(C) Common Dreams
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UAW president voices concerns about Kelly, Shapiro amid Harris' running mate search [1]
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Date: 2024-08-01
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said in a Thursday interview that he sees some "troubling" stances on labor matters held by at least two of the Democrats who are being considered as potential running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Fain, an influential figure in Democratic politics, noted that Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly didn't come out as an early supporter of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), which aimed to provide safeguards for collective bargaining in workplaces, and that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has backed school vouchers, which allow families to use public dollars to send their children to private schools.
However, ultimately, Fain said his union, which endorsed Harris for president on Wednesday, will support the Democratic ticket regardless of whom Harris selects.
"At the end of the day, we have to defeat Donald Trump," Fain said of the Republican nominee. "Another Donald Trump presidency would be a complete disaster for this country and for working-class people in this country."
Democratic President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid on July 21 and endorsed Harris, a former U.S. senator from California, to take his spot as the party's nominee. Since then, Democratic leaders have coalesced their support around Harris, and her campaign has been weighing whom to select as her running mate.
Harris is expected to appear with her pick at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Harris and the UAW are planning a campaign rally together Wednesday in Metro Detroit that will include her running mate. Details of the Michigan event have not yet been released.
In an interview with The Detroit News, Fain voiced support for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear or Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz joining Harris on the ticket. Fain described them as being solid on labor and working-class issues.
"I would definitely say ... Beshear is my favorite," Fain told The News. "I think that Beshear is the best candidate for us. I believe that Walz is very close."
Fain said it was a "concern" that Kelly hadn't publicly backed the PRO Act earlier.
On July 24, three days after Biden dropped out of the race, Kelly endorsed the legislation, according to the Huffington Post.
“I would have voted for it on Day 1,” Kelly told the Huffington Post. “I would vote for it today. I am, like a lot of legislation, working to make it better.
"But if it came to the floor today or any day going back to the day I was sworn in, I would vote for it.”
As for Shapiro, Fain said the Pennsylvania governor has supported taxpayer-funded private school vouchers. That's a "big issue" because public education has been under attack by the Republican Party, the UAW leader contended.
Public sector labor unions representing teachers and other education staff have long opposed taxpayer-funded vouchers for students to attend private schools.
"We all know what the voucher system is," Fain said. "It's a system where the rich people can have the taxpayers fund their kids' private education."
The media outlet Spotlight PA reported last week that Shapiro had become the most prominent Democratic voice in Pennsylvania for taxpayer-funded private school vouchers.
"I think it's very important that we fully fund public education,” Shapiro said in 2022, according to Spotlight PA. “And I also think it's really important that we empower parents to put their kids in the best place for them to be able to succeed.”
In the interview Thursday, Fain said his union endorsed Harris because of her record, including spending made by the Biden-Harris administration in auto manufacturing and battery plants, and the fact that she visited striking General Motors Co. workers on the picket line in 2019.
"Trump was president then," Fain said. "But Trump was nowhere to be found."
Trump has repeatedly clashed with Fain during the 2024 campaign. At the Republican National Convention, Trump said Fain should be fired as the UAW's leader.
The Republican nominee made his comment after saying China was building auto plants across the southern border in Mexico and planning to sell Mexican-assembled vehicles into the United States.
"The United Auto Workers ought to be ashamed for allowing this to happen," Trump said at the GOP convention last month. "And the leader of the United Auto Workers should be fired immediately. And every single auto worker, union and non-union, should be voting for Donald Trump."
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[1] Url:
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2024/08/01/uaw-president-shawn-fain-voices-concerns-about-mark-kelly-josh-shapiro-kamala-harris-vp-andy-beshear/74635714007/
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