Click for middle class.
Late yesterday on 24 January 2024, the UAW announced its endorsement of Joe Biden for President of the United States. With hundreds of UAW members, leaders, and activists gathered at the union’s national Community Action Program (CAP) conference, UAW President Shawn Fain spoke to the issues facing the working class, and the strategic choice ahead in the 2024 presidential election.
“This November, we can stand up and elect someone who wants to stand with us and support our cause. Or we can elect someone who will divide us and fight us every step of the way,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “That’s what this choice is about. The question is, who do we want in that office to give us the best shot of winning? Of organizing. Of negotiating strong contracts. Of uniting the working class and winning our fair share once again, as our union has done so many times in our nation’s history. We need to know who’s going to sit in the most powerful seat in the world and help us win as a united working class,” said Fain.
Shawn Fain Remarks excerpted
“So that’s the choice we face?
- It’s not about who you like.
- It’s not about your party.
- It’s not about anything but our BEST SHOT AT TAKING BACK POWER for the working class.
“Donald Trump is a SCAB.
- Donald Trump is a BILLIONAIRE, and that’s who he represents.
- If Donald Trump ever worked in an auto plant, he wouldn’t be a UAW member. He’d be a company man, trying to squeeze the American autoworker.
- Donald Trump stands AGAINST everything the UAW stands FOR.
“When you go back to our core issues – Wages. Retirement. Health Care. Time. That’s what this election is about. Who will stand with us? And who will stand in our way? Those are the questions that will win or lose this election. Those are the questions that will determine the future of our country, and the fate of the working class. When I first came into office, we made some headlines by saying that our endorsements would be EARNED. We’ve said we’d stand with whoever stood with us in our contract fight. Not because somebody was nice to us, and we want to be nice to them. But because we need to know who’s going to PUT UP and who’s going to SHUT UP. We need to know who’s going to STAND UP with us.
“Joe Biden BET on the American worker and Trump BLAMED the American worker.
“We need to know who’s going to sit in the most powerful seat in the world, and help us win as a UNITED working class. So, if our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it.
“Today I’m proud to announce that UAW is endorsing Joe Biden for President of the United States. And I am honored to invite Joe Biden to come address our great union, and join us in our fight for economic and social justice for the UAW and for the whole working class,” said Fain.
UAW President Shawn Fain on 2024 Presidential Election
“UAW members around the country clocked in today under the same threat they faced yesterday: unchecked corporate greed destroying our lives, our families, and our communities. It’s the threat of companies like Stellantis, Mack Truck, and John Deere shipping jobs overseas to boost shareholder profits. It’s the threat of corporate America telling the working class to sit down and shut up.
“We’ve said all along that no matter who is in the White House, our fight remains the same. The fight to fix our broken trade laws like the USMCA continues. The fight for good union jobs and U.S. leadership in the emerging battery industry continues. The fight for a secure retirement for everyone in this country continues. The fight for a living wage, affordable health care, and time for our families continues.
“It’s time for Washington, DC to put up or shut up, no matter the party, no matter the candidate. Will our government stand with the working class, or keep doing the bidding of the billionaires? That’s the question we face today. And that’s the question we’ll face tomorrow. The answer lies with us. No matter who’s in office.”
Joe Biden made history by joining us on our picket line last September and has stood shoulder to shoulder with the working class throughout his term in office. Vice President Kamala Harris walked the picket line with us in 2019, and along with President Biden has brought work and jobs back to communities like Lordstown, Ohio, and Belvidere, Illinois. That’s the legacy President Biden leaves, and that’s the work we will continue to build on as a union. While Donald Trump lies about rebuilding the auto industry, the fact is that while he was in office, autoworkers in Lordstown were left for dead by GM in 2019 while he said and did nothing.
The path forward is clear: we will defeat Donald Trump and his billionaire agenda and elect a champion for the working class to the highest office in this country. We will speak truth to power about the issues that matter to the working class: a living wage, decent healthcare, a dignified retirement, and taking our lives and our time back. And we will Stand Up for our members and the whole working class in the fight for economic and social justice on and off the job. (UAW statement 21 July 2024)