The Harris-Walz campaign rolled into Michigan Wednesday for yet another rally, with a who’s who of local Democratic politicians lined up to speak. The list included Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Charlie Gilchrist, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Senator Debbie Stabenow and Representative Elissa Slotkin. United Auto Workers’ President Shawn Fain also spoke, and if he held back, it didn’t show, as he called Donald Trump “a scab” who “doesn’t know shit about the auto industry.”
Fain took the stage to a crowd chanting “U-A-W” and wasted no time setting the tone for the rest of his speech:
As the president of UAW, I have the honor of fighting for economic and social justice for our members, for the entire working class… To me, this election is real simple. It’s about one question. It’s a question we’ve made famous in the labor movement. Which side are you on? And this is a simple question in this election because on one side, you’ve got a billionaire who serves himself and his billionaire buddies… And on the other side, we’ve got a strong, intelligent, and I’m just going to put bluntly, a badass woman.
Following a massive cheer from the crowd, Fain continued, saying, “And I gotta finish that sentence. A badass woman who stood on the picket line with striking workers.”
The theme of defending the working class continued through his speech as he drew a hard line between what Democrats want for the country versus Republicans’ plans. He also praised Tim Walz for being “one of us. He’s a working-class guy. He knows working-class values… He’s a teacher. He’s a coach. He’s a governor, but best of all, he’s a proud union member, and he always puts the working class first.”
In contrast, Fain called Donald Trump “a scab” and JD Vance “a vulture.” He then took aim at Trump again, saying, “He comes to Michigan. He talks about how he’s going to bring back the auto industry. Let me tell you something. Donald Trump doesn’t know shit about the auto industry, and he doesn’t give a damn about the working class in this country.”
He went on to say Trump didn’t do anything for auto workers during his presidency, including in 2019 when GM workers went on strike in an attempt to save closing factories. In contrast, he reminded the crowd that Harris was “on the line with striking workers” and had worked with President Biden and the UAW to save factories. Fain also took a shot at Trump for changing his stance on electric vehicles now that Elon Musk supports him.
On inflation, he said:
This is the reality of inflation. It’s hurting Americans, but what they don’t talk about is what the cause of the inflation is. Inflation wasn’t policy-driven. It wasn’t the president’s policy. It was greed-driven, and thanks to Donald Trump’s inaction while he was president during a COVID pandemic, the billionaire class and the corporate class do what they do best — they use a pandemic to price-gouge the hell out of people.
Fain then attacked the wealthy for attempting to divide the working class, leading to one of the most memorable moments from his speech, saying, “They try to divide us by gender. They try to divide us by nationality. They try to divide us by race. They talk about who you love, where you’re from, or how you look. The working class has been left behind, and I don’t know how you feel, but I’m fucking angry!”
He ended his speech after about 20 minutes with the line, “This is our generation’s dividing moment, and this election is our opportunity to take our lives back. So Michigan, let’s get to work.”
If anyone thought the UAW not immediately endorsing Harris was a sign the union didn’t fully support her presidential nomination, last night proved that couldn’t be further from the truth. The UAW isn’t just anti-Trump and anti-Vance. It’s fully pro-Kamala-Walz, the only candidates in the election who actually give a damn about the working class.
