Biden to ‘join the picket line’ with UAW strikers: ‘Time for a win-win agreement’
President Biden announced that he will “join the picket line” with members of the United Auto Workers union next week in solidarity with their demands for higher pay and a shorter work week from Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers.
“Tuesday, I’ll go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create,” Biden, 80, tweeted on Friday.
“It’s time for a win-win agreement that keeps American auto manufacturing thriving with well-paid UAW jobs.”
The president’s announcement comes after UAW President Shawn Fain extended an invitation to the commander in chief to join striking workers on the picket line.
“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. We invite you to join us in our fight,” Fain said in livestreamed remarks Friday.
The union, which has withheld its endorsement of Biden over concerns about his support for electric vehicles, also revealed that it’s expanding its strike Friday to include 38 Stellantis and General Motors facilities in 38 locations and 28 states.
Fain said the union has made progress in negotiations with Ford and will not ask employees of the company to walk off the job at any more of its facilities for now.
Biden’s Michigan trip will take place one day before former President Donald Trump’s previously announced Detroit visit, during which the 2024 GOP presidential primary front-runner will host a rally featuring 500 autoworkers and other tradesmen.
Trump’s event will take place on the same day as the second GOP primary debate in Simi Valley, Calif., which the 77-year-old will not attend.
“Joe Biden’s trip to Michigan is nothing more than a cheap photo op as he finds himself between a rock and a political hard place,” Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller tweeted.
“The only reason Biden is going to Michigan on Tuesday is because President Trump announced he is going on Wednesday. If President Trump had said nothing, Biden would be giving UAW workers in Michigan ‘the East Palestine treatment,’” Miller said, referencing the site of a toxic Ohio train derailment in February which the president has refused to visit.
“Biden is still hell-bent on destroying all of the auto jobs he’s purporting to care about. His visit on Tuesday is completely meaningless unless he withdraws his Insane EV Mandate and rebukes his Green New Deal, which Biden will never do because he’s beholden to the Radical Left Eco-Loons in California,” he added.
Former Biden White House adviser Michael LaRosa questioned the trip, expressing concern that it would come off as “phony.”
“Ugh no, please don’t do this to him,” LaRosa tweeted. “These engineered performances ALWAYS come across as awkward, overrehearsed, & phony, especially through visual mediums like TV. Powerful performances happen organically, naturally, & unplanned (Think Reagan, Clinton, Pete, Trump).”
Nearly 13,000 UAW members working for Ford, General Motors and Stellantis went on strike last Friday, demanding a 46% pay raise, a 32-hour work week and benefits for office workers.
The additional strikes announced Friday will add about 5,600 workers to the picket line.
