Joe Biden Becomes First President to Join a Picket Line as He Supports Striking Autoworkers: ‘Stick with It’
The president made history on Tuesday as he stopped by the United Auto Workers strike in Michigan and shared words of support
Joe Biden made history as he walked with United Auto Workers strikers in Michigan on Tuesday, marking the first time a president has joined a picket line.
The president told strikers to “stick with it” at a warehouse west of Detroit, where they have been striking for 12 days, per the traveling White House press pool. “You deserve a significant raise,” he said through a bullhorn.
Biden, 80, interacted with several autoworkers at the General Motors warehouse, wading into the crowd to shake hands. After a reporter asked if the strikers deserved a 40% pay raise, which is one of the demands the union has made, the president responded “yes,” according to a pool report.
He also remarked on the wealth of auto companies and said, “Guess what? You should be doing just as well.”
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
US President Joe Biden addresses striking members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at a picket line outside a General Motors Service Parts Operations plant in Belleville, Michigan, on September 26, 2023UAW President Shawn Fain thanked Biden for his hands-on support of their efforts, saying, "We know the president will do right by the working class," per the press pool.
“The CEOs think the future belongs to them. Today belongs to the autoworkers in the working class,” Fain continued. “We do the heavy lifting. We do the real work.”
Related: Joe Biden Backs Amazon Workers' Union Vote in Alabama: 'It's Your Right'
Biden’s involvement in the picket line on Tuesday was “absolutely unprecedented,” Erik Loomis, an expert on U.S. labor history, told the Associated Press. Loomis added that in the past, presidents have “avoided direct participation in strikes” as “they saw themselves more as mediators.”
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
As for why Biden decided to break the mold, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that “Biden is fighting to ensure that the cars of the future will be built in America by unionized American workers in good-paying jobs, instead of being built in China,” per AP.
Related: Joe Biden Calls Himself a 'Car Guy' While Speeding Around in Electric Ford: 'This Sucker's Quick'
The looming presidential election adds another layer of pressure. Biden’s visit came just one day before former president Donald Trump is scheduled to visit the Michigan picket lines, the New York Times reported. He opted to skip the second Republican debate on Sept. 27 in favor of visiting the strikers.
However, whether it’ll be Biden or Trump — or any potential candidate — that gets the support of the UAW remains to be seen.
The union’s president said in a memo obtained by the Times that having Trump back in the White House would be a “disaster,” but the group also decided not to endorse Biden either, citing concerns over his clean-energy agenda.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
US President Joe Biden joins striking members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at a picket line outside a General Motors Service Parts Operations plant in Belleville, Michigan, on September 26, 2023Prior to arriving in Michigan, Biden hadn’t explicitly taken a stance on any of the UAW’s demands — like the 40% pay increase that strikers brought up on Tuesday.
He told reporters during a briefing last week that auto companies’ “record profits” over the last few years were directly attributable to “the extraordinary skill and sacrifices of the UAW workers. But those record profits have not been shared fairly, in my view, with those workers.”
Of the strike, he said, “Let’s be clear: No one wants a strike,” adding, “But I respect workers’ right to use their options under the collective bargaining system. And I understand the workers’ frustration.”
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