Ford Worker Heckles Trump, Receives Suspended Fate - UAW Backs Him with Financial Support
A Ford worker's outburst against President Donald Trump during a plant tour in Dearborn has sparked controversy and united support from his union. TJ Sabula, 40-year-old line worker at the automaker's F-150 plant, was suspended after shouting "pedophile protector" at the president in reference to accusations about the Trump administration covering up an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump responded with a middle finger and mouthing "fuck you" twice, sparking outrage from Sabula and his union. The United Auto Workers (UAW) Vice President Laura Dickerson condemned the president's response as "vulgar" and announced that the union backs Sabula, supporting his right to free speech on the job.
"We stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job," Dickerson said. "He is a proud member of a strong and fighting union... We will ensure he receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member." Sabula's suspension has been met with criticism from local officials, including U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Debbie Dingell, who have expressed support for the worker.
In an effort to raise funds for Sabula, two GoFundMe campaigns have attracted over $450,000 in donations. The fundraisers are legitimate, according to a GoFundMe spokesperson. As the debate around Trump's behavior continues, it is clear that Sabula and his union will not back down from advocating for workers' rights.
A Ford worker's outburst against President Donald Trump during a plant tour in Dearborn has sparked controversy and united support from his union. TJ Sabula, 40-year-old line worker at the automaker's F-150 plant, was suspended after shouting "pedophile protector" at the president in reference to accusations about the Trump administration covering up an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump responded with a middle finger and mouthing "fuck you" twice, sparking outrage from Sabula and his union. The United Auto Workers (UAW) Vice President Laura Dickerson condemned the president's response as "vulgar" and announced that the union backs Sabula, supporting his right to free speech on the job.
"We stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job," Dickerson said. "He is a proud member of a strong and fighting union... We will ensure he receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member." Sabula's suspension has been met with criticism from local officials, including U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Debbie Dingell, who have expressed support for the worker.
In an effort to raise funds for Sabula, two GoFundMe campaigns have attracted over $450,000 in donations. The fundraisers are legitimate, according to a GoFundMe spokesperson. As the debate around Trump's behavior continues, it is clear that Sabula and his union will not back down from advocating for workers' rights.
, like they're not afraid of trump's tantrums. and honestly, who does this guy even think he is? shouting pedophile protector at a president? it's just insane 
. i don't blame tj one bit for speaking up, he needs to represent the workers in that plant. lets keep the pressure on trump to do better than this 
They're right to support him.
! He just loses his cool in front of the Prez and now he's getting all kinds of grief? I get that Trump did respond kinda badly, but suspending him for life is harsh, you know? 
. And those GoFundMe campaigns? Come on, people! Let's raise some money for this guy and show that we care about workers' rights 
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I'm literally shook by this whole situation! I mean, who expects to get suspended from their job for speaking out against the President? 
It's like, shouldn't we be able to express our opinions without fear of repercussions? 
And Trump's response was just... wow. That middle finger and "fuck you" comment is totally unacceptable 
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. Like, can't we just have some basic human decency and respect for each other here?
. suspending someone over one bad word is crazy talk... at least sabula had the guts to speak out 
. uaw backing him with financial support is a major win for labor rights 
. goes to show that workers won't be silenced 
. anyway, 450k on gofundme? that's insane 
. hope sabula gets his job back and can continue advocating for better working conditions 
. And can we talk about how weird it is that Trump responded with a middle finger and a profanity? That's not how you respond to someone who disagrees with you, fam 
. I'm all for free speech, but come on, Sabula was just trying to stand up for himself and his union. The UAW supporting him is cool, but what's going to happen when this blows over and everyone forgets about it? We should be talking about real issues that affect us, not this drama with the President 
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this whole thing is messed up, right? I mean, Trump gets all butt-hurt because someone calls him out on some shady stuff and he responds like a toddler 
. And then the UAW comes to Sabula's defense and supports his free speech right to work... it's kinda awesome that they're standing by him 
. And now he's using his "middle finger" move to try and shame Sabula... ouch! 
. it's one thing to disagree with someone's views, but it's another to get all up in their grill like that.
the fact that his union is backing him and supporting his right to free speech on the job is actually pretty cool 
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But at the same time, you can't blame Trump for being upset, either... he does have a lot of power and people look up to him (even if some folks aren't fans 
. The fact that Trump would give him the finger just makes it even more clear that this guy is not going down without a fight