- IMPORTANT NOTES
- The United Auto Workers has filed a labor complaint against South Carolina Senator Tim Scott for claiming the UAW striker should be fired.
- Scott is accused of breaching workers’ rights to engage in union action under federal law, according to the complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
- “If you strike, you’re out.” To me, it’s a simple notion. To the extent that we can utilize it again, yes,” Scott replied.
- Scott is vying for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
Ranking member Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) talks on Capitol Hill on September 7, 2023, during a hearing with the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee in Washington, DC. The United Auto Workers has filed a labor complaint against Sen. Tim Scott for suggesting that workers should be fired for striking.
The lawsuit, filed with the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday, accuses the South Carolina Republican’s presidential campaign of interfering with workers’ federally protected right to unionize.
“Tim Scott threatened employees with adverse consequences if they engaged in protected, concerted activity by publicly responding to a question about striking workers as follows: ‘You strike, you’re fired,'” stated UAW President Shawn Fain in the complaint.
When asked how he would handle labor negotiations, Scott told voters in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Monday that he would follow in the footsteps of President Ronald Reagan, who dismissed thousands of striking air traffic controllers in 1981.
“When federal employees decided to strike, Ronald Reagan set a great example for us,” the South Carolina senator stated. “‘You strike, you’re fired,’ he said.” To me, it’s a simple notion. To the extent that we can utilize it again, yes,” Scott replied.
Also Read: UAW Strike Pits Detroit’s Billionaires Against Its Blue-Collar Workers
When pushed to explain on his statements about firing striking workers on Wednesday, the senator said he disagreed with the UAW’s demand for a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of compensation.
“The truth is that we all pay a higher price, but the ultimate payer has recently been the American taxpayers,” Scott stated at a Windham, New Hampshire, event. “And so that’s what I said, but they only clipped it for their own benefit.”
For the seventh day, about 13,000 UAW employees are on strike
UAW Employee at key plants in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. Fain stated that the union will extend the walkout to 38 General Motors and Stellantis locations on Friday, but will exclude more Ford operations.
South Carolina, Scott’s native state, has a strong anti-union image. The Palmetto State is a hotspot for international automakers looking to take advantage of cheaper labor costs in the South as opposed to heavily unionized Midwestern states, the traditional heart of American auto manufacturing.
Nikki Haley, another Republican presidential candidate, declared herself a “union buster” when governor of South Carolina. Haley cited her track record of attracting multinational automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo to the Palmetto State.
“I didn’t want to bring in companies that were unionized simply because I didn’t want to have that change the environment in our state,” Haley explained.
Scott and Haley’s anti-union remarks came ahead of the second Republican presidential debate next week. The Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, is skipping the debate to meet with union members in Detroit.
Trump is chasing a UAW endorsement while criticizing the union’s leadership. The former president has stated that President Joe Biden’s desire to convert to electric automobiles endangers the jobs of American autoworkers.
“The autoworkers are being sold down the river by their leadership, and their leadership should endorse Trump,” the former president said.
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