Biden becomes first sitting President to join picket line – National & International News – TUE 27Sep2023

Biden becomes first sitting President to join picket line.

New York judge finds Trump, family members liable for fraud.

NATIONAL NEWS

Biden becomes first sitting President to join picket line

A United Auto Workers strike of Ford, GM and Stellantis is now in its second week. In a Facebook live event last week, UAW President Shawn Fain issued an open invitation to every supporter “all the way up to the President of the United States” to join members on the picket line. Today, President Biden took him up on the invitation, becoming the first sitting President of the United States to ever join a picket line.

Today, Biden joined picketers at a GM parts distribution center in Belleville, MI. He was joined by Fain, who thanked Biden for his support and for showing up for the workers. 

In a brief address, Biden recalled when UAW workers took a major haircut back in 2008 when major Detroit automakers were on the brink of ruin. “The fact of the matter is you guys – the UAW – you saved the automobile industry back in 2008 and before,” Biden said. “You made a lot of sacrifices, gave up a lot. The companies were in trouble. Now they are doing incredibly well and guess what? You should be doing incredibly well too”.

“You deserve a significant raise and other benefits. Let’s get back what we lost,” Biden said. “Wall Street didn’t build the country; the middle class built the country, and the unions built the middle class.”

When asked whether he supported UAW’s demand for a 40% pay increase (reflecting a 40% rise in the companies’ CEO pay in the last four years, Biden answered “Yes. I think they should be able to bargain for that.”

Fain called Biden’s visit a “historic moment in time” and said, “We know the president will do right by the working class.” The UAW is one of the few major unions that has not yet endorsed Biden for President in 2024. While Fain’s comments fell short of an endorsement, Biden told reporters he was not concerned about that.

Trump not joining striking union workers, as many outlets have wrongly reported

Former President Trump is holding his own even this week with autoworkers outside another plant in Michigan. The event will be happening at the same time as the upcoming Republican presidential debate, which Trump will not be attending.

Numerous news outlets, among them the New York Times and NPR, have erroneously reported that Trump will be speaking to striking UAW workers. That is incorrect. Trump is holding a rally with selected (mostly retired) autoworkers who are his supporters; he is not addressing striking workers. The rally will take place outside a non-union auto supplier in a Detroit suburb.

While Trump has long painted himself as a champion of the working class, his strategy has always been to try to drive a wedge between workers and union leadership rather than supporting organized collective action. Trump has in fact been critical of UAW president Shawn Fain and has accused him of selling his members “down the river”.

In response to Trump’s comments, Shawn Fain issued the following statement: “Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers. We can’t keep electing billionaires and millionaires that don’t have any understanding what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to get by and expecting them to solve the problems of the working class”.

Fain has no plans to attend Trump’s event.

New York judge finds Trump, family members liable for fraud

A trial is set to begin in New York next week after the state’s Attorney General Letitia James filed a $250 million civil fraud suit against Donald Trump and his organization last year. In hopes of speeding the trial along, James had previously sought a summary judgement from  Judge Arthur Engoron finding Trump, his adult sons, and others “to be liable as a matter of law for persistent violations”.

Engoron delivered that decision today in a scathing ruling. His ruling finds Trump and others repeatedly provided fraudulent financial statements to lenders and insurers. Some of these statements massively overvalued the value of Trump’s holdings while others devalued them, depending on Trump’s interests. The trial will go ahead with the state’s claims already being settled, with damages to be determined at trial. There are still other matters for litigation before the court at trial.

In addition to the $250 million in damages, AG James is seeking to ban the Trumps from serving as officers of New York businesses and to bar the Trump Organization from engaging in business transactions in the state for five years.

As part of today’s ruling, Judge Engoron also ordered the Trump Organization to cancel its New York business licenses. This ends Trump’s control over certain signature New York properties, including Trump Tower.

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