There is an intense political badminton match in full bloom between the Joe Biden side and those playing with Donald Trump and the birdie in the middle? The 980,000 current and retired UAW workers whose vote is up for grabs.
Both sides are eager to win over those votes in the 2024 presidential sweepstakes but they can’t agree on whom will get the most especially here in Michigan.
This back and forth is nothing new in our beloved state as the battle for this union vote has made history along the way.
In its early years, the union leaned predominately Democratic as underscored by the fact if you were a D running for president you for darn sure circled the Detroit Labor Day march as a must stop on the road to the White House. Sen. John Kennedy was there and two months later was setting up shop on Pennsylvania Avenue.
But a funny thing happened about 10 years later in our state and union President Doug Fraser at the time was not laughing. The strangle hold the union held on those members whom they thought were good Democrats, was broken by the governor of Alabama.
Nor only did George Corley Wallace campaign in Michigan, he won the presidential primary with a huge boost from rank and file UAW members as Mr. Fraser lamented how many bought into the Wallace “segregation now. Segregation forever” message.
And that was only the beginning.
By the time the affable and conservative Ronald Reagan rolled into this state years later, the union membership was ripe for picking again. Sure enough there were enough Macomb County union members who switched parties that the national pundits, who were overwhelmed by this turn of events, came up with a term to describe the mutiny and “Reagan-Democrats” is forever now ensconced in the nationwide political dialogue as is Trump-Democrats.
Thanks in part to a less-than sterling political candidacy of Hillary Clinton, for whom it seemed only her close relatives loved, Donald Trump followed in Mr. Reagan’s footprints and not only nailed the presidential win in this state, which sent Mr. Fraser spinning in his resting place, but the win here and in other swing states tumbled Mr. Trump into the White House, too.
Which brings us to the rematch of Biden vs. Trump where Mr. Biden was victorious in breaking the Trump magic in Michigan four years ago but not by a lot, but a win is a win so they say.
This time however, Mr. Trump is now racking up poll after poll showing him with a legit lead over the president which is keeping one Gov. Gretchen Whitmer awake at nights and she is hardly alone.
Mr. Trump is stumping hard for the UAW vote and blaming the UAW leadership for siding with Mr. Biden on his 50% Electric Vehicle fleet by 2030. Mr. Trump, every ready to exploit an opening, is telling those workers this policy will cost them their jobs and many are listening.
Sensing another Hillary moment in the making, Mr. Biden walked the picket lines during the strike and was back working the union troops in, where else but Macomb County this past week. It’s all hands on deck as the debate over the size of the union vote going to Mr. Trump remains in play.
UAW president Shawn Fain is on the national TV political show circuit suggesting a “majority” of his folks would plunk for the president but majority could mean as little as 51%. Then in the same Face the Nation interview he bumped it to a “huge majority” saying it would be less than the 28% Mr. Trump got before but that can hardly be reassuring enough to get Ms. Whitmer sleeping like a baby again.
Mr. Fain, who is giving it his all, calls Mr. Trump a “scab” hoping that will stir the Solidarity for Ever memory for his members thinking about jumping ship again with a Trump vote.
Mr. Fraser and company also called George Corley a racist and you see where that got that union president.
