and joining us now is united auto workers president shawn fain. welcome to the table, my friend.e you -- having the conversation this morning. >> thank you. appreciate you having me. yeah. >> we're so happy to have you here, there's been a reticence of the part of uaw to endorse president biden. i'm curious what you can tell me about the conversation you had with him that helped you come around on that. >> well, it was not so much the conversation. it's really the actions and that was one thing we made clear when we took over -- when i took over as president that our endorsements were going to be earned. no longer just freely given and not just a party affiliation. they were going to be earned by the candidates so you know, there was some disappointment up front when i took over. i think people expected us just to make an endorsement right away. but -- to me, there was work to be done. we had a -- ev battery transition in industry in transition -- >> electric vehicles. >> so workers weren't left behind. and then you know obviously we had the contract campaign a lot of work coming

stuart: senator bernie sanders and president shawn fain pushing for the shorter workweek. op-ed and they claim this push for a 32 hour week is not a radical idea, their words. what do you make of this, could this really happen? >> bernie sanders claiming something is not radical is an ironic twist. the guy hasn't proposed anything that would work for the economy. we are suffering under inflation. businesses are having trouble hiring people, last thing we need is adopt a socialist utopia that is out of bernie sanders's mouth. is is the wrong message a for america and the workers of this country. blue one no chance of it happening? >> not under this congress. a small majority have the gap. i would venture to say even on the democrat side, people look at this and go this is not right for our country. stuart: we are relieved to hear this. congressman russell fry, appreciate it. guaranteed income program popping up in cities across the country. where is this happening? ashley: dozens of cities to your point led by democrats, it has to be said, they are distribute in uncondition

considering, the guest list shawn fain will be in the first lady's box, the head of the u.a.w.ut donald trump, of course, is heavily supported by the u.a.w.'s rank-and-file. what is joe biden's message to them tonight? rick: i think he will reiterate what you just said, joe that he has been the friendliest president to organized unions, may be in the history of the union movement. he will talk about the things he has done to create jobs in america. he has a bit of a checklist to go through on that. talk about his infrastructure plan that will help create jobs. but at the end of the day, the question is, how will unions be able to impact this election. as you point out, a lot of rank-and-file union members are the perfect profile for maga members, for donald trump stormtroopers and a lot of these states. in a state like michigan where the u.a.w. has a big impact on the electorate, you wonder, can the union deliver the goods? part of what made them so powerful, is that if you got the endorsement of shawn fain, you got the rank-and-file voting behind him. i think those days of tha

look, the highlight of it was, of course, when he shouted out to uaw president shawn fain, and you saw president of the united auto workers who was not one of the first people to come to biden this year. they delayed their endorsement, stand up, point to the president, raise a clenched fist, that isn't any analysis i can give to tell you that biden was saying and doing the right things in this speech. but beyond that, if you listen in to what biden was saying, this was a speech saying, look, the economy is good, that biden is, you know, relatively centrist democrat, no radical, that at the end of the day, he wants to make sure that corporations treat their workers fairly. and that he recognizes that unions are a big part of that. overall, it's a very mainstream, traditional democratic message, one that i think hits well at this point. >> i think a lot of people were surprised at the force with which president biden delivered that speech last night. the bar was set pretty low. tell me what your reaction is? >> i thought that, i mean, first of all, the performance was phenomenal, and tha

the united auto workers president as you know, congresswoman shawn fain, was one of the first lady's guests at the state of the union address last night. how far does the president's economic message go with a rank and file union workers in michigan where you are so shawn fain and i've talked a great deal about this. he has endorsed the president. we know we've got to get into the union halls and really talk to members about what the president's done. and it's one thing to say, okay, today we had 245, 85,000 new jobs. they need to understand how much but she has helped them and they aren't look, let's be real there a lot of working people across his country that are half felt the effects of inflation. >> but they >> are beginning to see a better things are costs are coming down. we have to make it very personal to them and i'm not going to kid anybody. we've got how to get into the union halls. but the joe biden us saw last night to joe biden, you've seen today, he connects with these workers and i do believe that i was worried about the union house in to 15 and to 16, you know that

shawn fain, part of an overture to labor by president biden. >> mr.e president's cabinet. [applause] >> norah: this is the beginning of the ceremony, running at least 10 minutes. >> this is biden's standard time, 10 minutes late is still early. ladies and gentlemen, it could be a few more minutes. we are used to this. >> norah: secretary of state tony blinken has been very busy dealing with a number of international crises not only what is going on with the war in gaza and dealing with israel and prime minister bibi netanyahu and trying to get him as well as leaders of hamas to agree to a cease-fire but also trying to get many of these people inside this room to agree to a supplemental bill to fund those wars as well as the border crisis at the southern border. >> norah, now that we are able to actually see the chamber it really is a sea of white, as you pointed out. reproductive rights is going to be a huge focus. both of the president's speech and within the room, you have ivf patients who have been invited by democrats. you have fertility doctors w

