President Donald Trump visited a Ford manufacturing plant in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday. During the visit, a Ford employee shouted a disparaging comment at the president, triggering a response from the president that the White House has described as "an appropriate and unambiguous response," but other outlets have described as "obscene.”
According to the Detroit Free Press, the worker, T.J. Sabula, was suspended after the exchange.
Following his suspension, a pair of GoFundMe campaigns were set up to support Sabula and his family. The line worker is married and a father of two young children, according to one GoFundMe page. The campaigns raised $330,055 and $480,920, respectively, reaching a total of $810,975 before donations were closed late January 14. One of the campaign organizers, Diandra Gourlay, posted an update that said, "TJ and his family greatly appreciate the outpouring of support! At this time we are closing donations to this campaign and encourage you to look for other causes and organizations to support. We appreciate every single donation, comment, share, and sign of support!"
Sabula is a member of the United Auto Workers union.
In a statement, Laura Dickerson, UAW vice president and director of the Ford Department, said, "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."
Dickerson said the UAW will make sure Sabula receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member.
Dickerson added, "Workers should never be subjected to vulgar language or behavior by anyone—including the President of the United States."
Ford is investigating the incident. Spokesman Dave Tovar told the Detroit Free Press that one of the company's core values is respect. "We don’t condone anyone saying anything inappropriate like that within our facilities," Tovar told the news outlet. "When that happens, we have a process to deal with it, but we don’t get into specific personnel matters."
It is worth noting that Sabula's actions are a fireable offense, and Ford would be within its rights to terminate the employee for cause.
According to a report from Business Insider, which interviewed five legal and workplace experts, "an employee's words can quickly become fireable offenses."
