United Auto Workers (UAW) members told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the union leadership's support for President Joe Biden is not factored into their opinions about the 2024 presidential election. .

UAW President Sean Fein announced Wednesday that the union will support Biden in the 2024 presidential election, despite former President Donald Trump's efforts to dissuade leadership. DCNF has talked with rank-and-file autoworkers about their support for Biden, and many union members are not planning to vote for him because of Biden's views on trade and electric vehicles (EVs). He also stated that there was no consensus among the leadership. Same benefits as workers. (Related: Democrats' demands on automakers could backfire on their climate problems and Americans' wallets, experts say)

Joe Pizzimenti worked as an hourly worker at Ford's Sterling plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, for 30 years and was a lifelong member of the UAW. He told DCNF that the union members he works with are independent thinkers and support union representation, but he doesn't feel pressured to vote based on support for the UAW. .

“For me, this endorsement is not a big deal because I can think for myself and I am not alone,” Pizzimenti told DCNF. “I support the union and happily pay my dues every month, but I can decide on my own ballot.”

“Many of my colleagues and I view the Biden administration as hostile to the interests of the American auto industry and, by extension, UAW members,” Pizzimenti continued. “Even worse, many of us believe that Democratic policies are hostile to middle-class Americans and certainly to our families.”

Nelson Westrick, who has been a member of UAW Local 228 for more than 27 years and also works at the Ford Sterling Axle Plant, said he does not consider himself a Republican, but rather an America First Trump supporter. Ta.

“I personally adopted almost 28 years ago, and back then anyone who didn’t vote could adopt. [Democrat] They had so much control over the plant population that they didn't have much say in politics. [Democrats]; I think it was about 85% [Democrat] and 15% [Republican] At the time,” Westrick told DCNF. “As it stands now, people are very openly expressing their support for Trump by wearing Trump hats, shirts, and other attire.”

“We don't really trust what the UAW leadership says. It was only a few years ago that about 15 of them were sent to federal prison for robbing our members, and that's probably what it's all about.” It's been going on for ten years,” Westerick continued.

UAW members remain distrustful of union leadership after it was revealed that a number of union leaders were involved in corruption scandals, with 15 people convicted by the end of 2020. Between 2010 and 2019, when two former UAW presidents were found to have embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars in union dues.

Another UAW union member, Chris, currently works as an employee at the Stellantis Technology Center in Michigan and has been involved with the union since 1994. He sympathizes with President Trump's trade policies, which he believes will level the U.S. on the global playing field; He hated the corruption of former UAW leaders and even encouraged fellow union members to vote for Sean Fein as the anti-corruption candidate.

“Sean Fein was the first president in UAW history to be elected directly by union members, but he was mindful that someone who held office during an era of corruption but was not indicted could be elected. I want it to stay,” Chris told DCNF. “So his 500-vote victory was less a heartfelt endorsement and more a rejection of past corruption. Sean Fein, the pro-reform candidate who I encouraged my colleagues to vote for, was blindsided by the Democratic candidate.” I'm extremely disappointed in the continued madness of supporting the US. What is taken for granted says nothing about the systemic problems facing American workers in the global marketplace. That there is no progress is as clear as the nose on his face. President Trump was not only a champion of free trade for American industry, but also a champion of fair trade. He did exactly what foreign leaders did. They did the same thing…they prioritized the people they were elected to represent.”

“Let me be clear: the vast majority of our members will not vote for President Biden,” United Auto Workers President Sean Fein declared last night.clock pic.twitter.com/Ak55hmhn7q

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 25, 2024

“Lobster doesn't need to know the boiling point of water to know it's being cooked,” Chris told DCNF. “And that's how I describe it. My colleagues may not necessarily understand how it's done, but for decades the federal government has I know there's very little interest in that. Look no further than Flint or Detroit.”

The Biden administration has clashed with the UAW in the past over the president's push to make half of all new cars electric by 2023, and autoworkers fear their current jobs will disappear. In August 2023, Fein criticized Biden's support by pointing out that EV jobs pay poorly and calling some factory jobs “poverty-level.”

“Almost all of my co-workers don't like Biden, but that doesn't mean they like Trump,” Andy Morrow, a millwright at the Ford Sterling Axle plant for 31 years, told DCNF. “UAW leaders don't feel the need to speak on my behalf. I work in an axle factory and I know that electric cars don't have rear axles. Many people on the factory floor say Trump Either they support him or they're Republicans, but they don't talk about it openly.”

Trump is trying to win support from blue-collar workers like those represented by the UAW, and the former president skipped the second Republican primary debate in September and instead spoke at a rally in Detroit, Michigan. did. In January, the presidential candidate also met with Sean O'Brien, president of the International Teamsters organization, which has more than 1 million members, to discuss “issues that matter” to workers.

Brian Pannebecker, a former UAW member who worked for both Chrysler and Ford in Michigan, founded Auto Workers For Trump before the 2016 presidential election. He noted that members can benefit from union positions by campaigning for the UAW's preferred candidates, and emphasized the incentives unions provide for local leadership positions.

“In the last 15 to 20 years, workers have grown in terms of understanding political parties and looking at political parties to just stand in line and say, 'Dad always voted Democrat, Grandpa always voted Democrat.' I'd say I'm much more sophisticated, rather than say, “I always voted Democratic.'' ” Now they're starting to look at these politicians and say, “Well, our jobs are going to Mexico.'' Our factory is closed. ” This has been going on for 20 to 30 years, and the Democratic Party holds the decision-making power. So they wise up and say no. People like Reagan and Trump come along and they speak our language. ”

The UAW and Biden campaign did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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