UAW President Sean Fain Supports Trump’s Tariffs. Here’s Why

United Automobile Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain speaks as UAW members and their supporters ... [+] gather for Solidarity Sunday at the UAW Region 1 office in Warren, Michigan, on August 20, 2023. The rally takes place just 25 days before the union's contract with the Big Three automakers is set to expire. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
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In today’s broadcast of This Week with George Stephanopoulos, UAW President Sean Fain came out in support of President Trump’s tariffs. Why would a labor president of the sixth largest union in America, one that typically favors Democrats over Republicans, come out on a major network in support of the president’s policies? Here’s why.
Fain’s Comments on Trump’s Tariffs and Trade
Fain was asked why he supports Trump’s tariffs. Here’s what he said. “We’re in a crisis mode in this country. There is no single issue in this country that has affected our economy and working class people and their jobs than NAFTA, the USMCA, and our trade laws, our broken trade system…..” He went on to say, “We’re in a triage situation. Tariffs are an attempt to stop the bleeding from the hemorrhaging of jobs in America for the last 33 years.”
Yes, it’s a bit surprising to find a union president wandering off the Democrat reservation to support a Republican’s policy. Fain’s logic was sound and his comments clear, the U.S. needs to address the unfair trade agreements with our trading partners.
Back in 1993, on Larry King Live, Al Gore and Ross Perot had a debate over the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA. Perot’s famous comment about a “giant sucking sound” referring to the exodus of American jobs moving overseas became a mantra among free-trade advocates. When asked about the debate in 1993, Fain had this to say, “Gore referred to four living presidents, Nobel-laurate economists, and everyone said this was gonna create 400,000 jobs in the first year of NAFTA’s inception, and you know what happened? We’ve lost millions of jobs since then. We’ve lost 90,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States since the inception of NAFTA. That’s 1,800 manufacturing plants, per state.”
Fain didn’t mince words. He was clear and direct in support of Trump’s tariffs. Let’s examine why he supports this part of the president’s agenda.