Up First from NPR - Final Campaign Stops, Boeing Strike Vote

Episode Date: November 4, 2024

We catch up with the final flurry of the campaign on the eve of Election Day. And striking Boeing machinists vote on the company's latest proposal backed by union leaders to end a seven-week strike.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Megan Pratz, Roberta Rampton, Russell Lewis, Olivia Hampton and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Lindsay Totty. We get engineering support from Carleigh Strange. And our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hi, it's Michelle Martin. And I'm Steve Inskeep. Election Day is Tuesday. And as you continue to follow things here on Up First, we'd like you to know that there are two other ways to make sure you don't miss a development throughout the day. First, every weekday you can find a new episode of the NPR Politics Podcast with context and analysis on the big stories whenever they happen. So like you get an alert, big breaking news, don't know what to think, look for the NPR Politics pod a few hours later.

And second, consider this as the podcast where NPR covers one big story in depth every weekday evening. They will be all over this election and its aftermath, too. So you got up first in the morning, consider this in the evening, and the NPR Politics podcast anytime big things happen and around the Clock, Election News Survival Kit from NPR podcasts. Thanks for listening. Here's our program. Election Day is Tuesday.

It has been one of the most surprising and chaotic White House campaigns in recent memory. Both candidates are crisscrossing swing states in the final stretch. What are their final messages? I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is a first from NPR news Vice President Harris is finishing while sounding upbeat Former President Trump's final message includes a warning against voter fraud every polling booth has Trump's final message includes a warning against voter fraud. Every polling booth has hundreds of lawyers standing there. And Boeing workers vote today on a new company proposal that could end their eight-week strike.

What does it all mean for the troubled plane maker? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, offering over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Hand-selected for their inherent craft, each hotel tells its own unique story through distinctive design and immersive experiences, from medieval falconry to volcanic wine tasting. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of over 30 hotel brands around the world. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com.

Enjoying the podcast so far? Get more from shows like this one with NPR+. For a simple recurring donation, you'll get perks from over 20 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, early access, shop discounts, and more. Join us in making the world a more curious and well-informed place at plus.npr.org. I'm Danielle Kurtzleben. I cover the presidential campaign for NPR. So I go to rallies, a lot of them. I want to hear what the candidates say I go to rallies, a lot of them. I want to hear what the candidates say, talk to voters, and find out what ideas are resonating. And I put it all in my reporting to help you make sense of this election.

It's why being there is important. To help support this work, sign up for NPR+. Go to plus dot NPR dot org. Tomorrow, finally, is Election Day. Americans are electing every member of the House of Representatives and enough of the U.S. Senate to decide who will control it next year. Also governors, state legislators and much else. There are a lot of ballot measures in many states. The peak attention goes to the presidential campaign and the candidates hold multiple rallies today

after racing across the country all weekend. We are joined now by two very tired NPR White House correspondents, Franco Ordoñez, who has been following former President Donald Trump, and Aswa Khalid, who has been following Vice President Harris. Good morning to you both. Good morning. Good morning, Michelle. Or maybe it's good evening since you probably never went to sleep.

All right. So let's start with the highlights from this busy weekend. Asma, why don't you lead us off? Yeah, I mean, yesterday, Harris was focused all day on the ground in Michigan, and that is important because Democrats have relied on that state to win presidential elections for years. But the big headline was, in fact, the stop that Harris made on her way to Michigan.

I was on the plane with her on Air Force Two, and we were coming from North Carolina. We were supposed to her way to Michigan. I was on the plane with her on Air Force Two and we were coming from North Carolina, we were supposed to be going to Detroit. Instead, the plane went to New York City and Harris ended up on Saturday Night Live where she came face to face with Maya Rudolph who has played Harris on the show. I don't really laugh like that, do I?

A little bit. Of course, a question I've had is does going on that show really speak to anyone who is currently on the fence? Who knows, but the Harris campaign is trying to project that they are ending this campaign on a positive note, and so this was, you know, a bit of lighthearted fun. I'll just add that Trump's allies are saying it's unfair. And his campaign is actually charging Harris with stealing Trump's skit ideas from when he was on the show in 2015 while seeking the Republican nomination.

