Strike At US Automobile Factories: Biden Sides With Workers

US President Joe Biden sided with workers in negotiations, the failure of which led to a historic strike, announced by the United Auto Workers trade-union on September 15.

According to the New York Times, Biden sent two aides to Detroit to persuade executives of the auto giants GM, Ford, and Stellantis to share some of their profits with workers.

“For generations, auto workers have sacrificed to keep the industry alive and strong, especially during the economic crisis and pandemic. Workers deserve a fair share of the benefits they helped create,” the US president explained, stressing that while automakers have made “serious offers” to workers, they must still go “further to ensure that record corporate profits will also mean record contracts for workers.”
Support for unions is one of Biden’s “workhorses”: the president has repeatedly emphasized their crucial role in the formation of the middle class in the USA. The fact that Biden took the side of auto workers caused a negative reaction even in the Democratic Party itself, and his rival Donald Trump just as openly sided with the companies, explaining that at this rate, automakers would have no production capacity and no jobs left, since all production will move to China. The presidential elections are still relatively far away (November 5, 2024), but the election campaign has already begun, and this strike is an excellent argument to contrast the positions of the two main contenders.