UAW Stands By Man Flipped Off By Trump: 'Workers Should Never Be Subjected To Vulgar Language'

During a visit to a Ford F-150 plant in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday President Trump got into a spirited exchange of ideas on the factory floor with the kind of guy Trump probably thinks of as his people; just an average joe, a blue collar guy making a living with his hands. After this middle America worker shouted at the president that he was a "pedophile protector," Trump used his world renown wit to flip the guy off and mouth something that looked an awful lot like "f*** you." 

The usual things happened afterwards. The White House painted the worker, later identified as T.J. Sabula, as "A lunatic ... wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response." Sorry, White House, the only one dealing in expletives was the so-called "Leader of the Free World." 

Ford suspended Sabula without pay, and the GoFundMes kicked off. However, Sabula has more protection than just kind-hearted souls shelling out bucks to keep him afloat, one that is offered to a vanishing number of American workers: Sabula has the United Auto Workers union in his corner. The UAW posted this notice on its website:

The autoworker at the Dearborn Truck Plant is a proud member of a strong and fighting union —the UAW. He believes in freedom of speech, a principle we wholeheartedly embrace, and we stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job. 

The UAW will ensure that our member receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member. Workers should never be subjected to vulgar language or behavior by anyone—including the President of the United States.

The UAW has not always been so willing to speak out against Trump's policies, so this comes as something of a shock. UAW president Shawn Fain is a fan of automotive tariffs, for instance, though he supported Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. But this is what the UAW is supposed to do: Protect the rights of workers. 

The two GoFundMes running for T.J. Sabula have crested $720,000 at time of publication, with many people wishing Sabula well in the comments and remarking on his bravery. Other folks are, predictably, not as keen. According to the Detroit Free Press, Big Bill Ford is less than impressed: 

When the Free Press asked Bill Ford about the incident late on Jan. 13, Ford said: "Discipline is in the hands of the organization. It's unfortunate and 99% of the employees in the plant were great and I was embarrassed because we're the host. But that was six seconds out of an hour tour and the tour went great."

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Michigan's favorite adopted son Pete Buttigieg called the move brave during a presentation at the Detroit Auto Show, telling the Freep "I don't know much about the HR side of it, what I know is President Trump did literally what he has been doing figuratively, which is give autoworkers the finger." 

In the past, workers have been used as props in Trump's charm offensives, like in 2019 when employees at the Pennsylvania petrochemical plant were given the "option" to attend a Trump rally at their place of work or, instead, burn a personal day or even just take an unpaid day. This time around, someone Trump wanted to treat as a backdrop to his PR moment made a little noise and said his piece.

While this entire event really challenges the limits of free speech in the workplace, I hope it also proves to be a great example of how unions can still protect workers' rights. Union membership has dropped from a height of 37% of workers in the U.S. in 1957 (the apparent golden age we're all itching to return to) down to 11% today, according to the Economic Policy Institute. We're being reminded constantly lately of how important our rights are, and how many of us can be crushed without any organized pushback. Hopefully Sabula keeps his job, works just long enough to make his point, and then hides away with his literal "F*** You" money in some cabin up north.