“The worker vote will be decisive in old industrial America”

2023-10-30 12:30:10
Joe Biden addresses members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, on strike in front of the General Motors factory, in Belleville, Michigan (United States), September 26, 2023. JIM WATSON / AFP

It is a social victory for the union of American auto workers, the United Auto Workers (UAW), and a political success for Joe Biden, who traveled to Detroit (Michigan) on September 26 to support the strikers in the beating heart of this industry. The arrival of the President of the United States on a strike picket, unprecedented in the history of the country, illustrated his conviction that union renewal must accompany reindustrialization.

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In struggle since mid-September, the unionized employees of Ford, then those of Stellantis, have won a salary increase of 25% over five years, guarantees on the maintenance of factories and better social security coverage. Of the “Big Three”, only General Motors remains to be convinced, stuck on its refusal to establish tenure for its army of precarious workers, but also the base of the UAW, consulted in the coming days. This will be a test for Shawn Fain, president of this powerful union and figure in a long conflict, where he used numerous stratagems to destabilize the bosses of the major manufacturers.

“This is a historic agreement that will guarantee workers the wages, benefits, dignity and respect they deserve”, welcomed Mr. Biden in a press release. Neither more nor less than a fair return for workers who made heavy sacrifices during the 2008-2009 crisis to save the automobile industry, and who now work in companies making significant profits, had recalled former President Barack Obama at the start of the conflict.

“Bidenomics” did not convince

The day after the president’s visit to Detroit, Donald Trump spoke not far away – in front of non-union workers and in a factory spared by the conflict. Not to support the strikers, we suspect, but to tell them that they were on the wrong track and denounce the risks of the green transition for the automobile sector: “It doesn’t matter what you get because in two years you’ll all be unemployed.”had released Mr. Biden’s likely Republican opponent.

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The worker vote will be decisive in old industrial America, symbolized by the key states of Michigan and Ohio. Will voters follow Mr. Trump in his crusade against unions and the environment or the outgoing president, who is working to revitalize industry while ensuring the ecological transition? Polls indicate that “Bidenomics” has not convinced half of them. Trumpism continues to wreak havoc.