United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain speaks during the first day of the Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The president of the United Auto Workers used his appearance onstage during the opening night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday to blast Republican nominee Donald Trump as a union-buster who "laughs about firing workers who go on strike."
About halfway through his remarks, Shawn Fain removed his jacket to reveal a shirt emblazoned with the words, "Trump Is a Scab"—a line that the DNC audience chanted throughout the UAW president's speech as he condemned the GOP nominee's anti-worker record and praised Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
"For the UAW and for working-class people everywhere, this election comes down to one question: Which side are you on?" said Fain. "On one side, we have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the working class. On the other side, we have Trump and [Republican Sen.] JD Vance, two lap dogs for the billionaire class who only serve themselves."
"So for us in the labor movement, it's real simple," he continued. "Kamala Harris is one of us, she's a fighter for the working class. And Donald Trump is a scab."
Watch Fain's full speech:
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Fain also used his national platform to shout out members of his union who launched a strike at Cornell University late Sunday as well as Stellantis workers who are threatening to walk off the job as the automaker reneges on its contract commitments.
"The UAW will take whatever action necessary at Stellantis or any other corporation to stand up and hold corporate America accountable," Fain said Monday night. "And when the UAW stands up, we know who stands with us and who stands against us. Donald Trump laughs about firing workers who go on strike. And Kamala Harris stands shoulder-to-shoulder with workers when they're on strike."
Last week, the UAW filed federal labor charges against Trump and billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk after the former president praised the world's richest man for terminating striking workers.
"When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean," Fain said at the time.
Fain was one of a number of union leaders who took the stage on the first night of the Democratic convention. Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler; Service Employees International Union president April Verrett; and Communications Workers of America president Claude Cummings also made an appearance in Chicago.
"This election is about two economic visions," Shuler said in her remarks from the DNC stage. "One, where families live paycheck-to-paycheck, where people have no right to join a union: a CEO's dream, but a worker's nightmare."
"Or," Shuler continued, "an opportunity economy, where we lower the costs of groceries, prescriptions, and housing; where we go after Big Pharma, corporate landlords, and price gougers; where there's no such thing as a man's job or a woman's job or, like Donald Trump would say, a black job. Just a good, union job."
August 20, 2024
United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain speaks during the first day of the Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The president of the United Auto Workers used his appearance onstage during the opening night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday to blast Republican nominee Donald Trump as a union-buster who "laughs about firing workers who go on strike."
About halfway through his remarks, Shawn Fain removed his jacket to reveal a shirt emblazoned with the words, "Trump Is a Scab"—a line that the DNC audience chanted throughout the UAW president's speech as he condemned the GOP nominee's anti-worker record and praised Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
"For the UAW and for working-class people everywhere, this election comes down to one question: Which side are you on?" said Fain. "On one side, we have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the working class. On the other side, we have Trump and [Republican Sen.] JD Vance, two lap dogs for the billionaire class who only serve themselves."
"So for us in the labor movement, it's real simple," he continued. "Kamala Harris is one of us, she's a fighter for the working class. And Donald Trump is a scab."
Watch Fain's full speech:
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Fain also used his national platform to shout out members of his union who launched a strike at Cornell University late Sunday as well as Stellantis workers who are threatening to walk off the job as the automaker reneges on its contract commitments.
"The UAW will take whatever action necessary at Stellantis or any other corporation to stand up and hold corporate America accountable," Fain said Monday night. "And when the UAW stands up, we know who stands with us and who stands against us. Donald Trump laughs about firing workers who go on strike. And Kamala Harris stands shoulder-to-shoulder with workers when they're on strike."
Last week, the UAW filed federal labor charges against Trump and billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk after the former president praised the world's richest man for terminating striking workers.
"When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean," Fain said at the time.
Fain was one of a number of union leaders who took the stage on the first night of the Democratic convention. Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler; Service Employees International Union president April Verrett; and Communications Workers of America president Claude Cummings also made an appearance in Chicago.
"This election is about two economic visions," Shuler said in her remarks from the DNC stage. "One, where families live paycheck-to-paycheck, where people have no right to join a union: a CEO's dream, but a worker's nightmare."
"Or," Shuler continued, "an opportunity economy, where we lower the costs of groceries, prescriptions, and housing; where we go after Big Pharma, corporate landlords, and price gougers; where there's no such thing as a man's job or a woman's job or, like Donald Trump would say, a black job. Just a good, union job."
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