Speech to UAW representatives
Biden makes historic strike visit
September 26, 2023, 8:22 p.m
Biden is the first sitting US president to visit a picket line. The Democrat supports the demands of labor activists in the auto industry. But he is not the only one: Meanwhile, Trump, his potential challenger for 2024, is traveling near the motor city of Detroit.
US President Joe Biden paid a historic solidarity visit to striking auto industry workers in the state of Michigan. Biden met workers organized in the UAW union in the Detroit area, making him the first sitting president in US history to visit a picket line. “You deserve a significant raise,” the president said through a megaphone.
The Democratic Party politician is a strong supporter of unions. However, the strike at the so-called “Big Three” in the auto industry is increasingly becoming a problem for him because of its impact on the US economy. The strike at the car manufacturers Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis with the Chrysler brand began almost two weeks ago. The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is demanding wage increases of around 40 percent.
The strike is increasingly taking on a political dimension. On Wednesday, Biden’s Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who wants to retake the White House in 2024, will travel to Michigan. The Republican will give a speech in front of an auto parts factory in Clinton Township, northeast of Detroit – and thus hold a rival event to the second televised debate of the Republican presidential candidates. The right-wing populist accused Biden of “destroying” the US automobile industry by promoting electric cars. This will cost many thousands of workers their jobs.
Both Biden and Trump are courting the votes of workers, which are important in elections. Trump won the 2016 presidential election partly because of his strong support among white workers. Before the 2020 election, Biden made it his mission to win workers back to his Democratic Party. In the presidential election in November 2024, the state of Michigan, which is contested between both parties, is likely to play a very important role – as it did in 2016 and 2020.