Republican debate: UAW takes center state to start debate
Zachary Halaschak
Video Embed
The historic United Auto Workers strike took center stage on Wednesday at the start of the second Republican presidential primary debate.
The first question of the debate, which was hosted by Fox Business, centered on the strike, which has featured work stoppages at dozens of auto plants across the country. Throughout the start of the debate, several candidates referenced the situation in the Rust Belt.
UAW STRIKE: FOUR-DAY WORKWEEK FAVORED BY UNION GAINING IN POPULARITY
The moderators began by asking Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) about his recent remarks about the strike in which he endorsed President Ronald Reagan’s famous decision to fire thousands of federal workers in 1981 who did not return to work when ordered to.
“Obviously the president of the United States cannot fire anybody in the private sector,” Scott responded. “However, we should look back at the first bill in Congress under Joe Biden. The first bill had $86 billion for union pensions because they continue to overpromise yet underdeliver.”
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was asked a follow-up question about whether he agreed with Scott. Ramaswamy said he doesn’t support union leadership but does understand the frustrations that the workers had. He said their anger should be less focused on the automakers and more on federal bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
“I’ll say that I don’t have a lot of patience for the union bosses,” Ramaswamy said. “I do have a lot of sympathy for the workers.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence said he supported the right to work of every American and their right to either join a union or decide not to join a union. He also chastised President Joe Biden’s recent decision to stand with the striking UAW workers in Michigan.
“Joe Biden doesn’t belong on a picket line. He belongs on the unemployment line,” Pence quipped.
Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) tore into the Biden administration’s push away from gas-powered cars and support for electric vehicles, which he blamed for hurting union workers, a common refrain from many of the 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls.
“The reason why people are striking in Detroit is because of Joe Biden’s interference with capital markets and with free markets,” Burgum said.
UAW, the country’s largest auto union, announced the strike on Sept. 14, just before workers’ existing contracts lapsed. The strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis began with just three plants facing work stoppages, but UAW President Shawn Fain recently announced a major expansion, bringing the number of plants up to 38 locations across 20 states.
Given the historic context of the strike, it is getting outsize attention from some of the 2024 candidates. Biden made the decision to briefly join the UAW picket line, something that critics have said amounts to taking sides in the dispute.
Meanwhile, rather than participating in the presidential debate, former President Donald Trump is addressing a group of former and current UAW members in Michigan. Trump has focused less on the direct demands of the union but rather has taken aim at the Biden administration’s support for transitioning away from gas-powered cars in favor of electric vehicles.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The strike has serious economic implications for the country. The last time UAW went on strike, a six-week stoppage against GM in 2019, it cost the auto giant some $3.6 billion, and Michigan, home of many GM workers, experienced a recession during that quarter.
The issue is a pressing one for Biden because he is trying to walk a fine line between retaining union support in key battleground states like Michigan while avoiding yet another economic headache brought on by protracted work stoppages.