if you're a governor, president shawn fain, a great friend and a great labor, sean, we're generation worker, uaw worker belvedere sean. i was proud to be the first president stand on the picket line today. don has a good job in her hometown, providing stability for a family and pride and dignity as well. showing once again, wall street didn't build america and they're not bad guys. they didn't the middle class, both the country and unions built the middle class. i say the american people. america knocked down, we get back up. it's because of you. america is coming back is because of your future drivers because of you. tonight, you could probably say the state of our union is strong and getting stronger. i want to talk about the future of possibilities. that we can build together. a future where the days of trickle down economics are over and the wealth in the biggest corporations know our get that along with tax breaks. and by the understand corporation not come from the state. that is more corporations invested every one of your states and the state united states combined. >> and a

shawn fain isn't going to lose his job. >> people don't understand the scale of this.ew auto sales were 8% evs, half were teslas, talking about a force-fed transition with a lot of money with auto companies which is part of what is keeping the uaw to get this to a majority within a decade. this is terrible politics and i wonder how much president biden's into it. is a 1967 corvette guy. when they classified files, they are not sitting next to a chevy volt so this to me looks like it was driven by progressives in the administration. paul: the automakers signed off on this. they are for it. between the original proposal and this when they got a reprieve in the short term for the first couple of years but why are automakers on board for this. they are losing money on every ev they sell, losing money on those and they use sales of gas powered cars to subsidize evs. >> they are losing billions, ford lost 4 billion on its ev unit last year but will do a lot when you have a gun to your head and essentially this is what they have been faced with by the administration. they can

i do think to see shawn fain, the uaw, to understand the importance of labor and the history was really change. it needs to be continued through the union movements and activist and connect in some ways to "uncommitted," because groups that are forming around the "uncommitted" movement -- it was exciting to hear in hawaii it reached its highest number. my believe is if it had gone on longer, if michigan had more time, you have had a higher number. michigan being an important -- played an important role in this movement. i think there is optimism but the old order and the new is not yet born and where this will move is owing to depend on end ings wars, thinking a new about a constricted establishment foreign policy. amy: we are going to talk about gaza in the next segment. i want to also continue on the issue of the economy and health care because biden talked about proposing and signing any said "not one of you republican buddies voted for it. we finally beat big pharma stuff instead of paying $400 a month or thereabouts for insulin with diabetes, it will only cost $10 to make. they onl

he also got a standing ovation and fist bump from united autoworkers president shawn fain emerging as a top surrogate for biden's re-election bid in michigan. quite a split screen with the assembled republicans who were for the most part silly, obnoxious, performative. like troy nehls, who wore without irony a shirt with trump's mugshot printed on it along with the words, never surrender. even though the photo is of trump literally surrendering. as for marjorie taylor greene, let's say you can't elect your way to class or dignity. she put herself in violation of house rules by donning a trump campaign hat from his past failed election bid. the contrast with the other side couldn't be clearer, but the most damning split screen of all wasn't the maga clowns who were there but rather the ring master in florida, who spent the night fuming over biden's success by using snapchat filters to turn biden into a pinocchio and a dog. as if he's a petulant middle schooler with a phone and not enough homework. but the tomfoolery aside, the truly terrifying contrast has to do with what trump reporte

this is uaw president shawn fain, who pushed for a 32-hour workweek in his union's initial contract demands to the big three automakers last fall. >> but time, just like every precious resource in our society, is not freely given to the working class. since the industrial revolution, we have seen productivity in our society skyrocket. with the advance of technology, one worker is doing what 12 workers used to do. more profit is being squeezed out of every hour, every minute, every second. who is going to act to fix this epidemic of lives donated by work? are the employers going to act? will congress act? how can working-class people take back their lives and take back their time? amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. vice president kamala harris visited a planned parenthood clinic in st. paul, minnesota, on thursday, believed to be the first time a president or vice president has toured an abortion clinic. the visit was the latest in a nationwide tour by harris to highlight reproductive rights. minnesot

