Autoworkers Want Their Union Back. Plus. . .

It’s Wednesday, August 6. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Suzy Weiss on Trump’s big, beautiful ballroom. The Free Press reports from the streets of Moscow. Dave Rubin’s guest host for August is an AI clone of himself, and River Page just spoke to it. 

But first: The union that stopped speaking for its workers.

American labor doesn’t look like it used to. 

The American blue-collar labor force—long the backbone of the American economy and the middle class—is shrinking. And, once stalwarts of the Democratic Party, the working class in America is undeniably shifting toward Donald Trump. 

In 2023, Joe Biden became the first sitting U.S. president to walk a picket line, but he still hemorrhaged support among blue-collar workers in the polls. In the end, Kamala Harris couldn’t win them back in 2024, either. 

Workers are also drifting away from the unions meant to represent them. Fewer than 10 percent of all U.S. workers are union members, down from about 20 percent in 1983.

What’s going on? 

Today, we’re bringing you two perspectives. The first is my report on the United Auto Workers union, which has replenished its depleted blue-collar membership with graduate students and other white-collar workers—and is tilting toward the left because of it. Last year, UAW President Shawn Fain threw the union’s weight behind Harris, speaking at the Democratic National Convention and pledging $1.5 million to her campaign. The union also has endorsed Zohran Mamdani, the socialist candidate for New York City mayor.

All these new members might be a lifeline for the UAW, but autoworkers who have spent decades on the factory floor in places like Detroit and Flint, Michigan, told me that the union increasingly seems out of touch with its blue-collar base. As one of them said, “These higher education kids, you know, they’re high on ideals, they want this and that. People like me, we just want a job tomorrow.”

The second perspective comes from Sean O’Brien, the president of the Teamsters, who sat down with Bari for the newest episode of Honestly. O’Brien is a lifelong Democrat, but last year he stood on the stage at the Republican National Convention and declared that American workers were “being taken for granted.”

He tells Bari that the progressive politicians declaring that they speak for the American working-class today are spreading “bullshit.” 

—Frannie Block

• The president’s approval rating has hit a historic low at 38 percent, according to a new poll out this week. It also found a substantial drop in the number of Americans who believe Trump is handling immigration well, from 50 percent four months ago to 41 percent today.

• Yesterday House Republicans subpoenaed Bill and Hillary Clinton, in an intensifying probe into the death of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. They were among a handful of former federal officials and politicians—including former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, and six ex–U.S. attorneys general—who will be required to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee.

• A proposed redrawing of Texas congressional districts would net House Republicans five more seats, all but guaranteeing a GOP House majority for the duration of Trump’s term. The redrawn map has provoked warnings from Democrats of a “legal insurrection” being waged by the GOP. “This is a war. We are at war,” said New York governor Kathy Hochul.

• As part of their settlement with the Trump administration, Brown and Columbia have agreed to disclose admissions data to the government. This will allow the government to ensure the universities are adhering to a Supreme Court ruling barring the consideration of race in college admissions. “Because of the Trump administration’s resolution agreement,” said Linda McMahon, Trump’s secretary of education, “aspiring students will be judged solely on their merits, not their race or sex.”

• The State Department unveiled a new plan that will require certain travelers to the U.S. to hand over $15,000 before arriving. This cash will be returned to the traveler if they leave the country without breaking the terms of their visa. The change is aimed at those who are “nationals of countries identified by the Department as having high visa overstay rates.” 

• According to a new study, young people are getting diagnosed with colon cancer increasingly early. Between 2019 and 2023, colorectal cancer screening among those aged 45 to 49 increased by 62 percent, and early stage diagnoses increased 50 percent from 2021 to 2022. Researchers continue to investigate possible links between diet and lifestyle and the rising rates of colon cancer.

• The White House is preparing an executive order targeting banks that have discriminated against conservatives. The order requires bank regulators to examine potential violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and could be signed into law as soon as this week. For more on debanking, read Rupa Subramanya’s fantastic piece.

• Thousands have been infected by a mosquito-borne virus in China, prompting a Covid-like response throughout the country. Over 8,000 people have been infected with the chikungunya virus—and mass quarantines are in effect to help stop the spread of the painful, fever-inducing disease.