The United Auto Workers on Wednesday condemned President Donald Trump’s “vulgar” response to a Ford worker who heckled him during a plant tour in Dearborn and said the union is backing the employee after he was suspended.
In a statement, UAW Vice President Laura Dickerson, the union’s Ford Department director, said the worker TJ Sabula, a 40-year-old line worker at the automaker’s Dearborn Truck Plant, is “a proud member of a strong and fighting union” and that the UAW supports his right to speak out.
“He believes in freedom of speech, a principle we wholeheartedly embrace, and we stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson added that the union will ensure the worker “receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member.”
She continued, “Workers should never be subjected to vulgar language or behavior by anyone — including the President of the United States.”
The statement comes a day after Sabula was suspended following an exchange with Trump during his visit Tuesday to Ford’s F-150 plant in Dearborn. Sabula shouted “pedophile protector” at the president in reference to accusations that the Trump administration is covering up an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender and former associate of Trump.
Video showed Trump responding with a middle finger and by mouthing “fuck you” twice.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, have also spoken out in support of the worker.
“He’s right. The president is, in fact, protecting pedophiles,” Tlaib said on X Wednesday. “Don’t come to my district and expect a warm welcome. Release the Epstein files!”
Meanwhile, two GoFundMe campaigns for Sabula have raised more than $450,000. A GoFundMe spokesperson told The Detroit Free Press the fundraisers are legitimate.
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