UAW Files Divorce Papers from the Democratic Party

On March 26, 2025, the UAW came out with a detailed and strong support of Donald Trump’s announcement of protectionist tariffs of 25 percent on automobiles imported into the U.S. Not only that, they also told the Democratic Party that the party is over: 

The UAW and the working class in general couldn’t care less about party politics; working people expect leaders to work together to deliver results. The UAW has been clear: we will work with any politician, regardless of party, who is willing to reverse decades of working-class people going backwards in the most profitable times in our nation’s history. These tariffs are a major step in the right direction for autoworkers and blue-collar communities across the country. (emphasis added)

The Age of NAFTA is OVER

The UAW statement entitled, In a Victory for Autoworkers, Auto Tariffs Mark the Beginning of the End of NAFTA and the “Free Trade” Disaster, was a powerful indictment of previous decades policies, 

“We applaud the Trump administration for stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working class communities for decades. Ending the race to the bottom in the auto industry starts with fixing our broken trade deals, and the Trump administration has made history with today’s actions,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.

The statement also listed a dozen auto plants, seven of which are in Michigan, which have cut back production and laid off workers in recent years because of free trade policies. The UAW makes the point that, by adding shifts or lines at these underutilized plants,

“thousands of good-paying blue collar auto jobs could be brought back to working-class communities across the United States within a matter of months.” 

As strong as the UAW written statement was, a video put out by Fain the day before was even stronger. (It’s a tad hard to believe that Fain’s statement and the President’s order came out on the same day by accident.)

The "Giant Sucking Sound"

In the video 👆, Fain plays the famous “giant sucking sound” section from the George Bush-Bill Clinton-Ross Perot debate of 1992 and says that he, as a 22-year-old electrician apprentice, decided then and there to vote for Ross Perot.

Fain’s defense of tariffs sounds like it is coming out of a White House briefing book. He lights into the “economists and talking heads” who say that tariffs are bad for the economy.

“You know what’s bad for the economy? Letting corporations ship jobs to other countries where workers make $3 an hour so the company can sell a truck for $100,000 and pocket the savings. While American workers and Mexican workers scrape to get by…The experts said NAFTA would help the working class. They were wrong. Ross Perot was right.”

A few of the comments under the video reflect the change going on:

• UAW and Trump fighting together. The world is full of miracles
• 18 year auto worker here.   FINALLY YOU'RE SEEING IT!
• Trump!!!!! Fain!!!!!!! UAW for Trump!!!!!!!!

Watch the short 3 ½ minute video.

If you are like me, whose family goes back to Henry Ford’s original Piquette plant in Detroit, watching the images of auto plants being dismantled and destroyed, only strengthens one’s commitment to reverse this race to the bottom and to make the auto industry great again, ready to be the foundation for turning the United States into a manufacturing superpower—as Donald Trump has pledged to do.