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people who represent important aspects on gun violence prevention in addition to someone named shawn fainis the president of the united autoworkers, a key union that recently backed the president. and on the foreign policy stage, the prime minister of sweden will be there, which is significant given their recent addition to nato. of course there are the domestic issues i just laid out, and then there's plenty we also expect from the foreign policy perspective when it comes to the continued war in ukraine and the israel-hamas war and highlighting those remaining hostages who are still in gaza. >> and sahil, i mean, monica is talking about those unexpected moments like we saw last year during the state of union then, but house speaker is now warning lawmakers about their behavior during the speech this year. what's he telling them? >> reporter: that's right, jose. this will be speaker mike johnson's first time on the lectern at a state of the union with the president, and the speaker is asking his republican members to exercise restraint, to be respectful, and to show restraint. that's acco

was a woman who was denied an abortion in texas, she is going to be sitting with the first lady, shawn fain, the head of the uaw you woman named jazmin cazares, whose sister was killed at a school mass shooting. all of these people, again, helping to paint a picture of what this white house is priorities are, and keep in mind, brianna, we are going to be hearing from president biden, but we're also very much hearing from candidate biden. and what that means is that all throughout the speech very much expect the president to continue drawing contrasts between his vision for the country and republicans. and of course, that means donald trump as well, whether or not he is named specifically or not, that is going to be a contrast that we see over and over again throughout the course of this speech. >> and tonight, mj will be hearing about this new mission to ramp up aid to gaza. what can you tell us about that >> that's right. we certainly expect in general that the issue of the israel hamas war is going to be a significant and important part of this speech. senior officials saying that he is g

>> well here's what shawn fain said about that. everyone should listen to. and he said, the people who are making the cars, the people who are making the steel, they're not getting paid the wages that they deserve. it's all knowing tech executives. and so how do we make sure that workers are actually benefiting if we're going to have ai that automates things and then makes it that you don't have to work as many hours those gains should be going to workers and not just to executive. >> what do you think >> 32 hour week? >> everyone's going to love the idea of 32 hour. >> we just >> don't think you should mandated by the government in my in south carolina my 17 year-old works in a restaurant making $25 an hour. he we don't need $115 minimum wage. the kids already making far more than that. he's still in high school, and so i would rather have the freedom and independence of people being hello to pick the workplace that offers the best benefits for them and having the government mandated for the people, i believe in freedom. >> there's the republican democrat d

that's expected to include shawn fain, the president of the united auto workers a group that endorsed him just a few months ago at a time when the president is trying to show this pro worker stance, to american voters at a time when former president donald trump is also trying to court that group. there will also be kate cox, who is that texas mother, who had to seek an abortion outside of her state as she faced a life-threatening pregnancy, the administration is also inviting a couple of who it was going through the ivf if process in the state of alabama, there's a host of other guests that will also be featured in the first lady's box. but really this speech offers the president with the opportunity to tout his accomplishments and lay out his vision for a second term, we'll see if he tangles once again with republicans as he did last year. some in his party would like him to show a little bit more of a fight in this campaign. >> all right. arlette saenz for us at the white house. arlette, thank you. >> this of course, a big opportunity for the president tonight. what can you make of

the hell he wants to countries that are not meeting their nato obligations are there will also be shawn fain of the united it auto workers union, a key union that endorsed biden in recent months, there will also be some people related to reproductive rights. kate cox, that's that texas woman who had to travel out of state state to terminate her pregnancy after she was facing life-threatening conditions also, a woman from alabama who was trying to go through ivf procedures, but had that procedure or canceled duty until the recent alabama supreme court decision relating to ivf, there's also maria shriver, who has worked with the first lady on women's health, but also notably is the cousin of robert f. kennedy, who is running in this third party bid for the white house. so that just gives you an idea of the people who will be at the state of the union address as the present is trying to use each of these guests for one quick moment to highlight some of the priorities that he sees in this term. and also a second term, if you were to be reelected. >> yeah, lots of guests will be up to the gallery

this is the woman who was denied an abortion in the state of texas, will see shawn fain, the head of the uaw, just goes to that base that we were talking about and part of that key coalition for the president and all so a woman named jazmin cazares, she is the sister of someone who was killed at a school mass shooting. of course, gun violence is a domestic priority that the president has talked about. a lot over the course of the first term. and keep in mind this is going to be us hearing. president biden deliver this important speech, but also presidential we'll candidate joe biden as well. and to that end, we do expect to hear a good amount of finger pointing at republicans when it comes to policy issues. and just a lot of drawing of that contrast between the vision for vision that he has for this country and the vision that he says is broken, that donald trump has for this country as well, boris andrew, we understand the white house was hoping that another israel hamas hostage deal would have been finalized before tonight's speech. obviously, that didn't happen. so how might that

