The MeidasTouch Podcast - Unions for Trump IN HORROR NOW after HIS ANNOUNCEMENT

Episode Date: December 5, 2024

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on union leaders who feel betrayed by Donald Trump after his recent announcement. Aura: Exclusive $35-off Carver Mat at https://AuraFrames.com. Use code MEIDAS at checkout to save! Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Very frustrated with the news that came out last night. I thought, I didn't think that, you know, I didn't expect that to come out. So that was like a gut punch. That was Jason Zagai, a union leader in Pittsburgh, who says that he and others in his union feel like Donald Trump just gut-punched them by opposing the merger between U.S. Steel and Nippon, the U.S. Steel-Nippon

merger, which 95% of the union members who worked in that factory supported. Jason Zagai attended Trump rallies with other union workers who ended up voting for Donald Trump and supporting Donald Trump. And you heard him there saying, I'm very frustrated with this news. And the news is Donald Trump just made a social media post. And on that social media post, Donald Trump says, I'm totally against the once great and powerful U.S. steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case, Nippon Steel of Japan. Through a series of tax incentives and tariffs, we will make U.S. steel strong and great again, and it will happen fast! As president, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer beware. So it's not just Donald Trump coming out against it now, which he didn't do during the key campaign stops towards the end of his campaign, but he's coming out against it

strongly. I'm going to block it. I'm going to make sure it never happens. And for people in Pittsburgh here and people who were part of the local 2227, they said, we're going to lose our jobs now, Donald. And now Jason's the guy, you heard him there. He goes, I'm very frustrated with the news that came out last night. He's from United Steelworkers local 2227. He's their vice president. He said during that panel discussion, quote, I didn't expect that to come out. So that was like a gut punch.

Let me share with you. This is the local media coverage of what just went down. Here, play this short clip. One of those union leaders also spoke at a Trump rally shortly before the election. He says he was shocked to hear the president-elect come out so strongly against the deal so soon after the election. Very frustrated with the news that came out last night. I thought, I didn't think that, you know, I didn't expect that to come out. So that was like, it got punched.

Union leaders at the U.S. Steel Irvin Works say 95% of their members are in favor of the Nippon merger, and many of them were at the Trump rally in Pittsburgh the day before the election. The union leaders say they were initially skeptical of the deal, but they came around after meeting with Nippon officials during the summer. Nippon pledged to spend a billion dollars to upgrade the 86-year-old hot strip. Now, the stock of U.S. Steel is tanking after Donald Trump's post because, you know,

when Donald Trump's been making these social media posts, whose stocks have been tanking? U.S. auto companies who the auto workers supported. Their stocks tank after Donald Trump talks about 25% blanket tariffs in Canada and Mexico when lots of these companies, whether it's Ford, GM, Stellantis, they've got factories in Mexico. And now the United States Steel Corporation, their stock is tanking. Let's just take a look at this, play this clip. Results and given what's going to happen in the new Trump administration,

U.S. steel shares are down eight and a half percent right now. That's off the worst levels of the day. And this is all after the president-elect took to his social media truth platform, Truth Social, last night and reiterated the opposition that he has towards U.S. steel being acquired by Japanese steel giant Nippon Steel. That has resulted in a down move in the stock. U.S. Steel, for its part, says it's still committed to that particular deal going through and that it thinks it's the best interest of all the stakeholders there. So keep it on U.S. Steel. And here's one that we haven't talked about best interest of all the stakeholders there. So keep it on U.S. Steel. And here's one that we haven't talked about a lot in terms of artificial intelligence. Now, Donald Trump also, while he was kind of coy about it, it's a controversial deal.

I want to be clear. The U.S. Steel-Nepon deal is controversial, right? There are many who say for national security reasons, that steel factory, the steel company that's been in existence since 1901, the pride of Pittsburgh, the Steelers, Pittsburgh Steel, U.S. Steel there. There are many people who think that it should be blocked, but they are out in the open with their views. Like President Biden didn't want the deal to go forward, but he made his views very clear and he was specific. So you knew where he stood. Donald Trump didn't. And then Donald Trump had his surrogates out there. Here's an example of one, Mike Pompeo, who was out there basically saying that this is a great deal, you know, that Nippon should buy U.S. steel. This is great for the workers there. Here, play this clip.

I'm going to give you 20 seconds, 25 seconds. I know you want to get this in. You believe Nippon Steel should buy U.S. steel. I do. I think it's important for the workers at that plant, at that facility, U.S. steel plant. They're going to invest $1.4 billion. President Trump always says, we want it made here. We want investment here. That's exactly what it is. And it'll be great for the American steel industry that Larry, you and I know has been incredibly challenged. I'm confident that that investment here in America, in Pittsburgh and all across our country will create more jobs, more wealth, more resources, more carbon neutral steel from high technology in a way that will

benefit our country and the people who work in those facilities today. All right. There you did it. That was good, too. You really nailed that. Well done. I mean, actually, I think what you're really saying is Nippon Steel is a better bet to keep U.S. steel going than U.S. steel to keep U.S. steel going. That's the way I'm reading this. You don't have to comment on that. I don't want to get you in any more trouble than is ordinarily the case. But that's what I think is going to happen. And I got a great smile out of trouble, Larry, but I'm happy to go back in. I'm happy to go and cause more trouble right alongside you, Mr. Secretary. Terrific stuff. Thank you, sir. We appreciate it very, very much. Isn't it funny how the people we love the most

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perfect gift by visiting Aura frames.com and get $35 off Aura's best-selling Carver matte frames by using the promo code Midas at checkout that's A-U-R-A-Frames.com, promo code Midas, M-E-I-D-A-S. This deal is exclusive to listeners of the Midas Touch podcast. So get yours now in time for the holidays. Terms and conditions apply. One more time, that's AuraFrames, A-U-R-A-Frames.com, and then use the promo code Midas at checkout. And then, as I mentioned, you had a lot of those steel workers, a lot of the union workers who ended up voting for Donald Trump. And, you know, I've been very critical of the union leaders who didn't endorse President

