While labor advocates seek to revitalize union membership and pressure governments to pass labor-friendly policies as a means to increase workers' bargaining strength, Republicans hoping to regain full control of government in 2024 have plans to "fix" the labor movement by targeting those unions, which they characterize as unaccountable and inefficient. Former President Donald Trump's first administration took measures that labor experts say are tantamount to union-busting, while Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill introduced the Teamwork for Employees and Managers (TEAM) Act in 2022, which would repeal NLRA's Section 8(a)(2) and other rules meant to keep unions independent and capable of bargaining effectively. Section 8(a)(2), which lays out what constitutes unfair labor practice on both ends, expressly prohibits unions that have been "assisted or controlled" by the employer.
"Our job in this election is to defeat Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris to build on her proven track record of delivering for the working class,” [United Auto Workers (UAW) Shawn] Fain said [...]
“We can put a billionaire back in office who stands against everything our union stands for, or we can elect Kamala Harris, who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our war on corporate greed,” Fain added.
Fain and Trump have sparred publicly for months. Trump called for Fain to be fired during his speech at the Republican National Convention, and the UAW hit back on the social platform X, calling the former president “a scab and a billionaire.”
Last week, Fain praised Harris for walking the picket line with UAW workers in 2019, saying Trump, who was in office at the time, “sure as hell wasn’t on the picket line.”