President Joe Biden to join UAW picket line in Michigan, slams Donald Trump’s anti-union stance

President Joe Biden joins striking UAW workers in Michigan, aiming to win over union members and outflank Trump.

President Joe Biden will show his support for striking United Auto Workers (UAW) union members in Michigan on Tuesday by joining them on a picket line in a rare presidential gesture of solidarity.

US President Joe Biden during a a meeting with the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg(Bloomberg)

Biden’s visit is part of his strategy to win over union members in Michigan, a crucial state for the presidential election next year, and to outflank Donald Trump, his likely Republican rival, who will also visit Detroit on Wednesday to address workers.

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Trump, who secured the support of many union members in his 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton in Michigan before losing the state to Biden in 2020, is not expected to join the picket line.

Biden’s trip is meant to highlight his claim to be the most pro-union president in US history and possibly also to secure the endorsement of the UAW, which has not yet backed his re-election bid.

In a post on X, the social media platform that replaced Twitter, the president said he was going 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”.

He added, “It’s time for a win-win agreement that keeps American auto manufacturing thriving with well-paid UAW jobs.”

The President expressed his support for the strike by Ford, General Motors and Stellantis workers, which has been going on for 12 days, and had announced he was sending his labour secretary, Julie Su, and Gene Sperling, a senior White House adviser, to help the union reach a deal with the companies.

That plan was scrapped after criticism from the UAW’s president, Shawn Fain, who has also rejected Trump’s attempts to woo union members.

Trump, who needs to regain union support to win next year, has accused the union leadership of betraying workers and also criticized Biden’s green policy of encouraging the three American carmakers to switch to making electric vehicles.