(NewsNation) — Both presidential candidates, Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, are trying to win over a key voting bloc — union workers.
The United Auto Workers, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, endorsed Harris. But that doesn’t mean all members are voting for her.
In Michigan, NewsNation talked to workers outside the Ford plant who are still undecided.
Historian Allan Lichtman still predicts a Kamala Harris win
“I’m still weighing it back and forth,” one of them, C.J., said. Another named Nakia said she doesn’t know too much about Harris, but under former president Trump’s administration, she made more money
“I’m undecided,” Nakia said. “But I am going to say this: when Trump was in office it was totally different from now because now it seems like we are struggling.”
The union vote could make or break this race, especially in close races in key states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, where these organizations represent more than 14% of the workforce.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton won 51% of union households nationwide, according to exit polls.
Trump won 42% but went on to win Michigan and Pennsylvania.
In 2020, Biden won 56% of union households, and Trump won 40%.
This time, it was Biden who won Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Migrants use fake passports to illegally enter US: Border Patrol
Both times, the democratic candidate was endorsed by the UAW.
Misti Robinette, who has worked for Ford and been in the union for 25 years, said she mostly agreed with the UAW — until they supported Joe Biden.
A lifelong Democrat, Robinette changed parties because of the economy and inflation. She even went to a Trump rally and met the former president.
“What has (Harris) done for us the last 3.7 years? Nothing. And now she is going to get us lower groceries? No,” Robinette said. “She is part of the reason my groceries are like that.”
Autoworkers who support Harris, on the other hand, believe she is the “labor-friendly candidate.”
“My biggest thing is when the auto companies filed for bankruptcy back in ’08, all the Republicans said let them sink,” Jason Garza said. “If that had happened who knows what I would be doing now, how my family would have grown up? Who knows how any of that would have changed? Including Trump — he said let them go. He had no problem supporting the big banks because he gave him money, but since he doesn’t get anything from the UAW, why should he care?”
