President Biden’s push for the transition to electric vehicles is facing a political challenge as the United Automobile Workers union and major U.S. automakers, including General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, approach a strike deadline on Thursday night. The union, under new president Shawn Fain, is fighting for workers in battery plants to receive better pay and labor standards, similar to U.A.W. members. However, automakers argue that raising wages for battery workers could make them uncompetitive with nonunion rivals like Tesla.
Former President Donald Trump, who is running against Biden, claims that clean energy policies are costing American jobs and raising consumer prices, putting Biden in a difficult position. White House officials maintain that Biden can fulfill his promise of creating high-quality jobs in the domestic electric vehicle industry. However, Biden has been vague about wages and is encouraging continued bargaining between the companies and the union to reach an agreement.
The debate focuses on whether the shift to electric vehicles, which require less labor to assemble than gas-powered cars, will accelerate the decline of unionized work in the industry. While there has been an increase in U.S.-based electric vehicle and battery jobs announced by foreign and domestic automakers, most of these jobs are not unionized. The U.A.W. has struggled to win over autoworkers in the South and West, where many of these jobs are located.
The union is pushing for battery workers employed by G.M., Ford, and Stellantis to receive higher wages, as their current pay is significantly lower than U.A.W. members’ pay. The auto companies argue that the transition to electric vehicles is expensive and that it is uncertain how quickly consumers will embrace them. Industry executives suggest that companies need flexibility to adjust.
A strike by the U.A.W. could force Biden to be more explicit and choose between supporting workers or brokering a compromise to avoid a costly long-term shutdown. Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, supports paying battery workers the same amount as U.A.W. workers and emphasizes the importance of creating good-paying manufacturing jobs across the Midwest.
The U.A.W. has focused its efforts on battery workers employed by the Big Three automakers, but the companies claim that they can’t address their concerns as battery workers are often employed by joint ventures with foreign manufacturers. While the automakers acknowledge their profitability in recent years, they argue that the transition to electric vehicles is costly and that they need flexibility to adjust.
The Biden administration has been trying to offset the labor-cost disadvantage by providing subsidies for unionized electric vehicle assembly plants. However, the Senate removed a $4,500 subsidy provision from the Inflation Reduction Act. This setback has frustrated the U.A.W., an early supporter of Biden’s clean energy plans.
President Biden hopes to defuse the labor dispute and is committed to jump-starting the electric vehicle industry while creating good jobs. However, he faces pressure from Democratic politicians and liberal groups that support the autoworkers’ demands. Nearly 30 Democratic senators signed a letter urging auto executives to include battery workers in the U.A.W.’s national contract.