President Joe Biden has visited the UAW picket line at the GM Willow Run Distribution Center in a show of support for striking union members. Biden spoke to union members and addressed ongoing contract negotiations with the Big Three Detroit automakers (GM, Ford, Stellantis), saying that automakers were “doing incredibly well,” and that workers “should be doing incredibly well too.” Biden is the first sitting president in modern history to join a picket line.
Joe Biden was invited to join striking workers last week by UAW President Shawn Fain.
“We invite and encourage everyone who supports our case to join us on the picket line, from our friends and families all the way up to the president of the United States,” Fain said in a livestream address.
President Biden voiced his support for the UAW immediately following the union’s initial strike announcement, saying that although “no one wants a strike,” he “[respects] workers right to use their options under the collective bargaining system.” Biden also echoed the UAW’s call for record contracts on the back of record profits realized by automakers.
Biden has framed himself as the most pro-union president ever, but despite the support, Biden’s relationship with the UAW has been somewhat frosty. Labor leaders have criticized Biden’s decision last year to sign a bill blocking U.S. rail workers from striking, and the Inflation Reduction Act has been criticized for not providing adequate protection for autoworkers in the shift to EVs. Biden was previously set to send White House representatives to Detroit to assist in contract negotiations, but the trip was later canceled.
UAW President Fain has downplayed the role Joe Biden can play in negotiations.
“The battle is not about the president,” Fain said in an interview with CNBC. “It’s not about the former president or any other person prior to that. This battle is about the workers standing up for economic and social justice and getting their fair share because they’re fed up with going backwards.
The UAW announced that it would strike at all three automakers following the expiration of the previous labor contract. The labor union is employing a targeted strike strategy, rather than striking all facilities all at once. The strike was expanded against GM and Stellantis last week, but not Ford, with the UAW citing substantial progress in contract negotiations with Ford.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more 2023 GM UAW news, UAW news, GM business news, GM-related political news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.