In the wake of the controversial US election, UAW president Dennis Williams said the union could find ways to work with President-elect Donald Trump's administration – particularly on trade. In fact, Williams called Trump's trade position "right on." Williams agreed that NAFTA needs to be reworked and he supports blocking the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He also was open to tariffs, citing Trump's mention of a 35-percent levy on imported vehicles. Williams also suggested Trump might not follow traditional Republican positions against unions.
This may come as a surprising position from the UAW, which officially endorsed Hillary Clinton during the election. Williams did try to make it clear that trade agreements are the main issue the organization agrees with Trump on. He also released a statement yesterday further clarifying that while the UAW does agree with Trump on trade issues, it's still committed to trade agreements with labor and environmental requirements, fighting sexual harassment, and supporting work and education visas. Members of the union also seem to skew left, since Williams revealed that just before the election, 32 percent of union members surveyed said they were going to vote for Trump, six percent were undecided, and 62 percent said they were going to vote for Clinton. Williams did say they would be doing follow-up surveys in case that poll wasn't accurate. So despite having some common ground with Trump, it appears the UAW's support only goes so far.
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This may come as a surprising position from the UAW, which officially endorsed Hillary Clinton during the election. Williams did try to make it clear that trade agreements are the main issue the organization agrees with Trump on. He also released a statement yesterday further clarifying that while the UAW does agree with Trump on trade issues, it's still committed to trade agreements with labor and environmental requirements, fighting sexual harassment, and supporting work and education visas. Members of the union also seem to skew left, since Williams revealed that just before the election, 32 percent of union members surveyed said they were going to vote for Trump, six percent were undecided, and 62 percent said they were going to vote for Clinton. Williams did say they would be doing follow-up surveys in case that poll wasn't accurate. So despite having some common ground with Trump, it appears the UAW's support only goes so far.
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