President Trump Wednesday launched a broadside against union leaders, calling them dishonest and advocating for lower dues for union members.
“I want to deal with the people in the union, not the heads of the union, because the heads of the union are not honest people,” Trump said during remarks at the Lima Army Tank Plant in Lima, Ohio. “They’re not honest. They’re not honest and they ought to lower your dues, by the way. They ought to stop with the dues. You’re paying too much dues.”
Trump recalled meeting with union leaders at the White House several months ago and said that while they were “nice guys,” they are “Democrats no matter what.”
The president’s comments come after he pinned the blame for the closure of a General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio, on the leader of the local United Auto Workers union, who he said was not doing enough to save the factory.
In a series of tweets over the weekend and into Monday, Trump urged GM to close a plant in China or Mexico rather than one in the U.S. The president also said he spoke with GM chief Mary Barra about the factory’s closure and urged her to “sell it or do something quickly.”
GM said in November it would close its Lordstown plant, and production there stopped this month.
Trump continued his criticism of GM and the union before the audience Wednesday, saying that the Lordstown plant could have remained open.
“They could’ve kept General Motors,” Trump told the audience Wednesday. “They could’ve kept it in that gorgeous plant in Lordstown. Lower your dues.”
