WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden sent two senior administration officials to Detroit on Friday after the United Auto Workers union launched a historic strike against the Big Three Car Companies over a contract dispute.
“Over the past decade, auto companies have posted record profits, including in the past several years, thanks to the extraordinary skill and dedication of UAW workers,” Biden said from the White House. “In my view, those record profits have not been shared fairly with those workers.”
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and senior adviser Gene Sperling will travel to Detroit “to offer our full support,” he said.
“Companies have made some significant offers, but I believe they should go further to ensure that record corporate profits mean record contracts for the UAW,” Biden said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said later that day that the two officials had no plans to actually participate in the talks.
“The negotiations depend on the parties, that’s why there is a collective bargaining system,” Jean-Pierre said. “They will not intervene or mediate. They are here to help in any way they need to. Again, we have been working with these parties almost from the beginning.”
The strike affects Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, although the union has not withdrawn workers from all union plants of these companies.
Instead, union leaders are having workers strike at different plants on different days. On Friday, UAW workers went on strike at a Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan; at a GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri; and at a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.
UAW President Shawn Fain told protesters outside a Michigan plant that the strike was not just about union workers, according to Michigan Advance.
“This is about the people working in this country. No matter what you do in this country, you deserve your fair share of capital,” Fain said.
However, on Friday, Fain appeared to disagree with Biden’s statement that negotiations had broken down.
“We disagree when he says negotiations have broken down. Our national elected UAW negotiators and leaders are hard at work at the bargaining table,” Fain said in a written statement. “Our members and allies are standing strong on the picket lines. Anyone who wants to stand with us can grab a sign and hold the line.”
Electric vehicles
Biden, speaking in the Roosevelt Room, said that as the country continues to transition to electric vehicles, “that transition should be fair and win-win for auto workers and auto companies.”
“But I also believe that the contract agreement must lead to a bright American future that promotes good, strong middle-class jobs where workers can raise families,” Biden said.
Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a written statement Friday that the strike “is the latest example of the folly of pursuing policies in the name of ideology as opposed to a clear understanding of the consequences of these decisions.”
“Pushing for electric vehicles when the United States does not have the minerals it needs, when it makes us vulnerable to the Chinese supply chain, and when the UAW is on strike, will jeopardize our economy,” Cassidy said.
Cassidy said the UAW and the auto companies must “negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement that works for everyone.”
Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown joined striking workers at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex, according to a statement from his office.
“UAW workers sacrificed to save the American auto industry,” Brown said. “Now the Big Three are making record profits — and all workers are demanding their fair share. The companies must negotiate in good faith and agree to a fair contract that honors the dignity of labor.”
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman said in a written statement that he stands with striking UAW workers, not auto CEOs.
“As long as these brave workers continue to walk the picket line, my entire team and I will support them,” Fetterman said. “All these workers are asking for is for their basic needs to be met, for them to share in the immense wealth they have created for their companies.”
