Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and White House senior advisor Gene Sperling have changed their plans to travel to Detroit this week to engage with United Auto Workers (UAW) leadership and automakers. Instead, they will continue discussions from Washington, D.C. as negotiations between the parties are ongoing. The decision was made to give the UAW and the automakers the space to continue their talks.
President Joe Biden has shown his support for the UAW workers, stating that record corporate profits should result in record contracts for the UAW. However, UAW President Shawn Fain has stated that he does not see the president’s team as being key to brokering an agreement between the labor union and automakers. Fain emphasized that the battle is about the workers standing up for economic and social justice and getting their fair share.
Despite the pressure to increase his support for the striking workers, President Biden’s power to intervene in the negotiations is limited. The president lacks the legal authority he would have if a freight railroad or airline was threatening to strike. However, Biden has expressed his belief that the auto companies should go further to ensure that record profits mean record contracts for the UAW.
The strike by UAW workers has revealed a tension between Biden’s objectives of improving wages and conditions for American manufacturing workers and leading a transition to clean energy. Negotiations have been complicated by the shift to electric vehicles, making it a complex challenge to reconcile these intentions.
The federal government plans to continue engaging with the parties and have conversations in person early this week. However, there have been calls for President Biden to join the union workers on the picket line, as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has done. Biden has also faced criticism for his comments before the strike, with Fain expressing shock over the president’s remarks.
This story is still developing, and further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.