UAW President Shawn Fain Criticizes NAFTA's Impact on Auto Workers

NAFTA's Impact on American Workers: A Perspective from UAW President Shawn Fain

DETROIT, MI – Shawn Fain, the President of the United Auto Workers (UAW), recently shared his personal journey from his early days as an apprentice electrician in Kokomo, Indiana, to his views on trade policy that surfaced during the 1992 presidential election.

In a fresh video titled “NAFTA Sucks,” Fain narrates how the discussion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during a presidential debate influenced his vote. The video is accessible here, and media outlets are encouraged to use the provided footage.

The message highlights the necessity for a different direction in labor politics, suggesting that the current free trade agreements have significantly harmed blue-collar communities in the United States and Mexico, creating a downward spiral for workers on both sides of the border.

With the upcoming potential auto tariffs from the Trump Administration, the UAW advocates for revisiting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. This action is seen as a possible remedy to the ongoing exodus of valuable manufacturing jobs from traditional industrial states like Michigan to others such as Tennessee, continuing a trend started by NAFTA over three decades ago.

Below is the full transcript of Fain's commentary.

NAFTA Sucks

SHAWN FAIN: In 1992, I was a 22-year-old apprentice electrician in Kokomo, Indiana, and I was tuned into the Presidential Debate featuring George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot.

One candidate earned my support instantly.

NAFTA was the hot topic of discussion, with Congress yet to decide its fate.

ROSS PEROT: “We have got to stop sending jobs overseas. You move your factory south of the border, pay a dollar an hour for your labor, have no healthcare – that’s the most expensive single element of making a car – have no environmental controls, no pollution controls, and no retirement, and you don’t care about anything but making money. There will be a giant sucking sound going south.”

My choice was made at that moment.

I perceived a looming threat to my community: corporations exploiting cheaper labor in Mexico at the expense of well-paying jobs in the Midwest.

Workers on both sides were destined to suffer.

That’s why I voted for Ross Perot.

Let’s examine the aftermath of NAFTA’s implementation.

Over 90,000 manufacturing plants have vanished across the US, tearing apart communities and families, leaving many unemployed or in low-wage positions.

Every factory shutdown is akin to a bomb exploding in working-class neighborhoods.

Visually, it's evident in cities like Kokomo, Flint, and St. Louis.

In the past 22 years, the Big Three automakers have shut down 65 sites.

Regrettably, the situation persists, with further job relocations overseas leading to more job losses.

Stellantis has laid off thousands at Warren Truck, yet the trucks continue to be manufactured in Mexico.

Companies like John Deere and Mack Trucks are transferring operations to Mexico, intensifying the competitive decline.

Despite economic warnings against tariffs, the true economic harm lies in outsourcing jobs where labor is cheap, products are priced high, and both American and Mexican workers struggle financially.

This reality is stark for former employees of Lordstown, Ohio, and other shuttered facilities like Romeo Engine and Baltimore Transmission, among others.

States nationwide have been negatively impacted by free trade policies over the last 33 years.

The current system is detrimental.

While some economists fear tariffs could hurt working Americans, the fallout from NAFTA has already had dire consequences, including factory closures and economic instability.

The repercussions of free trade are omnipresent.

Free trade has not been cost-free. It has been disastrous, and reform is imperative.

Experts initially claimed NAFTA would aid the working class.

They were mistaken.

Ross Perot had foreseen the outcome.

The failures of NAFTA demand a reformation of our trade policies.