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.
 


Zelensky says Ukraine’s victory ‘depends’ on United States

Zelensky says Ukraine’s victory ‘depends’ on United States
Updated 58 min 29 sec ago
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Zelensky says Ukraine’s victory ‘depends’ on United States

Zelensky says Ukraine’s victory ‘depends’ on United States
  • “As for the plan for victory... it depends mostly on the support of the United States. And other partners,” Zelensky said
  • Zelensky has said he will outline a plan to end the war by November

KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukraine’s plan to defeat Russia depended on Washington’s support, speaking as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv.
“As for the plan for victory... it depends mostly on the support of the United States. And other partners,” Zelensky said in a press conference.
His remarks come just under two months before US elections that could be challenging for Ukraine if Donald Trump is back in the White House.
Trump aides have suggested that if he wins, he would leverage aid to force Kyiv into territorial concessions to Russia to end the war.
Zelensky has said he will outline a plan to end the war by November.
He has argued that a surprise incursion by Ukrainian troops into Russia’s Kursk region allows Kyiv to enter potential negotiations from a position of strength.
Ukraine held a peace summit in June in Switzerland with leaders and top officials from more than 90 countries but did not invite Russia.
Zelensky has since said Moscow should be included in the next gathering.
The Kremlin has ruled out talks since the assault in Kursk, and has demanded Ukraine cede swathes of territory for a ceasefire.


Philippines deadliest place for environmental defenders in Asia, rights group says

Philippines deadliest place for environmental defenders in Asia, rights group says
Updated 11 September 2024
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Philippines deadliest place for environmental defenders in Asia, rights group says

Philippines deadliest place for environmental defenders in Asia, rights group says
  • Global Witness recorded 17 killings of environmentalists in Philippines in 2023
  • Colombia was the deadliest country for environmental activists, with 79 killed

MANILA: The Philippines is the deadliest country in Asia for environment defenders, the latest Global Witness report shows, with the country recording the most environmental killings in the region for over a decade.

At least 196 environmentalists and land activists were killed globally in 2023, according to UK advocacy group’s estimates released earlier this week.

The figure brings the total number of people killed for trying to protect their homes, community or the planet to 2,106 since 2012, when Global Witness started its monitoring.

Colombia was the deadliest country for environmentalists and land rights defenders in 2023, the Philippines was fourth.

“Colombia had record-high defender killings in 2023 with 79 deaths: the highest annual total ever recorded by Global Witness Followed by Brazil (25), Mexico (18) and Honduras (18) and the Philippines (17),” the report read.

At the same time, the Philippines was the third — preceded only by Colombia and Brazil — in the total number of such killings since the first Global Witness report, with 298 environmental and land activists killed between 2012 and 2023.

The report also highlighted “cases of enforced disappearances and abductions, pointed tactics used in both the Philippines and Mexico in particular, as well as the wider use of criminalisation as a tactic to silence activists across the world.”

Besides the Philippines, only two other Asian countries are featured in this year’s report: India, where five activists were killed, and Indonesia, where three such killings were recorded.

Jashaf Shamir Lorenzo, environmentalists and head of research at BAN Toxics Philippines, told Arab News that environmentalists were oppressed in a number of ways.

“The most extreme cases include red-tagging, abduction, and even killings ... It seems that environmentalists who are most at risk are those who get in the way of big industries, big politicians. It doesn’t really differ much from what we see happening to journalists, human rights defenders, and activists,” he said.

“We need the government to really take action — environmental concerns have always been a big part of political platforms for decades, but major incidences of abuse point towards a lack of commitment to not only protect the environment, but to protect its stewards.”

He said impunity of the abusers has been aided by government inaction since the times of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who was in office from 2016 to 2022.

“Ever since Duterte, the government has been really lenient with these things,” he said.

“Unless the government really commits to protecting the environment, these abuses will only worsen.”


UK summons Iranian charge d’affaires over transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia

An Iranian Shahab-3 missile rises into the air after being test-fired at an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert. (AFP)
An Iranian Shahab-3 missile rises into the air after being test-fired at an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert. (AFP)
Updated 11 September 2024
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UK summons Iranian charge d’affaires over transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia

An Iranian Shahab-3 missile rises into the air after being test-fired at an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert. (AFP)
  • “UK Government was clear in that any transfer of Ballistic Missiles to Russia would be seen as a dangerous escalation and would face a significant response”: Ministry

LONDON: Britain’s foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires, the country’s most senior diplomat in London, over the transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia.
“Today, in coordination with European partners and upon instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Iranian Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The UK Government was clear in that any transfer of Ballistic Missiles to Russia would be seen as a dangerous escalation and would face a significant response.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday during a visit to London that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and would likely use them in its war in Ukraine within weeks.
On Tuesday, Britain, the US and European allies all condemned the move.
Britain sanctioned Iranian individuals and entities involved in drone and missile production, as well as Russian cargo ships it said were involved in transporting the missiles from Iran to Russia.


