Relations between the president and union leader could affect the nation’s economy--and the next election
President Biden speaks to striking UAW workers with Shawn Fain, the union's leader, at left. The two men appeared on the picket line outside GM's Willow Run Distribution Center in Belleville, Mich. recently, wearing a United Auto Workers hat and speaking through a bullhorn, he used his brief remarks to encourage union members to “stick with it” and “get back what we lost.
Fain’s hard-charging approach has yielded results, his allies say, pointing to Biden’s decision to break with precedent and visit a picket line and concessions won from the Big Three automakers thus far. They say he has channeled the broader frustration of workers across the economy, as polls suggest rising support for the autoworkers, and unions more generally.and increasingly featuring accusations of violence from both sides, his relationship with Biden is critical.
That same week, Biden officially launched his reelection bid. One of his early goals was securing as many endorsements as possible, notably from unions. The statement took Biden world by surprise. Some aides began to worry that the transition to electric vehicles was threatening to morph into a bigger political quagmire, while Trump sought to capitalize on the tension.
Three of Fain’s grandparents worked in auto plants, and the longtime laborer from Kokomo, Ind., sees himself as a champion for the working class. Biden, the son of a car salesman, has similarly pointed to his biography as he has promised to rebuild the economy “from the bottom up and the middle out.”Relations between the White House and the UAW improved over the ensuing weeks, as Biden took public steps to show he was sensitive to the workers’ plight. He released a statement on Aug.
But as the Sept. 14 strike deadline neared, tensions flared anew. Some in Fain’s orbit believed the president should be doing more to actively support the workers. Biden had not publicly endorsed any of the union’s specific demands, which included a pay raise of 40 percent over four years, stronger retirement benefits, an end to tiered pay scales and a 32-hour workweek.
On Sept. 14, the day before the strike began, Biden spoke again with Fain and also held calls with the heads of Ford, GM and Stellantis — each of which had offered double-digit salary increases but had not come close to meeting the union’s demands.
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