Biden says he’s most pro-union president in US history

The United Auto Workers union has threatened to strike against the three largest U.S. automakers, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, if a temporary contact agreement is not reached by 11:59 p.m. Thursday. That could reshape the political landscape in the battleground state of Michigan and potentially send economic shockwaves across the country.

The auto industry accounts for about 3% of the country’s gross domestic product, and as many as 146,000 workers could lose their jobs. While the impact will be most immediate in Michigan and other states with high concentrations of auto jobs, such as Ohio and Indiana, a prolonged strike could trigger vehicle shortages and layoffs in the auto supply industry and other industries.

“Anything longer than a week, you start to feel the pain,” said Malik Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. “Beyond two weeks, the effects start to intensify.”

Dr. Killian, who worked at a Ford assembly plant in Wayne, Mich., for 26 years, said he can no longer afford the cars he helped build, embodying how the American middle class is being squeezed.

“I think the American public as a whole is aware of the impact that American autoworkers have on the economy,” Killian said. “If we suffer, the American economy will suffer.”

Biden has built his political career around this argument, repeating the mantra that “the middle class built America, and unions built the middle class.”His government also has Support organized labor and promote worker organizing Unabashedly, Biden often declare oneself “The most pro-union president in American history.”

Nonetheless, Shawn Fain was elected president of the United Auto Workers in March After promising to take a more confrontational stance in talks with automakersBiden pushed back on his claims on CNN this week, saying, “I think there’s a lot of work to be done in this area.”

The UAW president also tried to expand his argument beyond autoworkers. He said in a live broadcast with union members that the UAW’s demands were to “raise standards for workers everywhere.”

“I firmly believe that all of America will stand with us in this fight,” Fein said.

Biden will also have to deal with outspoken criticism from the former president Donald TrumpAn early leader in next year’s Republican presidential primary, he is now pushing the United Auto Workers to endorse him — an unlikely prospect according to union leaders.

Trump said in an online post that the “once fabled” UAW “will soon be bankrupt” if Biden is “allowed to pull off his all-electric car hoax.” China will build them all. Support Trump! ” In another post, the former president made a direct appeal to rank-and-file union members, whose support helped him win Michigan in 2016: “Union leadership must decide whether to stand up to Biden and the rest of Washington’s far-left politics Confidants stand together, or support Biden. “Will stand with frontline auto workers and President Trump.”

This refers to the new federation Rules pushed by Biden administration It requires that by 2032, two-thirds of new passenger cars sold in the United States must be fully electric. Trump believes these moves will “murder the American auto industry and kill countless union autoworker jobs forever, especially in Michigan and the Midwest.”

But some union leaders and members scoff at suggestions that the United States will not support reducing greenhouse gas emissions because if the United States does not do so, manufacturers in China and elsewhere may scramble to produce electric vehicles. Fein, who has previously praised a “transition to a clean car industry” as long as autoworkers “have a place in the new economy,” said Trump “is not someone who stands for a good standard of living.”

Dave Green, UAW regional director for Ohio and Indiana, said the former president “has no credibility in my book” because “he has done nothing but pay lip service to support organized labor.” matter”.

Greene said he still thinks Biden is the most pro-union president of his lifetime. But he hopes the White House will not remain neutral if a strike occurs.

“We won’t forget,” Green said. “When you’re going through hard times, having people who support you goes a long way.”

Biden faced some criticism last year when he urged labor organizing Congress to approve legislation to prevent rail workers from striking, worried about supply chain disruption ahead of the holidays. But unlike railroad and airline workers, the president does not have the power to order auto workers to keep working.

Nowhere is the political impact of the auto workers’ strike felt more than in Michigan, which Biden won by nearly 3 percentage points in 2020.The state further transforms During last year’s midterm electionsthe governor’s office and the Legislature are controlled by Democrats for the first time in 40 years.

Michigan becomes first in nearly six years Repeal “right to work” laws that restrict union activity The bill was approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2012. Still, the strike could shake up politics across the state.

“The UAW is a major player in Michigan politics, and if a strike occurs, no matter how long it lasts, there will be political repercussions,” said Mark Brewer, former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party. Brewer said the strike would keep Biden’s “words and actions consistent with his previous advocacy for working people.”

Still, that could mean alienating other allies as Biden has secured support from top U.S. automakers in the past on future government sales rules. Ray Curry, the former UAW president who was ousted by Fein, has worked with Biden in the past and even attended the White House ceremony.

Still, Biden was eager to meet with Fein, given the two men’s shared working-class backgrounds, and they sat down one-on-one in the Oval Office in July. The White House said it has been in regular contact with the UAW since then and overall communication is now much better.

“We are in regular contact with all parties and certainly seek to support the negotiations in any way that is helpful,” said Gene Sperling, a Michigan native, Democrat and longtime Biden adviser whom the president tapped to serve on the administration. Key figure in autoworker negotiations. “But there is no substitute for all parties being at the table 24/7 to reach the win-win deal the president wants.”

Union support could help Biden overcome difficulties slow start Securing the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination will help him win Not just Michigan, but Wisconsin and Pennsylvania because he defeated Trump in the election that year.

Biden’s only campaign rally since launching his re-election bid in April was in Philadelphia in June, underscoring his commitment to organized labor, where more than a dozen of the nation’s largest and most powerful unions Support Biden’s re-election.

For so many unions to join forces in an unprecedented coalition of support so early in an election cycle represents a show of strength for the president. However, the UAW was noticeably absent from the event. Fein has since said that if Biden wants the UAW’s support in 2024, he must win it.

Other union leaders also acknowledged the stakes facing the president.

“Would a strike make the administration uncomfortable?” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which endorsed Biden for re-election this summer. “of course.”

But, she said, “the government believes in workers and their ability to live a better life through collective organizing and collective bargaining.”

“It’s not a sound bite to them,” Weingarten said. “It’s a belief system.”