Williams, UAW to Blast Trump over Auto Rescue

WARREN, Ohio – Former Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams will join the presidents of the United Auto Worker locals representing workers at General Motors Lordstown at a campaign event today blasting Donald Trump for his stance on the auto rescue.

Republican presidential nominee Trump, who has a rally scheduled for tonight in Geneva, “would have been fine letting the auto industry go bankrupt,” according to a news advisory Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Clinton has claimed that Trump said during the Great Recession rescuing the auto industry didn’t matter very much and quoted him as saying, “Let it go.” An analysis by FactCheck.org cites Trump as saying he supported government help, and the “Let it go” comment was taken out of context from a statement in a news conference in Michigan last year.

Before his appointment as assistant secretary of commerce for economic development in the U.S. Department of Commerce, Williams served as executive director of the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers.

As a U.S. senator, Clinton “supported the auto recovery, which has saved thousands of jobs in the Mahoning Valley,” the advisory stated. “Sales of Lordstown-produced Chevy Cruzes are up year-over-year, and Valley employees are benefiting as a result of a profit-sharing program.”

The Clinton campaign also noted that Consumer Reports this week rated the Chevrolet Cruze, which is built at the Lordstown plant, the most reliable small car on the market, and that GM is on track for another year of record earnings.

The campaign event featuring Williams, UAW Local 1112 President Glenn Johnson and UAW Local 1714 President Robert Morales, will take place at 1 p.m. at the Local 1112 Hall.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.