Final Campaign Stops, Boeing Strike Vote

0:28Hi, it's Michelle Martin. 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 in 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 Up First from NPR News.

1:08Vice President Harris is finishing while sounding upbeat. We have momentum. It is on our side. Can you feel it? Former President Trump's final message includes a warning against voter fraud. Every polling booth has hundreds of lawyers standing there. And Boeing workers vote today in 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.

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2:54Senate 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 Ordonez, who has been following former President Donald Trump, and Asma Khaled, 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.

3:26All 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, you know, that is important because Democrats have relied on that state to win presidential elections for years. You know, 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 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.

4:07I 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 skid 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.

4:45Colin 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.

5:28But 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.

6:08OK, 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 horrors. He's making some mistakes. But it didn't stop him from going off script like he does and 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.

6:42I shouldn't have left. I mean, honestly, because we did so well. We had such a great... So now, I mean, 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 at. So, Franco, half of the rallies Trent 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 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.

7:21But 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 want to 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, some yards away in the background was Trump's plane.

7:53It 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 groups, key demographic groups in North Carolina. OK, 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.

8:29So 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 going to be in Redding, Pennsylvania, which is part of a Latino corridor of Pennsylvania and where there are many Puerto Ricans who are not happy with the, you know, 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 going to 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.

9:02It's got less than 100 ,000 people, but it does have the highest percentage of Latinos of any city in Pennsylvania. And, you know, 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, you know, 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?

9:35Yeah, 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 a stop in Scranton, rallies in Allentown, in 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 billed itself as the underdog. Alfredo, 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.

10:08In 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 Ordonez, who's been following former President Donald Trump and Aswa Khaled, following Vice President Harris. Thank you both so much. And hang in there a couple more hours. Thank you. Thank you, Michelle.

10:45Striking 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.

11:16The 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.

11:48And 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, 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 Ortberg said the company can't keep giving more, that future offers would get worse, not better. And union leaders seem to be taking Ortberg at his word.

12:19In a statement, they say, quote, we have extracted everything that we can in bargaining. And they told the members 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 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.

12:52Boeing 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, the 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 to the strike, which has crippled production at the company's airplane factories in the Pacific Northwest.

13:29But 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?

14:02Probably 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 together. That is NPR's transportation correspondent, Joel Rose. Joel, thank you. You're welcome.

14:21And that's Up First for Monday, November 4th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Steve Inskeep. 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 Ziyad Butch, Nia Jumas, and Lindsay Totti. We get engineering support from Carly Strange and our technical director is Zach Coleman. Join us again tomorrow.

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