Calling former President Donald Trump “one of the biggest losers” in the history of American manufacturing, Vice President Kamala Harris is focusing her campaign on a key difference between the two presidential candidates — their relationship to workers.

Trump is scheduled to appear at a town hall in Warren, Michigan on Friday. Automaker Stellantis is planning to layoff hundreds of temporary workers at assembly plants in Sterling Heights, Detroit, and Toledo early next week.

In a statement shared to WDET, Vice President Harris highlighted her opposition to the United State-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) — something Trump has dubbed “the new NAFTA.”

“It was Trump’s trade deal that made it far too easy for a major auto company like Stellantis to break their word to workers by outsourcing American jobs,” Harris says in the statement.

Stellantis has denied it is planning to move any jobs out of the country — despite accusations by the United Auto Workers that the company wants to move production of the Dodge Durango to Windsor, Ontario.

Harris has received the support of most of the major labor unions — including the UAW.

United Autoworkers President Shawn Fain has called Trump a “scab” after the former president crossed picket lines and hosted a rally at a non-union auto parts manufacturer in Macomb County during last year’s UAW strike.

The union has even gone so far to file unfair labor practice charges against Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk after the pair discussed firing striking workers. 

Trump has been confident he’ll get the backing of autoworkers telling rallygoers in Michigan earlier this year “most of the autoworkers are going to vote for me.”  

Manufacturing jobs in the US were trending downward in the year before the pandemic started. Harris says the Trump Administration lost “nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs.” 

She’s pledged to continue post-pandemic job gains made during the Biden Administration. 

“I will always stand with the UAW. Trusting Donald Trump again is a risk America’s autoworkers cannot afford,” says Harris.

• The full statement from Vice President Harris is below.

“Donald Trump is one of the biggest losers of manufacturing in American history. He makes empty promise after empty promise to American workers, but never delivers. As President, he cut taxes for corporations, encouraged outsourcing, and lost nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs, including auto jobs. He has joked about firing workers, supported state anti-union laws, and suggested companies move jobs out of Michigan. 

“We’ve seen this movie before. Once again, he is repeating the same playbook and telling the same old lies about how he’ll fight for working people, including those in Michigan. Yet it was Trump’s trade deal that made it far too easy for a major auto company like Stellantis to break their word to workers by outsourcing American jobs. As one of only 10 senators to vote against USMCA, I knew it was not sufficient to protect our country and its workers. Many who voted for this deal conditioned their support on a review process, which as President I will use.

“Enough is enough. American workers deserve a leader who keeps their promises and stands with workers when it matters, and as President, I will bring autoworker jobs back to this country and create an opportunity economy that strengthens manufacturing, unions, and builds prosperity and security for America’s future. I will always stand with the UAW. Trusting Donald Trump again is a risk America’s autoworkers cannot afford.”

On this episode of the Detroit Evening Report, we discuss recent honors given to the city of Detroit for two “blight to beauty” projects in the city; a new tentative deal between UAW and Ford for Tool and Dye workers at the automaker’s River Rouge complex and more.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

From blight to beauty

The city of Detroit has received multiple awards for excellence in design for two “blight to beauty” projects — the new Jason Hargrove Transit Center and the redesign of Roosevelt Park in front of the Michigan Central Station. Roosevelt Park received the 2024 President’s award from Keep Michigan Beautiful. And the Hargrove Transit Center received the Best Regional Project from the Engineering News Record.

UAW, Ford make tentative deal 

UAW Local 600’s Tool and Die unit at Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge plant has reached a tentative agreement with the automaker. The union announced Thursday that it secured a deal that will strengthen job security by protecting against the impacts of advancements in 3D printing. The deal also eliminates a wage disparity for skilled trades. Roughly 500 UAW members still need to vote to ratify the deal, which if approved, could set a new standard for skilled trades at Ford, the union said.

“The members at the Rouge Complex understand the power of strength in numbers,” said UAW Vice President Chuck Browning in a statement. “They stuck together and showed Ford that they were willing to stand up if necessary to win what they deserve.”

Detroit Fire hosts leadership roundtable

The Detroit Fire Department held a Fire Leadership Roundtable for departments across metro Detroit and Windsor. The event was designed to build partnerships, discuss best practices and encourage training collaborations and resource sharing between departments. Detroit Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms says the event opened up lines of communication between fire and emergency response departments and helped build strong relationships.

Detroit/Metro Black Tech Talent Survey results

The Detroit Regional Chamber  and Mich Auto are hosting a virtual event at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, to unveil the findings from the Detroit/Metro Black Tech Talent survey conducted this fall. The survey assessed the recruitment and retention of Black tech talent in the city. The chamber will share the results of the survey and moderate a panel of industry leaders and innovators to discuss strategies for building a more inclusive tech ecosystem. Visit the Detroit Regional Chamber website for more information and to register.

‘Girls in the Graveyard’ at Elmwood Cemetery

The Outlier Collective is hosting “Girls in the Graveyard” a celebration of Detroit women at Elmwood Cemetery, on Saturday, Oct. 19. Guests will experience a guided tour of the women buried at the cemetery with Elmwood’s Director of Education Amy Elliot Bragg, followed by treats provided by Sister Pie. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased in advance at Eventbrite.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

The United Auto Workers plans to hold strike authorization votes at as many as 28 Stellantis local chapters in the next couple weeks.

Stellantis has rolled back a planned restart of production at a Jeep factory in Belvidere, Illinois. The commitment — which the union said it won in last year’s contract — was also supposed to include an auto parts hub and a new battery plant.

The UAW has also filed unfair labor practice charges against the automaker with the National Labor Relations Board.

The union says Stellantis has failed to keep workers updated on changes to product commitments. That includes shifting production of the Dodge Durango SUV from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario.

UAW workers launched a strike against all three automakers for six weeks during contract negotiations.

Union President Shawn Fain says automakers will be held accountable for violations of that contract.

““This is about enforcing a contract for all of us, we all sacrifice something to win these product and investment commitments,” Fain said in a video to members on Tuesday.

“We all — every plant — are at risk if the company can violate these agreements.”

In a statement, Stellantis says it doesn’t believe it has violated any part of the agreement.

“The commitments we made during 2023 negotiations span the life of the four-year, 7.5-month agreement, so it is not surprising that they haven’t been fully realized in the first year. And to be clear, Shawn Fain’s claim that the company has confirmed plans for the Dodge Durango is simply not true.”

The conflict with the UAW comes at a tumultuous time for the automaker, which builds Jeeps, Ram pickups, Chryslers and others.

Last week, the Stellantis National Dealer Council sent an open letter to CEO Carlos Tavares criticizing the automaker for degradation of the company’s brands.

After record profits last year, sales in 2024 have been sluggish. Though the automaker took “exception” to the letter and says sales improved over the summer.

The Dealer Council and the UAW agree there are issues with Stellantis leadership.

“We aren’t the problem. The market isn’t the problem. Carlos Tavares is the problem,” Fain said.

Read more: 

• Fain, UAW rally in Warren after Stellantis announces mass layoffs at truck plant
• Looking back at the automotive labor movement in 2023
• UAW continues organizing efforts at non-union factories in the South