Biden or later Vice President Kamala Harris. There were some union leaders who did, but others like the Teamsters leader, Sean O'Brien, he was parading himself around in Mar-a-Lago and he was speaking at the Republican National Convention. And you had all these union leaders too who were basically supportive of Donald Trump when Trump's entire life has been destroying unions. Trump's first term was the most anti-union president in history, and President Biden was the most pro-union president in history by their actual actions and their conduct. So why you would buy the rhetoric of a con man in Donald Trump over the actions of a gentleman in President Biden who is actually doing the things that you wanted him to do is beyond me. Here's a new photo a few weeks ago that Sean O'Brien posted. Thank you, real Donald Trump.

Thank you. Let me be very clear with you, Sean O'Brien. Let me be very clear with you, other union leaders. Who is basically Donald Trump's co-president right now? Elon Musk, right? So two weeks ago, while you, sir, Sean O'Brien, were out there parading yourself once again, you do this over and over again. You stretch yourself out there, you know, standing right next to Donald Trump, giving the all thumbs up sign over and over again. What was Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and other oligarchs doing?

Oh, that's right. They were in the Fifth Circuit saying that the National Labor Relations Board should simply not exist. So let me get this straight. If unions don't have a place to file grievances, because the forum for that's the National Labor Relations Board, how are unions going to function if you have no NLRB? Because those are political appointees. What happens when Donald Trump fills the NLRB with people who want to destroy the NLRB? People like the lawyers for Musk and Bezos who argue that the NLRB should be destroyed. So here's a video, for example, this is from November of 2023.

This is Elon Musk at a New York Times summit, and he's being asked questions about unions. And what he says is that he disagrees with the entire idea of unions. He disagrees with the entire idea of unions. He disagrees with the entire idea. They shouldn't exist. He says because they create a system of lords and peasants coming from a guy who makes who's worth $300 billion. And he's saying the unions create the lords and peasants system. And people like Sean O'Brien didn't endorse or by their lack of endorsement made it clear that they support people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Here, play this clip. I disagree with the idea of unions, perhaps for a reason that is different than people may expect, which is I just don't like anything which creates kind of a lords and

peasants sort of thing. And I think the unions naturally try to create negativity in a company and create a sort of lords and peasants situation. Tesla factory workers in California are working so hard they're passing out on the production line. So then I see articles like this from Bloomberg Law right here. This just came out right around Thanksgiving time. Battered unions brace for years of clashes under Trump and Elon Musk. Okay, you know you didn't have to be battered. You had a good situation going for you

with President Biden. You're like, yeah, you know what? Biden supports the PRO Act. He's on the picket lines with us, strikes with us. He did everything. He saved our pensions, but you know what? Biden supports the PRO Act. He's on the picket lines with us, strikes with us. He did everything. He saved our pensions. But you know what? Let's be battered. Let's be battered. Here's what he goes. Unions. So this is what Bloomberg is reporting. So now unions are bracing themselves for an uncertain future under Donald Trump as he and his new ally, Elon Musk, threaten to thwart organizing in the nation's largest workplaces. Labor leaders are grappling with the reality of having few influential allies now

in Washington. It was a sucker punch, but we did everything we could. This is from AFL-CIO President Liz Schuller. At least she did everything she could. The Musk effect. There's widespread fear among unions that the Trump administration will weaken enforcement mechanisms at the National Labor Relations Board. What I just said. Musk has opposed unions at Tesla and has run afoul of federal regulators for allegedly intimidating and firing union supporters. The NLRB members and general counsel are political appointees, meaning Trump may be able to fire them. May mean he will fire them. Loyalists could bury complaints that come to the agency.

Quote, if he dismantles the NLRB, what's the incentive for a company to negotiate a contract, said Marty Walsh, executive director of the National Hockey League Players Association, who served as Biden's labor secretary. Marty, I agree with you. But why did all these other union leaders go and support Donald Trump? And why did the rank and file not be told by the union leaders what's up? Why weren't they given this information and this data? And so you have the Teamsters posting things like this. In November alone, they just posted this today. In November alone, Teamsters organized 12,000 new members. Teamsters won one of the largest union elections in more than 20 years at Corwell Health East, unionized Amazon facilities in multiple states, including the first in the South, and won four union elections at Cisco in November. Notice the language that the Teamsters use there.

Won. We won. That implies that there is winning and losing when it comes to union elections, and then the process by which unions are formed, by which their existence is challenged, by which individual grievances by union members gets addressed, aggrieved, won or lost, happens before the National Labor Relations Board, which is going to be gutted right now. So all of these things that you're talking about here are kind of for naught because, well, they're going to gut the whole thing. Duh. And why would you vote for that? But it's okay because flashy crypto guys, because that's how the media refers to them, flashy crypto guys like Justin Sun, a Chinese national accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. He sent Donald Trump $18 million last week to support Trump's crypto while under SEC investigation. He denies the allegations against him shortly after eating a chocolate banana that was taped to a wall. Because, you know, that's what union member, that's what rank and file union members can relate to.

So I don't like doing reports on F around and find out stuff because I don't take glee in people's suffering. I don't. But when you go, whoa, gut punched. How did that happen? We're battered now. I mean, did you just want to whine? Did you want to spend the next four years just playing the victim? Is that it? Hit subscribe. Let's get to 4 million. Love this video? Make sure you stay up to date on the latest breaking news and all things Midas by signing up to the Midas Touch newsletter at MidasTouch.com slash newsletter.