UAW leader says Trump would send the labor movement into reverse if he’s elected again

UAW leader says Trump would send the labor movement into reverse if he’s elected again
Shawn Fain, head of America's 370,000-member United Auto Workers union, says former US President Donald Trump is “just all talk” and “has never supported working class people.” (AP photo)
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Updated 04 August 2024
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UAW leader says Trump would send the labor movement into reverse if he’s elected again

UAW leader says Trump would send the labor movement into reverse if he’s elected again
  • In an interview, UAW president Shawn Fain said Trump is beholden to billionaires and knows nothing about the auto industry
  • The UAW on Wednesday announced its support for Kamala Harris, saying she “understands the issues" and "is a very strong person"

DETROIT: Putting Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket increases the Democrats’ chance of winning Michigan and keeping the White House in November, the head of the United Auto Workers union says.
In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Shawn Fain said former President Donald Trump is beholden to billionaires, knows nothing about the auto industry and would send the labor movement into reverse if he’s elected again.
“Trump has never supported working class people. He has never supported unions,” Fain said. “But he sure as hell was trying to pander for our votes now.”
Fain has become a top nemesis of the Republican presidential nominee, who frequently rails against him at rallies and in speeches. Trump has called him an idiot, courting autoworkers’ votes by saying Fain is putting their jobs at risk by embracing a move to electric vehicles.
Although the UAW has members across the nation, many auto-making jobs are concentrated in the Great Lakers region and Michigan, a key swing state that could decide the presidential race in November. This week, the UAW endorsed Harris.
Trump and Harris realize that increasing their share of union votes gives them a much better chance of taking Michigan, where the last two presidential elections have been close, said Marick Masters, a business professor emeritus at Wayne State University who follows labor issues.
Trump won the state by just 11,000 votes in 2016 over Democrat Hillary Clinton, and then lost the state four years later by nearly 154,000 votes to President Joe Biden.

 

Appealing to autoworkers helps to get votes from other union members, and union membership is high in the state at about 556,000, Masters said. That doesn’t include thousands of family members and union retirees, he said. Any swing in those votes would be consequential in the race.
During his acceptance speech at the Republican convention last month, Trump called on union workers to fire Fain, using false statements that Chinese auto companies are building factories in Mexico to ship vehicles to the US without tariffs. Industry analysts say they aren’t aware of any such plants under construction, at least not yet.
“You probably have to get rid of this fool, this stupid idiot representing the United Auto Workers,” Trump said at a July 20 rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump claimed that he’ll get 95 percent of the UAW vote because Fain is pushing electric vehicles. “They’re going to be made in China,” he said.
He also pledged to bring the auto industry back from obliteration if he’s elected.
But the industry is far from obliteration. Since Biden took office in January 2021, employment making cars and parts has grown 13.8 percent to just over 1 million people, according to the Labor Department. Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have made billions in annual profits.
Fain dismissed the insults as typical Trump behavior. “All the man does his name call, label people. He never has solutions,” Fain said. “That’s the problem in leadership. You need to find solutions.”
The move from internal combustion vehicles to those powered by electricity is inevitable, Fain said, and union members need to be ready for it. During the transition, auto companies are still making gasoline vehicles and keeping factory workers employed, he said.
Trump, he said, did nothing for autoworkers when General Motors closed its small-car assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in 2019. Biden, who last month announced he would drop out of the race and support Harris, helped to get GM to build an electric vehicle battery plant in the Lordstown area, replacing some of the lost jobs, Fain said.
On Friday, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee said Harris has secured enough votes from delegates to become her party’s nominee.
Fain said he’s confident that Harris will remain an advocate for working people, citing her trip to walk picket lines with striking GM workers in 2019. “She was there with the president through a lot of things we’ve been through,” he said. “She’s been there for labor.”
Of candidates to become Harris’ vice presidential choice, the union prefers Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, followed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Fain said.
The union isn’t backing Arizona Senator Mark Kelly because he has opposed a bill that would boost union organizing, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro favors school vouchers, which would take send tax dollars to private schools and hurt public schools, Fain said.
But even if Harris doesn’t pick one of the union’s favorites, the 370,000-member UAW would still put its political might behind her, Fain said.
“I think she’s a brilliant woman. A very strong person,” Fain said. “She understands the issues. I think Trump’s just all talk. That’s all he’s ever been. He’s a showman.”
In a statement, Trump’s campaign called Fain “a puppet for the Democrat party” who isn’t serving union laborers who are supporting Trump.
“Shawn Fain’s empty words don’t matter — President Trump will take action to fight for the American auto worker,” the statement said.
 


