The DNC is in full swing in Chicago, and the merch is absolutely popping off. On Monday night, amid “BALLS TO THE WALZ” tees and Ella Emhoff breaking out everyone’s favorite Chappell Roan–inspired trucker hat, United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain introduced a new item into the mix. During his address, he paused to cite “the great American poet Nelly: It’s gettin’ hot in here” — and then removed his blazer to reveal a shirt that said, “Trump is a scab. Vote Harris.”
A scab, in case you didn’t know, is a derogatory term for union members who cross picket lines during strikes — or, really, any workers who defy union actions. Though Trump has probably never been union-eligible in his life, the general idea here is that he doesn’t care about workers’ rights or the working class overall. During his speech, Fain called him and J.D. Vance “two lapdogs for the billionaire class who only serve themselves,” aligning them with the corporate greed of the auto industry and praising Harris for marching with General Motors employees during their 2019 strike. “Donald Trump laughs about firing workers who go on strike,” Fain said. “Kamala Harris stands shoulder to shoulder with workers when they go on strike.”
Trump’s presidency was marked by major union setbacks, mostly thanks to his appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the Supreme Court — the NLRB made it harder for workplaces to unionize, and his Supreme Court appointee Neil Gorsuch became the deciding vote on a ruling against public-sector unions. (Elsewhere in the night’s speeches, AOC called Trump a “two-bit union buster.”) In the past few months, Harris has gotten the endorsement of most major unions, including the UAW, United Steelworkers, and the AFL-CIO. The one glaring exception is the Teamsters, whose president, Sean O’Brien, was not invited to speak at the DNC — he made a controversial appearance at the Republican National Convention last month but stopped short of outright endorsing Trump. Harris is reportedly set to meet with the Teamsters soon.
In the meantime, you may be able to sway them with a “Trump’s a scab” T-shirt of your own — they’re available on the UAW’s website. It would go great with a “Comma, La” baseball hat, don’t you think?
