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“Call Out the Lies”: SEIU Head Defends Union Leader Who Challenged Trump on False Carrier Job Claims

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Donald Trump attacked union leader Chuck Jones on Twitter this week, after the president of United Steelworkers Local 1999 appeared on CNN criticizing Trump for breaking his promise to Carrier workers in Indiana. “I am proud of what Chuck Jones did,” says Mary Kay Henry, international president of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million workers in healthcare, public and property services. “We’re going to need to stand up and speak out and have each other’s backs and call out the lies of this administration and make it crystal clear that we’re not backing down.”

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This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you, very quickly, about Donald Trump attacking union leader Chuck Jones on Twitter Wednesday, after the president of the United Steelworkers Local 1999 appeared on CNN criticizing Trump for breaking his promise to Carrier workers in Indiana. Last week, Trump appearing at the Carrier air conditioner plant in Indianapolis, boasting he’d saved 1,100 jobs from being moved to Mexico, but Jones, who represents the workers, says Trump “lied his ass off.” Jones says Trump helped keep only 730 jobs in the U.S., not 1,100. On Wednesday, Donald Trump tweeted, “Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!” Less than two hours later, he sent out another tweet saying, “If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking. Reduce dues.” Your thoughts, Mary Kay Henry?

MARY KAY HENRY: I think this moment requires all of us to stand up and speak out and call out the misinformation of the next president-elect, Donald Trump. And I’m proud of what Chuck Jones did. I’m proud of what Adriana Alvarez did on November 29th, when the Fight for 15 got in the streets in 340 cities. And we are going to need to stand up and speak out and have each other’s backs and call out the lies of this administration and make it crystal clear that we’re not backing down. We’re going to fight for our vision of America.

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