Former President Donald Trump is warning United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain against "allowing all electric cars" as auto workers prepare to strike.
UAW auto workers have authorized a strike after the expiration of their current contract with the "big three" United States carmakers expires on September 14, with manufacturers so far having dismissed union demands as unrealistic.
One of the sticking points for a new contract involves adjusting pay rates and hours due to the industry's impending transition to electric vehicles (EVs), which require fewer workers to assemble than traditional vehicles.
In a Labor Day post on Truth Social, Trump, currently campaigning as the leading Republican 2024 presidential candidate while facing 91 felony charges across four criminal indictments, denounced the push for EVs as the "idiotic policy" of President Joe Biden. The ex-president predicted that the auto industry would end if Fain did not reject EVs.
"Shawn Fain, the respected President of the United Auto Workers, cannot even think about allowing ALL ELECTRIC CARS - THEY WILL ALL BE MADE IN CHINA, and the Auto Industry in America will cease to exist!" Trump wrote. "There is already a giant 'E GLUT,' they don't go far or long, are very expensive, and the consumer must be given a CHOICE."
"Vote for TRUMP, and I will stop this Madness, IMMEDIATELY!" he said. "Mexico & Canada LOVE Biden's idiotic policy. SAVE MICHIGAN and the other Auto States. SAVE THE AMERICAN CONSUMER!!!"
Newsweek reached out to UAW via email for comment on Monday evening.
While not yet finalized, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new emissions rule that could require 67 percent of vehicles sold by 2032 to be electric. Some have criticized the goal as unrealistic.
The Biden administration last week announced a $15.5 billion investment to "support a strong and just transition" to EVs, including retooling manufacturing facilities and expanding domestic EV battery production.
Biden called the plan a "win‑win opportunity for auto companies and unionized workers" in a statement, insisting that it would allow jobs to stay in the U.S. and "avoid painful plant closings."
Fain endorsed the transition to EVs and Biden's policy in a statement issued a short time later, arguing that it would help ensure that "jobs and communities are protected."
"We are glad to see the Biden Administration doing its part to reject the false choice between a good job and a green job," the union president said. "The UAW looks forward to continue working with the Biden Administration to ensure a just transition for the auto workers in this country."
Trump further denounced the move towards EVs in a video released Monday on X, formerly Twitter, calling it a "transition to hell" and insisting that auto workers would be jobless if they did not reject the move and vote for him in 2024.
"I'll straighten it out, but you have to vote for Trump. You have to vote for Trump. You can't listen to these union guys that get paid a lot of money," the former president says in the video.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
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