Russia pushes back Ukrainian troops in some areas of Kursk, commander says

Russia pushes back Ukrainian troops in some areas of Kursk, commander says
Updated 11 September 2024
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Russia pushes back Ukrainian troops in some areas of Kursk, commander says

Russia pushes back Ukrainian troops in some areas of Kursk, commander says
  • Major General Apti Alaudinov, who commands Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces fighting in Kursk, said that Russian troops had gone on the offensive and taken back control
  • “A total of about 10 settlements in the Kursk region have been liberated”

MOSCOW: Russian forces have begun a significant counter-offensive against Ukrainian troops who smashed their way into western Russia last month, and have taken some territory back, pro-Moscow war bloggers and a senior Russian commander said.
Ukraine on Aug. 6 launched the biggest foreign attack on Russia since World War Two, bursting through the border into the region of Kursk with thousands of troops supported by swarms of drones and heavy weaponry, including Western-made arms.
Major General Apti Alaudinov, who commands Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces fighting in Kursk, said that Russian troops had gone on the offensive and taken back control of about 10 settlements in Kursk, TASS reported.
“The situation is good for us,” said Alaudinov, who is also deputy head of the Russian defense ministry’s military-political department.
“A total of about 10 settlements in the Kursk region have been liberated,” he said.
Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports due to reporting restrictions on both sides of the war. Russia’s defense ministry said it had defeated Ukrainian units at a number of villages in Kursk.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that his forces controlled 100 settlements in Kursk region over an area of more than 1,300 sq km (500 sq miles), a figure disputed by Russian sources.
Yuri Podolyaka, an Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, and two other influential bloggers — Rybar and the Two Majors — said that Russian forces had begun a significant counter-offensive in Kursk.
“In the Kursk region, the Russian Army launched counter-offensive actions on the western flank of the enemy’s wedge, reducing the Ukrainian zone of control near the state border,” the Two Majors blog said.
Podolyaka said that Russian forces had taken several villages on the west of the sliver of Russia that Ukraine carved out, pushing Ukrainian forces to the east of the Malaya Loknya River south of Snagost.
Russian forces also advanced in eastern Ukraine, and were fighting in the center of the town of Ukrainsk in the Donetsk region, according to Russian war bloggers and open source maps of the war.


Italian court ends detention for MSF migrant rescue ship

Italian court ends detention for MSF migrant rescue ship
Updated 11 September 2024
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Italian court ends detention for MSF migrant rescue ship

Italian court ends detention for MSF migrant rescue ship
  • A court in Salerno, the southern Italian port where the vessel had been blocked, suspended the measure, the charity wrote on X
  • “The ship is free to rescue lives!” it said

ROME: The international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders — MSF) on Wednesday obtained the release of its migrant rescue ship, which had been grounded two weeks ago by Italy’s right-wing government.
MSF’s Geo Barents vessel was handed a 60-day detention order, the longest on record, for allegedly failing to properly coordinate with Italian and Libyan authorities as it picked up migrants off Libya on Aug. 23.
A court in Salerno, the southern Italian port where the vessel had been blocked, suspended the measure, the charity wrote on X.
“The ship is free to rescue lives!” it said.


The detention order was the third against the vessel, and the longest to date. MSF International President Christos Christou traveled to Salerno to support the organization’s appeal against it.
“At this exact moment the Mediterranean is a huge emergency room and Geo Barents and the doctors are sitting in a corner with their hands tied,” Christou told Reuters, accusing the government of obstructing humanitarian sea rescues.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has passed legislation to curb the activities of NGOs in the Mediterranean, including by impounding of their vessels or forcing them to travel long distances to disembark migrants, increasing their fuel costs.
Christou dismissed government charges against the MSF ship, saying it had been “waiting for instructions” as it approached a migrant boat, and spontaneously picked up its passengers after they jumped into the sea.
Meloni has defended her approach, pledging at a cabinet meeting last month to launch another crackdown — this time on migrant work permits — and saying the fall in sea arrivals under her watch also resulted in fewer migrant drownings.
“The only way to prevent further tragedies at sea is to stop departures and fight unscrupulous traffickers,” she said.
The MSF chief said Meloni’s claims overlooked the fact that many deaths at sea go unreported, and argued that migrants blocked on their way to Italy would reach Europe via other routes.
In the year to date, there have been about 44,500 sea arrivals in Italy, and around 1,100 people drowned or went missing at sea. Year-on-year, arrivals are down by 62 percent, while the dead or missing have fallen by a lesser extent — about 50 percent.
As part of its deterrence strategy, Meloni’s government is also building detention camps in Albania for migrants picked up at sea. The plan, hit by delays and criticism from human rights advocates, is expected to be operational within weeks.
Christou said MSF had “serious concerns” about the initiative, calling it “another new way of externalizing the duty of the Italians and Europeans” to assist people fleeing from poverty or conflict.