India in mourning after over 240 killed in deadliest aviation disaster in decades

India in mourning after over 240 killed in deadliest aviation disaster in decades
Updated 13 June 2025
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India in mourning after over 240 killed in deadliest aviation disaster in decades

India in mourning after over 240 killed in deadliest aviation disaster in decades
  • Sole flight survivor Ramesh Viswashkumar a British national of Indian origin, is being treated at a hospital, airline confirms
  • London-bound Dreamliner with 242 people on board also killed dozens more when it crashed into a medical college hostel

NEW DELHI, India: Indian authorities were combing the site of one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters on Friday, after an Air India plane crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad less than a minute after takeoff, killing all but one of its passengers. 

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 people on board, also killed dozens more people when it crashed into a medical college hostel located just outside Ahmedabad airport and burst into flames on Thursday afternoon. 

The sole survivor, a British national of Indian origin, is being treated in a hospital, the airline confirmed. 

“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media after visiting the crash site in the capital of his home state of Gujarat. 

The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese and one Canadian. 

The surviving passenger, who was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit in front of the plane’s wing, reportedly managed to jump out. He told Indian media that he had heard a loud noise shortly after flight AI171 took off. 

Various footage showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then sinking and disappearing from the screen, before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses. 

Those killed on board include a family who was visiting India for Eid, a newlywed who is moving to the UK and Vijay Rupani, former chief minister of Gujarat. 

Health authorities are conducting DNA tests to identify bodies, which were mostly charred beyond recognition, as relatives take part and wait for officials to release the remains. 

Suresh Khatika, who was waiting at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where the DNA testing was taking place, said his niece Payal Khatika was among the passengers. 

“Payal was going for further studies and she has taken a loan for it. She was really preparing herself for the day when she would go to the UK for studies,” Khatika told Arab News. 

“It is really tragic that her dream crashed like this. We are in deep pain, and don’t know how to react.” 

Many Indians have also taken to social media to mourn the victims, as their stories circulated widely. Among them is Dr. Pratik Joshi, who was reportedly bringing his wife, Dr. Komi Vyas, and three young children to move to the UK. A picture of the family, believed to be taken on the plane and shared with relatives before takeoff, has garnered millions of views online as messages of condolence poured in. 

In addition to the passengers and crew, dozens more people perished as they were caught in the path of the plane crash. 

Thakur Ravi, a cook at B.J. Medical College, said his mother and two-year-old daughter, who had been on the side of the building where the plane had crashed, were missing. 

“Other helpers and cooks managed to escape but my mother and daughter have been missing since yesterday,” Ravi told Arab News. 

“We are frantically hoping against hope to have my family back. It was a horrible incident. It seemed as if the sky had fallen on us.” 

Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a formal investigation headed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been launched. 

Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies also announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts.

India, the world’s third-largest aviation market, has endured several fatal air crashes on its soil, including in 1996, when two planes collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing around 350 people. In 2010, an Air-India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew onboard. 


Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach

Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach
Updated 13 June 2025
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Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach

Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach

ATLANTA: A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to overhaul elections in the US, siding with a group of Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional.
The Republican president’s March 25 executive order sought to compel officials to require documentary proof of citizenship for everyone registering to vote for federal elections, accept only mailed ballots received by Election Day and condition federal election grant funding on states adhering to the new ballot deadline.
The group of attorneys general said the directive “usurps the States’ constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat.” The White House has defended the order as “standing up for free, fair and honest elections” and called proof of citizenship a “commonsense” requirement.


Hong Kong rights group shuts down after years of advocating for workers

Hong Kong rights group shuts down after years of advocating for workers
Updated 13 June 2025
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Hong Kong rights group shuts down after years of advocating for workers

Hong Kong rights group shuts down after years of advocating for workers
  • Founded in 1994, organization maintained a database tracking workers’ strikes, protests, workplace accidents and other labor rights incidents in China

