Biden joins United Auto Workers on picket line
Experts in presidential and U.S. labor history say they cannot recall an instance where a sitting president has joined an ongoing strike.
LEARN MOREPosted: 8:14 a.m. EDT Sep 27, 2023
It is now day 12 of the United Auto Workers union strike against the Big Three automakers, and politics are making their way to the picket line.
In a historic visit on Tuesday, President Joe Biden visited General Motors' Willow Run Redistribution Center in Van Buren Township, Michigan.
The president spoke through a bullhorn and openly sided with striking workers in the auto industry's labor dispute.
"You deserve what you've earned and you've earned a hell of a lot more than you're getting paid now!" Biden said.
On Wednesday night on the other side of the political aisle, former President Donald Trump will speak to non-union workers at an auto supplier in Clinton Township. The UAW will not be rolling out the welcome mat for him.
Trump will speak to those non-union workers instead of attending the second GOP presidential primary debate.
UAW leadership does not support Trump's visit, with UAW President Shawn Fain releasing a statement last week saying in part, "Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers."
Fain told CNN this week, "I find it pathetic irony that the former president is going to hold a rally for union members at a non-union business."
Trump will be speaking to current and former UAW members at Drake Enterprise in Macomb County. Fain held Trump's record to the fire.
"What about meeting with Trump, would you meet with him when he's in Detroit tomorrow?" Fain was asked.
"I see no point in meeting with him because I don't think the man has any bit of care for what our workers care for, for what the working class stands for. He serves the billionaire class and that's what's wrong with this country," Fain said.
On Tuesday, Fain greeted President Biden as he exited Air Force One and also spoke at the plant before President Biden.
"I look for who's on the picket line, and Joe's been there," one worker told us.
It is yet to be determined if either Trump's or Biden's visit will have any impact on negotiations.
This story was originally published by Kiara Hay at Scripps News Detroit.
