UAW union endorses Biden over Trump in 2024 election
From CNBC:
The United Auto Workers union has endorsed President Joe Biden for reelection, as UAW president Shawn Fain announced at a union conference in Washington, D.C. The endorsement is significant as Biden and Trump fought over the support of blue-collar autoworkers in Michigan.
Biden threw punches at Trump, saying previous administrations let corporate America send jobs to other countries with cheap labor. Fain criticized Trump’s actions to help American auto workers by displaying a blank slide showing no actions taken.
The endorsement comes after months of apparent resistance by Fain, who said politicians, including Biden, would have to earn UAW endorsements.
Fain previously said the union would withhold a reelection endorsement for Biden until concerns about the auto industry’s transition to all-electric vehicles were addressed.
The union, which has more than 400,000 active members and over 580,000 retired members, is influential in Michigan, a key battleground state.
In September, Biden became the first sitting U.S. president to join an active UAW picket line, rallying alongside workers outside a General Motors parts facility.
Fain has touted the agreements as assisting in the union’s “just transition” to electric vehicles, noting that workers at many battery cell plants would be included in the UAW’s national negotiations.
The official reelection endorsement comes months after the union led strikes against the Detroit automakers after the sides failed to reach new contracts covering about 150,000 autoworkers.
Michigan voters helped both Biden and Trump to win the White House during the past two presidential elections.
Read more: UAW union endorses Biden over Trump in 2024 election