Tim Scott defends union-firing warning, says presidents shouldn't 'subsidize' them
Scott disagrees with demands like a 4-day work week
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott defended remarks about potentially firing striking United Auto Workers members and blamed unions and Democratic policies for, in-part, bringing the issue to a head.
Scott, a South Carolina senator, was criticized after NBC News reported he told an Iowa crowd that former President Ronald Reagan set a "great example" when he offered a "you strike, you're fired" ultimatum to unionized workers.
Reagan fired 11,000 striking air traffic controllers in 1981, going further to prohibit them from working in a federal capacity for the rest of their lives. His administration essentially allowed the workers to be replaced by several thousand supervisors, military members and workers who declined to strike.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On "Hannity," host Sean Hannity told Scott he disagreed with demands like a four-day work week and posited that Biden administration policies, including outsourcing and electric vehicle production, have negatively affected U.S. automakers and their employees.
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Sen. Tim Scott (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)
He said Ford's electric Model E division is on track to lose more than $4 billion in profits.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Any time you have a president who drives us to inflationary levels of 16%, this is like the sequel to the Jimmy Carter years," Scott replied. "It is devastating, and it's devastating working-class Americans."
"They've lost thousands of dollars of spending power, and without any question, whether you're a non-union or a union worker, you're being devastated by the Bidenomics. Devastated."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Scott said unions writ-large were "bailed out" by President Biden's American Rescue Plan to the tune of $86 billion. The same figure was cited by CNBC as an appropriation made to failing multi-employer pension plans.
When Hannity replied that the unions are "forcing the Democrats… ", Scott interjected, "They own them."
"Putting $86 billion of your money into shoring up union pensions because they keep overpromising and under-delivering is just wrong. We need a president who says, ‘We are not going to subsidize unions, period.'"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You made the deal, you live by the deal. If it goes belly-up, it's not on the back of the taxpayers," Scott said.
Scott also responded to questions on the disparity of CEO pay, saying that merit-based, performance-based compensation for corporate executives, as is custom for rank-and-file workers, would "make the world a better place."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He cited a steel company in South Carolina that reportedly pays many of its workers "production bonuses" that add up to net six-figure salaries.
"We should encourage and incent[ivize] compensation to match the production of a company," he said. "When you make the company more money, you should share in the profits of that company."
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