Members of the United Auto Workers union got up close and personal with the Democratic presidential candidates at a union hall in Wayne on Thursday.
Joined by Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris told a group of about 150 UAW members that the government should stay out of their lives.
“We want to recognize the right of all people to freedom and independence to make choices, especially when it comes to their hearts and homes, and not to have the government tell them what to do,” Harris said.
The event was held at UAW Local 900 – across from the Ford stamping plant in Wayne. Shauna Lewis, a worker at the Ford plant, says former President Donald Trump’s past actions show he doesn’t care about the working class.
“It says a lot when we go on strike and our former president came to Michigan and visited an assembly plant where there isn’t even a union – that spoke volumes,” she said.
Harris did not answer questions from reporters at the event, but responded to a shouted question that she would debate Trump in September.
Trump spoke for more than an hour on Thursday in his first press conference since Harris became the Democratic nominee, confirming that he Debate with Harris on September 10 and said he would campaign for two more debates. He also made several false claims during the press conference and called Harris “stupid” several times.
UAW President Shawn Fain says the vice president should not worry.
“Well, he calls me stupid too, so I say that’s just regular Donald Trump,” Fain said.
Harris told rallygoers in Wayne that the Republican candidate was running for president only for personal reasons.
In his speech on Thursday, Walz – one of the union’s favorites for Harris’s running mate – said another Trump administration would be a threat to workers.
“One of the goals of this is simple. And they know that, because it’s been going on forever. Get rid of the unions and get rid of the voices that we bring. Then they can do whatever they want.”
Donald Trump has said – and his campaign continues to claim – that no president has done more for auto workers than he has.
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