but the market will lv shawn fain will negotiate hard for 32 hours.amples of that. don't have congressman pose this on employers or employees. >> you are negotiating of 32 hour work week. ultimately it wasn't included q in the final contract but what were the concerns, unique concerns that were raised by employers, what do4z you thinkt would take to get those employers to move? i think in terms of 36 hour workweek that would be applied in the city. it's roughly 10% pay raise as a way to think of doing something like that. the level of appreciation was palpable. you can feel it. what's your sense on that? >> of fear of change of doing something different.■-v look at studies that have been done when workers, especially factory workers, when they look 10 hours they are not as productive. productivity drops off. as anything-year-old i remember putting apart on a transmission. its monotonous work doing over and over again. your minds wandering off. so many benefits, semblance of work/life balance and with advances in technology companies choose to a lamina

building the future in belvedere right here in america. [ applause ] >> here tonight the uaw president shawn fain, a great union leader and a great friend. shawn, where are you? stand up. [ applause ] >> and dawn sims, a third-generation uaw worker from belvedere. shawn, i was proud to be the first president to stand on the picket line. and today dawn has a good job in her hometown, providing stability for her family and pride and dignity as well, showing once again wall street didn't build america. they're not bad guys. they didn't build it, though. the middle class built the country. and unions built the middle class. [ applause ] >> i say to the american people, when america gets knocked down, we get back up. we keep going. that's america! that's you, the american people. it's because of you america's coming back. it's because of you our future is brighter. it's because of you that tonight we can proudly say the state of our union is strong and getting stronger. [ applause ] >> four more years! four more years! four more years! four more years! >> tonight, i want to talk about the future of po

[applause] here tonight, is uaw president shawn fain. where are you? stand out.cheering] and the third-generation uaw worker at belvedere. i was proud to be the first president to stand at the picket line, and today dawn has a good job in a good hometown providing stability for a family and pride and dignity as well, showing once again wall street did not built america. they are not bad guys, they did not build it though. you did and unions built the middle class. [applause] i say to the american people when america gets knocked down, we get back up. we keep going. that is america. that is you the american people. it is because if you america is coming back, our future is brighter. it is because of you that tonight we can probably say the state of our union is strong and getting stronger. [applause] [chanting "four more years"] tonight i want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together. a future were the days of trickle-down economics are over and the wealthy and because corporations no longer get all the tax breaks. i come from a state t

future right here in america. [ applause ] >> president joe biden: here tonight the uaw president shawn fainreat friend and labor , where are you? stand up. [ applause ] >> president joe biden: and don sam, a third generation worker, uaw worker, shawn i was out to be the first president to stand on the picket line and today don has a good job providing to billy for her family and pride and dignity as well, showing once again that wall street did not build america, they are not bad guys but they didn't build it, the middle class built the country and unions built the middle class. [ applause ] >> president joe biden: i say to the american people when america gets knocked down we get back up. , we keep going, that is america. that is you, the american people, it is because of you that america is coming back, it is because of you that our future is brighter and because of you that tonight we can proudly say the state of our union is strong and getting stronger. >> president joe biden: tonight, tonight i want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together, a future where th

>> uaw president shawn fain spoke in favor of the bill saying many employees are working for less paye. republican lawmakers expressed opposition to the bill. senator bill cassidy said it would harm small businesses which would lead to layoffs if businesses cannot keep productivity up. >> i would not know where to start on this. i wouldn't want to live in a world without bernie sanders. you know, from the land of ben & jerry's. i love it. it is silly. you love the work. you know -- >> i do like a seven-day working week. >> five days? in this country, we try to have a really -- >> i was going to say -- >> strong economy. >> for a lot of americans -- >> 35 hours. >> for a lot of americans, if we had a 40-hour workweek. >> we are at a 35-hour workweek for decades. they take an hour lunch break. when i started working, it was a 35-hour workweek. >> it is funny. the idea of the four-day workweek in the white collar land because they are working from home and taking more time. the other truth is, folks working on the u.p.s. truck, those folks are working 12 hours a day. >> i get mail on sun

cheering and applause the great leader, shawn fain, where are you, stand up.ription drugs than anywhere in the world. it's wrong and i am ending it! cheering and applause with the law that i've proposed and signed, not one of the republican buddies will vote for it, we finally beat big pharma, instead of paying $400 a month or thereabouts for insulin with diabetes is only costs ten bucks to make, then get paid 35 a month now and still make a healthy profit. cheering and applause i want to the cost of $35 a month for every american who needs it. every one. for years, every american who needs it. every one. foryears, people have talked about it, but finally we got it done and gave medicare the power to negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs, just like the ba is able to do for veterans. that's not just saving seniors money, saving taxpayer's money. we cut the deficit by $160 billion. because medicare will no longer have to pay those exorbitant prices to big pharma. this year, medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market