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong group that advocated for workers rights for decades announced its shutdown abruptly on Thursday, citing financial difficulties and debt issues.
China Labor Bulletin planned to stop updating its website content and appeared to have deleted Facebook and Instagram social media accounts used by the nonprofit rights organization.
“The company can no longer maintain operations and has decided to dissolve and initiate the relevant procedures,” it said in a statement on an archived web page Friday.
Founded in 1994, organization maintained a database tracking workers’ strikes, protests, workplace accidents and other labor rights incidents in China.
As dozens of civil society groups disbanded or left Hong Kong in the wake of the 2020 Beijing-imposed national security law, China Labor Bulletin continued providing valuable resources for journalists and academics in the southern Chinese city.
Critics say the drastic political changes in Hong Kong indicated the decline of Western-style civil liberties that China promised to keep intact when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. However, Beijing and Hong Kong governments insisted the law was crucial to bring stability to the city following massive anti-government protests in 2019.
China Labor Bulletin’s founder Han Dongfang, a former railway worker who participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. He told the Central News Agency of Taiwan that the shutdown was his decision and he would stay in Hong Kong.
Han’s decision appeared sudden to many Hong Kong civil society observers. Three weeks ago, he wrote on social media platform LinkedIn about his work anniversary and his team’s progress.
“Let’s keep our faith up at this abnormal time and continue our important work,” he said.


India in mourning after deadliest aviation disaster in decades

India in mourning after deadliest aviation disaster in decades
Updated 13 June 2025
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India in mourning after deadliest aviation disaster in decades

India in mourning after deadliest aviation disaster in decades
  • Sole flight survivor, a British citizen of Indian origin, is being treated in hospital
  • Family members provide DNA samples to help identify crash victims

NEW DELHI: Indian authorities were combing the site of one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters on Friday, after an Air India plane crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad less than a minute after takeoff, killing all but one of its passengers.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 people on board, killed dozens more people when it crashed into a medical college hostel just outside Ahmedabad airport and burst into flames on Thursday afternoon.

The sole survivor, a British citizen of Indian origin, is being treated in hospital, the airline confirmed.

“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media after visiting the crash site in the capital of his home state of Gujarat.

The passengers comprised 169 Indian citizens, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese and a Canadian.

The surviving passenger, who was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit in front of the plane’s wing, reportedly managed to jump out. He told Indian media that he had heard a loud noise shortly after flight AI171 took off.

Various footage showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then sinking and disappearing from the screen, before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses.

Those killed on board include a family visiting India for Eid, a newlywed who was moving to the UK and Vijay Rupani, former chief minister of Gujarat.

Health authorities are conducting DNA tests to identify bodies, most of which were charred beyond recognition.

Suresh Khatika, who was waiting at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where the DNA testing was taking place, said his niece Payal Khatika was among the passengers.

“Payal was going for further studies and she has taken a loan for it. She was really preparing herself for the day when she would go to the UK for studies,” Khatika told Arab News.

“It is really tragic that her dream crashed like this. We are in deep pain, and don’t know how to react.”

Many Indians have taken to social media to mourn the victims, as their stories circulated widely. Among them is Dr. Pratik Joshi, who was reportedly bringing his wife, Dr. Komi Vyas, and three young children to move to the UK. A picture of the family, believed to be taken on the plane and shared with relatives before takeoff, has garnered millions of views online as messages of condolence poured in.

In addition to the passengers and crew, dozens more people caught in the path of the plane crash perished.

Thakur Ravi, a cook at B.J. Medical College, said his mother and 2-year-old daughter, who were on the side of the building where the plane crashed, were missing. 

“Other helpers and cooks managed to escape but my mother and daughter have been missing since yesterday,” Ravi told Arab News.

“We are frantically hoping against hope to have my family back. It was a horrible incident. It seemed as if the sky had fallen on us.”

India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a formal investigation led by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been launched.

Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies also announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts.

India, the world’s third-largest aviation market, has suffered several fatal air crashes on its soil, including in 1996, when two planes collided in mid-air over New Delhi, killing about 350 people. In 2010, an Air-India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew onboard.


Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security

Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security
Updated 13 June 2025
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Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security

Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security

TOKYO: Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya met with Dileita Mohamed Dileita, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Djibouti, on Friday and praised the “deepening of cooperation between the two countries in the field of maritime security.”

Iwaya stated that Djibouti, located at the southern end of the Red Sea and an important sea lane linking Europe and Asia, is a strategically important partner in the quest for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).”

Referring to the good relations between the two countries and his own special attachment toward Japan, President Dileita expressed his appreciation and gratitude for Japan’s development cooperation in various fields and for the Self-Defense Force facility in Djibouti, noting the strategic importance of his country.

The two sides exchanged views on issues that included the regional situation in Africa and in East Asia and agreed to further strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in regional and international arena, with a view to TICAD 9 in August and Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

• This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan