Tim Scott and Nikki Haley: Two of Many Republicans Who Are Anti-Union

 

By David Starr

 

While, out of utter necessity, the United Auto Workers (UAW) have gone on strike against the Big Three auto makers (Ford, General Motors and Stellantis), Republicans have been typical in their responses. They’ve been spouting anti-union propaganda.

 

Considering the huge profits made by the Big Three, the demands of the UAW are actually reasonable. UAW President Shawn Fain has led the way with the demands, which includes a 40% wage increase and elimination of the two-tiered wage system. Fain has shown a spine in the UAW’s dealings with the Big Three. He is justifiable in his militancy.

 

With the 2007 Great Recession, workers gave up a degree of their rights as part of the Big Three recovering from the economic disaster, for example, accepting a wage freeze over the length of a four-year contract and giving up a cost-of-living adjustment that matched the rate of inflation.

 

Meanwhile, CEO pay increased 40% over the last decade. And in the first of half of 2023, they had $21 billion in profits. But Republicans find it convenient to ignore this wave of profiteering while complaining about the UAW’s demands. Two of them are Nikki Haley and Tim Scott. Both apparently disregard workers’ basic rights, saying that the unions and labor are asking for too much. Writing for Mother Jones, Noah Lanard said that Haley portrayed workers as being “greedy and ungrateful.”

 

And Haley proposed raising the retirement age to 74 years. It’s, thus, apparent that Republicans like Haley want workers to work until they drop dead.

 

Lanard also quoted Haley: “The union is asking for a 40% raise; the companies have come back with a 20% raise. I think any of the taxpayers would love to have a 20% raise and think that’s great.” Tell that to the autoworkers who have seen their wages decline further over the past decade, and barely, if at all, keeping up with expenses.

 

In 2014 as governor of South Carolina, Haley said she would not permit unions in the state. Lanard quoted Haley, saying, “we don’t want to taint the water.” Additionally, “I was a union buster. I didn’t want to bring in companies that were unionized simply because I didn’t want to change the environment in the state.” 

 

A publication named Brutal South published an article by Paul Bowers, who is from South Carolina. With Haley’s announcement that she would be running in the 2024 presidential election, Bowers warned, “As a South Carolinian who lived through [governor] Haley’s administration, I’m duty-bound to explain why you should never vote for this person.”

 

Bowers indicated that Haley is associated with Stand For America, Inc., (SFA) a small thinktank with a gang of young Republicans, Heritage Foundation “toadies,” those who were staffers for Haley’s administration, Sen. Tim Scott (more about him later), and ex-Sen. Jim DeMint. Bowers did research on Stand For America and “pulled some of the group’s IRS filings after they mailed my parents a John Birch-style fundraising letter containing devalued Venezuelan currency.” Specifically, it was authored by Haley and contained the following: “This Venezuelan banknote is called a ‘Bolivar’ and today because of socialism it’s worth less than a dime.” It was a delusional claim. 

 

Currently, Venezuela has U.S. sanctions against it, which have done damage, economically and otherwise, where as a result the Bolivar would be grossly devalued. Haley is yet another Republican who demonizes socialism but when it comes down to it, doesn’t know what socialism really is. Traditionally, Republicans love using this word as a boogeyman (but so do Democrats).

 

Stand For America received dark money, i.e., from “unnamed sources” in 2019, when it was established. It totaled $7.8 million and has been used for digital education (more like indoctrination) and organizing. Bowers wrote, “They lack both the catty panache of a Trump tweet and the polished propaganda style of a PragerU video. Ideologically, they convey the pro-war, anti-welfare, stridently neoconservative views of SFA donors.” 

 

Haley is one of those Republicans who still think the United Sates is not racist. While there are success stories among Black Americans, the racism is still institutionalized and sometimes overt. It’s been there since the beginning.

 

As the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Haley took the standard neoconservative view that’s typical among the right. For the Yemen conflict, Haley, Bowers wrote, “provided support and cover for Saudi armed forces as they dropped U.S. bombs on ports, farms, food warehouses, and a school bus full of children.” Now there’s a continuing famine in Yemen affecting 23 million people. 

 

In the “tradition” of U.S. foreign policy, Haley strongly vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to provide protection for Palestinians after Israeli soldiers killed dozens at a protest. Israel is a “valued” ally for the U.S., and thus for Haley. She has also aligned herself with hard right Christian Zionists in such a group as Christians United For Israel (CUFI). 

 

Then there’s Sen. Tim Scott, another South Carolinian. In terms of the UAW strike, Spencer Kimball wrote a piece for CNBC which quoted Scott, saying, “Ronald Reagan gave us a great example when federal employees decided they were going to strike. He said, ‘you strike, you’re fired.’ Simple concept to me. To the extent that we can use that once again, absolutely.” This conveys the arrogant and careless attitude of Scott towards workers. 

 

In a piece written for MSNBC, TV host Medhi Hasan quoted the New York Times, describing Scott as “an amiable scripture-quoting man.” Further, the National Journal called him a “natural,” and Politico thought of him as “magnetic.” Hasan countered by writing that Scott is one of the most extreme members in the GOP. “This is a conservative politician who has spent years pushing for tax cuts on the rich and celebrating anti-union laws in his state.”

 

Then there’s the separation of church and state. Hasan quoted Scott: “the constitution was constructed to protect the church from the government, not the government from the church.” No, it’s the idea of not establishing a religion by Congress while not prohibiting the practice of religion. Scott gets it wrong again. But that’s a Republican habit.

 

There is one thing Scott did say in relation to racial tensions in the U.S. An incident involving the police killing of African-American Walter Scott (no relation), and the killing of nine Blacks at a church in Charleston by white supremacist Dylann Roof prompted Scott to speak up. On the Senate floor, Scott delivered an impassioned speech, relating how he’s had experiences with the police. Quoting Scott, Hasan wrote, “In the course of one year, I’ve been stopped seven times by law enforcement officers. While I thank God I have not endured bodily harm, I have however felt the pressure applied by the scales of justice when they are slanted.” 

 

Hasan wrote that this was refreshing to hear from a Republican. But he added, “The truth is that Scott tends to use his unique position as a Black Republican not to force his fellow Republicans to confront the challenge of systemic racism, but to give them an excuse to ignore it.” When it comes down to it, Scott is a token for the Republican Party. 

 

Like Haley, Scott doesn’t believe that systemic racism exists. Hasan questioned whether he is genuine and principled, and/or if Scott is being a political opportunist and a self-promoter.

 

Regarding Trump, Scott ignores his criminal behavior and ideas. After the 2020 election, Scott refused to say that Trump promoted the big lie that the election was rigged. Scott also voted to acquit Trump in the Senate impeachment trial which occurred after the Jan. 6^th riot at the U.S. Capitol. Hasan quoted him as saying, “The one person I don’t blame is President Trump.”

 

So, Scott tows the MAGA line for Trump, despite Trump being indicted on 91 criminal counts.

 

And, so it goes in relation to the UAW strike. Haley and Scott, and other Republicans, have proven that they don’t care about the autoworkers’ basic rights. And the Big Three are no different. They resorted to laying off workers without unemployment pay. The UAW probably got it right when it said this was a tactic to pressure the workers; to get them to be desperate and disgruntled. But under Shawn Fain, the UAW isn’t backing down.   

 

To be anti-union is to be anti-labor.