Now and then something happens that completely scrambles everything that you thought you knew about politics, something that brings the bigger picture into focus. We spent four days talking to auto workers in Detroit to understand how this strike was affecting their politics in real time. [00:00:16] Who do they trust to have their back in this fight? What do they demand? The results of this next election could hinge on whether we listen. >> Speaker 3: Last month, President Joe Biden and his political opponent Donald Trump traveled to Detroit to speak to [00:00:32] auto workers in the midst of the UAW strike. Now, the two spoke to completely different parties, with Biden focusing on the striking UAW workers and Trump speaking to non unionized auto workers. But reporter John Russell went to Detroit as well to figure out how those very [00:00:49] workers felt about the opposing presidential candidates. So let's hear what they had to say. Now, many of the workers felt disillusioned with both political parties, something that I certainly can relate to, but they seem to be particularly frustrated with the Democratic Party. [00:01:05] Let's watch. >> Speaker 2: The more we talked to workers, the more we heard a version of the same story. >> Speaker 4: I remember as a kid, my dad voted Democrat all day. >> Yeah. >> Speaker 4: I never voted Democrat. >> Yeah. >> Speaker 4: Never did. Because they'll tell you that they support the job, but they don't. [00:01:22] >> Speaker 5: We thought that the Clinton administration was for us, but they put in a NAFTA program, which messed us up really bad in the long run. >> Speaker 1: I just feel they've gotten away from a lot of things that used to be important here in Michigan. Everybody's on the fence. Believe me, everybody is on the fence. [00:01:39] And I don't feel like we have a good two candidates. >> If they've been voting Democrat for the last 50 years. And Democrats keep on showing up and saying, we're gonna protect your jobs. Why did we lose a million jobs just in the union? What are they protecting? [00:01:55] So, that's why it's very, very hard to make a decision on who you're gonna believe. >> Speaker 3: I actually think that there is a disconnect right now in regard to what the Democratic Party has engaged in over the last several decades. [00:02:15] Versus what we have seen from the Biden administration in regard to labor. And so, the recent history of the Democratic Party in essentially going along with neoliberal economic policies that have led to stagnant wages. [00:02:31] That have led to ordinary, hard working Americans feeling left behind and neglected in this economic system. That has, unfortunately, painted a picture even of the Biden administration, regardless of what the Biden administration has done in favor of labor. So what do I mean by that? [00:02:47] Look, Biden definitely has his flaws. There's no question about that. But one thing that has become clear to me in his presidency is that he does value labor. He has chosen individuals to be part of the National Labor Relations Board who [00:03:02] actually care about labor and want to protect individuals who are looking to organize their workplace and unionize. In fact, the NLRB under the Biden administration has made it easier for workers to unionize. And if the workers are dealing with union busting by their employers, [00:03:21] the NLRB has basically made it so the employers have to automatically accept and recognize the unions. Which is a big change from what we've seen in previous administrations. Donald Trump, of course, had all sorts of anti-labor individuals [00:03:38] packed into the National Labor Relations Board and they did no favors for ordinary hard working Americans. At the same time, you have Biden showing up to the picket line as the striking UAW workers were making their case for better pay and working conditions. [00:03:56] He has been supportive both in actions and in rhetoric, but he's not getting the credit, I believe for two different reasons. Number one is the recent history of the Democratic Party and how they have increasingly looked to rally support from the hyper [00:04:12] educated upper middle class voters. And also because of the fact that Biden is just not really great at messaging about his accomplishments and what he has managed to achieve for working Americans. Now, the workers were asked, who do you support? [00:04:30] They were not supportive of Donald Trump. They clearly had issues with Joe Biden. But there is one leader that they rallied behind. And you're gonna find out who in this next video. >> Speaker 2: In our time in Detroit, there's pretty much only one leader who everyone, regardless of their politics, has spoken positively about. [00:04:47] >> Speaker 5: He definitely making some moves right now. He forcing their hand to see what you got for us. >> Speaker 1: He will rip your contract up and throw it in the trash can. >> Because that's where it belongs, the trash. >> On TV I really like Shawn Fain. It's about time we got somebody that's standing, [00:05:04] excuse my French balls to the wall. >> Speaker 7: I think he has got some old school in him, which is what I like. He's willing to put it on the line. >> Speaker 3: He definitely is willing to put it on the line. And remember, the UAW workers ousted their previous union leadership and [00:05:22] instead decided to go with Shawn Fain. Now why would they do that? They would do that because he had shown them that he is willing to fight for them. And I think that his leadership has made that abundantly clear. The strike strategy has been pretty brutal for the auto workers. One of the biggest Ford plants has dealt with walkouts, and [00:05:41] they're obviously incredibly salty about that. That has hit the value of their shares in the stock market. And so, I love to see that the workers in this case are feeling represented not by our politicians, unfortunately, but at least by their union leadership. [00:05:57] And they had to fight to make that happen. Now with that said, they use Fain as an example of what they would like to see in political leadership. So let's take a look at their arguments. >> Is just showing up on a picket line, say, for someone like Joe Biden, enough? [00:06:15] >> No. >> You stand here with me, ain't putting no food on my table. >> Speaker 2: Show it. >> Speaker 1: Show me. >> Speaker 8: For me, I'm gonna look at everything. I don't care about what party you're with. I care about what your policies are. >> Speaker 9: Whose side are you on? Are you on the working class or are you on the millionaire side? [00:06:30] >> Speaker 1: I'll be honest, if Shawn Fain was running for president, I'd vote for him. >> Speaker 3: Same, now, they mentioned Biden showing up to the picket line and how that doesn't really do much for them. Obviously, showing support I do think means something. [00:06:45] But for me, it's not just about what Biden does by showing up at the picket line. It's about what his actions tell us about whether he values labor or if it's just talk, right? Now, when it comes to Donald Trump, I'll give him credit for at least having the political instincts necessary to determine that appealing to [00:07:04] workers is incredibly important. But obviously, talk is cheap. And if you look at what he accomplished during his presidency versus what Biden has done for labor, it's really night and day. And there is a good reason why there's all of a sudden all this attention toward [00:07:20] labor and labor activism. So, keep in mind that union membership has really dwindled considerably. So before the 1980s, for instance, more than a million workers regularly went on strike annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. [00:07:35] But between 2020 and 2017, the average number of workers on strike shrunk to about 100,000 per year. But recently, workers have taken up the fight once more. We're seeing a little more labor militancy. Just look at the numbers over the past few years. [00:07:51] So, from January 1st to October 11th of 2021, there were about 188 strikes involving about 47,800 workers. Then in 2022, same time period, there were 345 strikes involving about 126,800 workers. [00:08:08] And this year, from January 1st to October 11th, 2023, there were 318 strikes involving far more workers, 468,200 workers to be exact. So you are seeing workers feel invigorated or reinvigorated in regard to the labor movement, which is good news. [00:08:26] And they're starting to take actions into their own hands, understanding that they unfortunately have to pick up the slack from the politicians who are no longer representing their best interests. And they're doing so by organizing their workplaces, whether we're talking about Amazon or Starbucks. [00:08:42] And when it comes to unionized workplaces, they're actually flexing their muscle and demanding better contracts that include provisions for better pay and better working conditions. So, my heart goes out to the UAW workers. I do think that they have great leadership and great work. [00:08:57] Again, by John Russell, speaking to these workers and trying to figure out exactly where their hearts and minds are when it comes to our political landscape.