The union workers who could determine the election
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 23 October 2024
⏱️ 33 minutes
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Summary
This year, several large unions withheld their endorsements for a presidential candidate – a move that upset Democrats, because the majority of unions have always endorsed Democratic candidates. This was reflective of a shift that’s been happening since the 2016 election, with more and more union members moving to the right.
This division was on display when labor reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley visited the Ford auto plant in Wayne, Michigan, a factory in a critical swing state. Workers told her that they listen to MSNBC and Joe Rogan while they work and wear shirts in support of former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Some said they were still undecided.
Host Martine Powers spoke with Lauren about why this shift to the right has happened and what workers at the auto plant told her about how they’re deciding whom to vote for.
Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson, with help from Emma Talkoff. It was mixed by Sean Carter. And edited by Reena Flores, with help from Monica Campbell. Thanks to Mike Madden.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In Wayne, Michigan, there's an auto plant. In some ways, it's a normal factory. The workers there spend their 10-hour shifts assembling cars. They put together Ford Broncos and Rangers. But it's also a pivotal place for the |
| 0:16.2 | election where workers in this swing state know their votes might matter a lot in a tight race. |
| 0:22.4 | It's a union plan, a UAW plant, United |
| 0:24.7 | Auto Workers plant, and unions have long played a critical role in mobilizing |
| 0:29.3 | their members to vote. Union members typically vote for Democrats, but in recent years that dynamic has shifted at |
| 0:36.8 | places like Michigan's Ford Assembly Plant in Wayne and it shifted right. |
| 0:42.3 | That's labor reporter Lauren |
| 0:44.5 | Cowrie Gurley. She traveled to this auto assembly plant last month to |
| 0:48.8 | talk to workers and this is Michigan which former President Donald Trump lost by less than three percentage points in the last election. |
| 0:57.0 | It is critical to Vice President Kamla Harris's path to victory. |
| 1:01.0 | So Lauren wanted to know why this shift to the right was happening and she |
| 1:06.4 | wanted to find out how workers were deciding who to vote for. |
| 1:09.8 | I wasn't allowed inside of the factory itself but I stood outside on this huge sort of road and tried to informally poll workers as they were leaving their jobs during shift change |
| 1:26.3 | as sort of a mad hour of the day about how they were planning to vote in November. |
| 1:34.0 | These workers told Warren about how obsessed with politics they were. |
| 1:38.0 | Some of them said they put on headphones at work so they can listen to MS NBC or Joe Rogan. Others wear Trump or Harris shirts to the |
| 1:46.1 | factory every day. These are people who don't shy away from talking about which |
| 1:51.2 | candidate they like. |
| 1:52.8 | I talked to 25 people during one shift, |
| 1:55.0 | about a third said they were supporting Trump. |
| 1:57.5 | America is a business, right? |
| 2:00.0 | And it was ran amazing by President Trump. |
... |
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