Now, Trump didn't mention it yesterday, but he's since soured on the show, complaining that it's become a, quote, campaign contribution to the Democrats. Colin Jost, the co-anchor of SNL's Weekend Update, joked about Trump's unhappiness. Well, next week, the American people will decide if the next president will be Kamala Harris or if everyone at SNL will get audited. Interesting, since he's been on that show twice. Asma, we spoke last week about Harris's closing argument. Has that shifted in these final days?

It has shifted a bit. You know, her central message for weeks has been about the dangers that Democrats see Trump pose to democracy. She has described him as being unstable and out for unchecked power. And that was indeed the message that you heard from her as she delivered these big concert-like rallies in Atlanta and Charlotte over the weekend. But on Sunday at a rally on the campus of Michigan State's University, she sounded more upbeat. We have momentum. It is on our side.

Can you feel it? You know, at that rally, Michelle Harris did not mention Trump by name. This was the first time that she did that since she became the nominee. You know, she still tried to create a contrast and talked about turning the page. For weeks, Democrats have been saying that they are the underdog.

But now Harris and her team are projecting more optimism, more confidence. You're hearing the Harris campaign tout its ambitious ground game. And their mood seems to have changed in these final days. OK, Franco, what about Trump? What was his weekend like? Yeah, Michelle, he's definitely turned it up a notch.

I mean, three rallies yesterday, three rallies on Saturday. You can tell, though, it's wearing on him a bit. I mean, his voice is growing hoarse. He's making some mistakes. But it didn't stop him from going off script like he does in attacking his political enemies. In Pennsylvania yesterday, he called Democrats demonic and doubled down on false claims of voter fraud, actually saying he should have stayed in the White House after losing the election.

We had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left. I shouldn't have left. I mean, honestly, because we did so well well we had such a great so now I mean every every polling booth has hundreds of lawyers standing there you can hear I quickly switched gears and he also joked about it being okay with reporters being shot up hmm so Franco half of the rallies went to this weekend were in North Carolina he's returning there again today why is that I mean it is very significant that he is doing that I mean it was not supposed in North Carolina. He's returning there again today. Why is that? I mean, it is very significant that he is doing that. I mean, it was not supposed to, North Carolina that is, to even be a swing state. Trump won there twice. He shouldn't be needing to

even go to North Carolina at all. But now it's very competitive. Harris is spending time there, and Trump has spent more time in North Carolina than Pennsylvania in the last few days, which is really kind of crazy if you think about it. But North Carolina is a must-win state for Trump, and clearly he feels some vulnerability. You know, I wanna jump in here real quick because I was out with Harris this weekend, and to your point, Franco,

about how competitive North Carolina is, there is this moment when Air Force Two landed in Charlotte, and Harris was descending the stairs, and they are just, you know, of some yards away in the background was Trump's plane. It was the visual image of how they are fighting over the state and you know for decades Republicans have carried North Carolina in presidential elections with the one exception of Barack Obama in 2008 but the Harris campaign believes that it is gaining a lot of support from college-educated voters, from suburbanites

and from women, all of whom are key demographic groups in North Carolina. Okay, what about today, this final day of campaigning before Election Day tomorrow? Franco, what is Trump doing and what will you be watching for? Yeah, he's actually going to have four rallies today, one in North Carolina, two in Pennsylvania, and a final one in Grand Rapids, which is where I am today. So last time he held five rallies a day in those last few days.

And his pace this time seems to be an effort to kind of recapture that spirit. He's also gonna be in Redding, Pennsylvania, which is part of a Latino corridor of Pennsylvania. And where there are many Puerto Ricans who were not happy with the quote, floating island of garbage remarks for one of Trump's opening speakers

at his New York rally. You mentioned Redding and Harris is actually gonna be in that same city as well, which I think is very noteworthy because you have now both candidates in this relatively small city of Pennsylvania. It's got less than a hundred thousand people, but it does have the highest percentage of Latinos of any city in Pennsylvania.

And you mentioned that joke, Franco, Democrats feel like that joke has been a political gift for them. They feel like the Harris campaign is really making inroads with Latinos, that it allows them to draw this contrast with Trump. And I will say Harris has had some struggles this campaign season with Latinos, but after that joke, she publicly got support from a number of celebrities like Bad Bunny. So Asma, stay with us on that.

