Joe Biden declares himself the most pro-union president in the history of the United States. This Tuesday he demonstrated this with an unusual act: for fifteen minutes he joined the picket lines of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against Detroit’s Big Three: General Motors, Ford and Stellantis (which also includes Chrysler). With a megaphone in hand, standing on wooden pallets and wearing a union cap, he expressed his support for the strikers’ demands: “Stand strong.” You deserve a significant raise and other benefits,” he said. “Wall Street didn’t build this country, the middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class,” he added, repeating a slogan he uses regularly.
The president acknowledged the sacrifices workers made when companies were in crisis, adding, “Now they’re doing incredibly well.” And guess what: They should be doing incredibly well, too.” Biden greeted the members of the picket line and, after a short conversation with them, set off for San Francisco, where he held another event that Tuesday.
“Without an agreement there are no wheels! “No wages, no parts!” the workers shouted when the president arrived. “This is a historic moment: the first time a sitting president of the United States has joined the picket line,” said UAW President Shawn Fain, the former Chrysler electrician and union leader who publicly called on Biden to join the protest . “Thank you, Mr. President, for standing with us in our defining moment for a generation,” said Fain, proclaiming his fight against “corporate greed.” “We do the hard work. “We do the actual work,” he added.
US President Joe Biden greets striking members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in front of GM’s Willow Run Distribution Center in Bellville.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN (Portal)
President Joe Biden joins the United Auto Workers picket line in Van Buren Township, Michigan.Evan Vucci (AP)
Striking members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) demonstrate in front of GM’s Willow Run Distribution Center in Bellville, Wayne County, Michigan. EVELYN HOCKSTEIN (Portal)
President Joe Biden arrives at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to join the United Auto Workers picket line this Tuesday, September 26, 2023, in Romulus, Michigan.Evan Vucci (AP)
US President Joe Biden will be joined by United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain, Representative Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-06) and Representative Rashida Tlaib (MI ) greets -12) upon arrival at Wayne County Metropolitan Airport in Detroit.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN (Portal)
UAW workers demonstrate outside the Ford Wayne Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on September 26, 2023. SCOTT OLSON (Getty Images via AFP)
On the twelfth day of the strike, Biden visited the picket lines at a General Motors distribution center in Wayne County, Michigan, outside Detroit. As a candidate in the 2020 presidential primary, Biden joined the picket lines of casino workers in Las Vegas and auto workers in Kansas City, but there is no precedent for a sitting president making a similar appearance.
His move also puts him a step ahead of former President Donald Trump, who is planning a rally with unionized workers in Michigan this Wednesday, coinciding with the second Republican primary debate scheduled for that day at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley (California) is planned). Michigan is one of the key states for the 2024 presidential election.
The president was greeted at the foot of the Air Force One steps by Fain, Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist and three members of Congress. A large caravan carrying the security detail that normally accompanies the president later set off for the chosen center, which the White House had not previously disclosed.
The UAW was the most powerful and influential union in the United States in its 88-year history, but it was in an era of decadence and corruption that landed two of its presidents in prison. Fain became the union’s first president directly elected by its members in March. Although Biden supports their demands, the UAW, unlike other unions, has not yet asked for support for Biden in the 2024 election.
The unions are demanding a new collective agreement with significant salary increases that compensates for the loss of purchasing power since the financial crisis, as well as the abolition or reform of the double salary scale that disadvantages new employees, and guarantees for job security in the middle of the electric car transition period.
During the trip to Michigan, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre noted that “Biden is fighting to ensure that the cars of the future are made in America by unionized American workers in good-paying jobs, not made in China.”
Trump stole from Democrats the traditional support of a large portion of industrial workers in the so-called Rust Belt of the United States, where heavy industry is concentrated. He defeated Hillary Clinton in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and other blue-collar states in 2016, winning the presidency. Biden won all three back in 2020 and, along with Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, they could be decisive again next year. Even before the general elections in the middle of his term in office, the President of the United States urged unions to maintain employee voting in these three states.
Companies didn’t like Biden’s visit. This time last year, Biden attended the Detroit Auto Show with General Motors CEO Mary Barra. A year later he demonstrated against a factory owned by the same company. Ahead of Biden’s visit, Stellantis defended its offer: “On the first day of the strike, President Biden said that UAW workers ‘deserve a contract that supports them and the middle class.'” “We agree and present a record offer,” said he in a statement. “Here are the facts: 21.4% overall wage increase, including a 10% increase upon ratification, $1 billion in retirement benefits, inflation protection measures, job security and much more,” he added.
Stellantis draws attention to competitors with non-union workers, including new electric car makers like Tesla. “We need a balanced agreement that adequately rewards our workers for their contributions to our success without significantly harming Stellantis compared to our non-union competitors,” he added.
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