UAW strike puts Trump, GOP in political bind in key states

White Lake resident D.J. Calma of White Lake, second from left and has worked for General Motors in four different plants in 12 years, chants in unison "No contract! No work!" as they circle at one of the Flint Assembly Plant entrance, blocking through traffic during the fourth day of the national UAW strike against GM on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019 in Flint. The United Auto Workers union and its roughly 49,000 members at GM plants in the U.S. have been on strike since Monday, Sept. 16 because contract negotiations with the automaker had broken down. It's the first national UAW strike since 2007, when GM workers were out for two days. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP) White Lake resident D.J. Calma of White Lake, second from left and has worked for General Motors in four different plants in 12 years, chants in unison "No contract! No work!" as they circle at one of the Flint Assembly Plant entrance, blocking through traffic during the fourth day of the national UAW strike against GM on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019 in Flint. The United Auto Workers union and its roughly 49,000 members at GM plants in the U.S. have been on strike since Monday, Sept. 16 because contract negotiations with the automaker had broken down. It's the first national UAW strike since 2007, when GM workers were out for two days. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP)

By Associated Press September 21, 2019 6 min read

LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Democrats were quick to back working-class United Auto Workers in their strike against General Motors, delivering doughnuts and holding picket signs outside factories to show solidarity. It’s a union they long have aligned with politically.

There were no doughnuts from Republicans.

Led by President Donald Trump, GOP officials have largely avoided taking sides in the strike that threatens to upend the economy in Michigan, an election battleground, a year before the 2020 vote. Both here and nationally, most Republicans said little about the substance of the dispute beyond hope for a speedy resolution.

The muted response reflects the tricky politics of labor for Republicans.

Trump has made inroads with member of some unions, due partly to promises to get tough on trade and keep manufacturing jobs in the United States. The message pulled key voters away from their Democratic union bosses, who Trump argues are corrupt.