Trump, Unions & Trade: Reshaping the GOP

01-24-2017

Once again, Donald Trump is proving that he is not a traditional Republican and by keeping his promise to move aggressively on trade, he is starting to re-shape the GOP.

Many traditional Republicans support the Trans-Pacific Partnership and North American Free Trade agreements, but the president insists the agreements treat American workers unfairly.  On Monday, he signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from TPP, and he’s taking initial steps to renegotiate NAFTA.

His quick action won praise from socialist Senator Bernie Sanders and a number of labor union bosses—those who traditionally look to Democrats to protect the interests of America’s blue collar workers.

The union leaders were astonished that the new president kept his campaign promise. Many of them have fought for years against the outsourcing of jobs overseas, and now a Republican president—not Democrats Bill Clinton or Barack Obama—is delivering.

Following Monday’s White House meeting Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions said, “We just had probably the most incredible meeting of our careers.”

Most of the union leaders had never been invited to the White House.

In addition to McGarvey, meeting participants included Terry O’Sullivan of the Laborers International Union of North America; United Brotherhood of Carpenters president Doug McCarron; Joseph Sellers, of the SMART sheet metal workers union; and Mark McManus of the United Association of plumbers, welders, and pipefitters.

These are the workers who will build the factories as companies return to the USA said Trump and he wants them built within nine months, rather than 18-years.

McGarvey pledged his union will work with the president and his administration “to help him implement his plans on infrastructure, trade and energy policy, so we really do put America back to work.”

Teamsters General President James Hoffa was not in attendance at the meeting, but he praised the executive order withdrawing the USA from the TPP saying, “Today, President Trump made good on his campaign promise to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. With this decision, the president has taken the first step toward fixing 30 years of bad trade policies that have cost working Americans millions of good-paying jobs.”

The White House meeting began with Trump announcing to the group that he had “officially terminated TPP.”

The union bosses responded with applause.

Watch to hear the labor leader's response and to see the president’s opening remarks at the start of Monday’s meeting:

At least for now—it appears partisan politics are being rejected by a pragmatic president who wants to unite business leaders and union bosses around common economic interests.  

Yes, times may be changing for both Republicans and Democrats.

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