What else is Harris doing today? Yeah, she'll be crisscrossing the state of Pennsylvania. It is, of course, the biggest prize of all the swing states, 19 electoral votes. You know, really the big focus here is that state. She's got to stop and scranton rallies in Allentown and Pittsburgh and she'll be ending the night in Philadelphia with a concert on the famous Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I will say lots of symbolism there for a campaign that has repeatedly built itself as the underdog.

And Franco, how is Trump going to end his night? Yeah, it's actually going to be the third time that Trump is going to wrap up his campaign here in Grappin Rapids. In 2020, he mentioned maybe being a little bit superstitious. He actually scheduled to speak at 1030 tonight, but last time it was after midnight when he started. I really expect to be reporting in the wee hours tonight, if not tomorrow morning. Oh dear, time for more Red Bull. That is NPR's Franco Ordoñez, who's been following former President Donald Trump and Aswa Khalid

following Vice President Harris. Thank you both so much and hang in there a couple more hours. Thank you. Thank you, Michelle. Striking machinists at Boeing vote today on the company's latest proposal. Their strike is now in its eighth week. Union members rejected two previous contract offers, but their leaders are endorsing this latest agreement. And they're warning that members may end up with less if they don't take it.

And Pierce Joel Rose has been following all this and is with us now to tell us more. Joel, good morning. Good morning. So what's different about this latest proposal? Well, union leaders say Boeing has moved a lot since its first offer back in September. Remember the machinists voted overwhelmingly to reject that deal. The two sides then hammered out an agreement last month. Union members still voted to reject it, but the numbers were not quite as overwhelming.

Now they're going to vote for a third time. Boeing is offering a 38% wage hike. That is up from 25% in their first offer though It is still not quite the 40% raise the union wanted This is a modest improvement from the offer that members rejected less than two weeks ago But union leaders are endorsing this offer That's something they notably did not do for that previous proposal and they say quote It is time for our members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory

And what's Boeing saying about this offer? Well, publicly, the company is encouraging all union members to vote on the proposal. The new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, sent a message to employees on Friday that said in part, quote, it's time we all come back together and focus on rebuilding the business. But in private, Ortberg also delivered an ultimatum. That is according to union district president John Holden. Holden told the Seattle Times that Orttberg said the company can't keep giving more, that future offers would get worse, not better. And union leaders seem to be taking Orttberg at his word.

In a statement, they say, quote, we have extracted everything that we can in bargaining. And they told the members they that they risk the company offering less if they don't take the deal. Okay, so you told us that the company's offering more money. Are there other issues though that could be an obstacle here? Retirement benefits, that really could be the wild card. Many members of the machinist union want to restore the traditional pension plan that Boeing froze in 2014 during after their last contract negotiations. And this is one key demand where Boeing has not budged. It remains a major source of anger among the union's rank and file. Boeing says it is not going back to the old pension

because it's too expensive, though the company has offered to increase its contributions to employees 401k retirement plans. I think that's a big reason why the union rejected the company's previous offer. And it could lead to another rejection this time. Okay, tell more about what this could all mean for Boeing. I mean, this strike is the latest chapter in a brutal year. The previous CEO was pushed out in a management shakeup. The company lost $6 billion in the third quarter, partly as a result of the strike, which has crippled production at the company's airplane factories in the Pacific Northwest. But Boeing has been having major production problems

even before the strike. It has been struggling to rebuild trust with airlines, with regulators, with the flying public. Even the defense and space side of the business is struggling as well. They took a $2 billion loss in the third quarter. The strike is having a broader economic impact too on suppliers and other companies that depend on Boeing.

You know, more than 40,000 people are out of work through the strike. That was enough to make a dent in the national October jobs numbers that the Labor Department reported on Friday. Okay, real quick. When do we think we'll get results of the voting? Probably late tonight, maybe early tomorrow morning. The CEO of the company has said though, it's more important to do this right than to do it fast. So it could be a little while before the factories are started up again.

That is NPR's transportation correspondent, Joel Rose. Joel, thank you. You're welcome. And that's up first for Monday, November 4th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Steve Inscape for your next listen. Consider, consider this from NPR News. Election day may not be the end of the contest.

Listen to Consider This from NPR. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Megan Pratt, Roberta Rampton, Russell Lewis, Olivia Hampton, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Zia Butch, Nia Jamas, and Lindsay Tadi. We get engineering support from Carly Strange, and our technical director is Zach Coleman. Join us again tomorrow.

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