Union protesters gathered in Detroit, Michigan, to rally Monday against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) organized a demonstration against Trump to coincide with a speech he’s giving on economic policy at the COBO Convention Center. Though Trump has won significant support among the white working class, the union claims his policies would actually be disastrous for their economic interests.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) organized the protest against Trump to coincide with his speech on economic policy.
“We need to send a strong message that he’s not welcome in Michigan,” the UAW said in a press release. “Trump would be an absolute disaster for working people in Michigan.”
The UAW has utilized social media and text message alerts to promote and organize the protest. The Michigan Democratic Party, among other political groups, also helped to promote the event. Protestors began gathering outside the convention center hours before Trump was scheduled to take the stage there at 11:30am.
The union denounced the hotel mogul for suggesting a couple Michigan automaker plants should close. Ford Motors was planning to move some operations to Mexico last August, but Trump suggested in an interview with The Detroit News the automaker could instead move plants to states with a lower cost of labor.
The UAW also took issue with earlier comments he made about wages. Trump suggested Jan. 14 during the Fox Business Republican debate that wages were too high. He said before that on December 2015 that wages were too low. He now believes the policy should be left to the states.
Trump and the labor movement do have some agreement on economic policy. Both believe there should be restrictions on free trade to prevent companies from outsourcing workers. Both believe it should be more difficult for companies to move operations overseas.
Trump has opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership out of concern the massive trade deal will lead to increased outsourcing. Many national unions hold a similar position on the trade deal. Trump and unions tend not to highlight how much they actually have in common.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment by InsideSources.
