The self proclaimed most “pro-union president in American history” is under fire from the leader of the most high-profile union in America.
Shawn Fain, head of the United Auto Workers, has privately expressed his frustration with Joe Biden, wanting the president and other Democratic lawmakers to come out more aggressively in support of his union, which launched a strike Friday against the so-called Big Three automakers.
Fain’s frustration was conveyed by five people familiar with his thinking, who were granted anonymity to describe his position. One of those five described him as “not happy” with the situation. And Fain’s not the only person in Michigan who isn’t thrilled with the way Biden and his team have handled the labor dispute.
Fain was also set to put out remarks, which were exclusively obtained by POLITICO, calling on Biden to get involved.
"We agree with Joe Biden when he says ‘record profits mean record contracts.’ We don’t agree when he says negotiations have broken down. Our national elected negotiators and UAW leadership are hard at work at the bargaining table. Our members and allies are standing strong at the picket lines. Anyone who wants to stand with us can grab a sign and hold the line,” he said, as part of a larger statement.
“The companies and the media want to use fear tactics about how we’re going to wreck the economy. We’re not going to wreck the economy. The truth is we are going to wreck the billionaire economy. Working people are not afraid. You know who’s afraid? The corporate media is afraid. The White House is afraid. The companies are afraid."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement.
Fain has made positive comments about Biden in the past, saying in August that “we appreciate President Biden’s support for strong contracts that ensure good-paying union jobs” and applauding the administration for “doing its part to reject the false choice between a good job and a green job.”
But the mounting discontent with the administration comes at a delicate time: with the UAW embarking on a walkout that will hit three major U.S. car companies at once. It’s a move aimed at maximizing the union’s negotiating leverage, but one that also threatens to saddle Biden with fresh economic challenges. The union is starting by striking at three plants, but said it will add more if needed as talks drag on.
White House aides spent the last several weeks in close contact with both union leaders and carmaker executives in hopes of brokering a “win-win” deal and avoiding a strike, engaging both parties but being careful not to intervene. Many lawmakers saw that position as reasonable given the economic consequences of such a shutdown. But now that the strike is in motion, the union and its progressive supporters believe Biden needs to play a more assertive role in rallying the public to the workers’ side.
There is also a sense among some Democrats and labor officials that Biden’s team miscalculated the standoff and hasn’t understood the severity of labor’s frustration or concerns. Even the news this week that the Biden administration was considering providing aid to auto suppliers rankled some in the union world, who thought it could undermine the strike and saw it as evidence that there are always funds available for companies, but not workers.
In public remarks on Friday, Biden said that while "no one wants a strike,” he supports collective bargaining and understands “the workers’ frustration.” He stopped short of backing the walkout and argued that the companies have made significant offers.
“I believe they should go further,” said Biden. “Record-setting profits should be shared with record-setting contracts.”
Biden also said he was dispatching acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and White House adviser Gene Sperling, who has been his point person on talks between the UAW and the Big 3, to Detroit to support both sides. On Thursday, Biden talked privately with both Fain and the automaker CEOs.
Biden's speech on Friday won applause from some progressives for offering a measure of support for the autoworkers' position. Faiz Shakir, a longtime adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), said in a text on his way to the picket line that it was notable the president appeared to characterize the need for the companies' record profits to translate into a record contract for their workers.
Biden has staked his reelection campaign on his pro-union bonafides, a green energy revolution, and the health of the American economy. Both the strike and the discontent of UAW, a powerful union headquartered in the critical battleground state of Michigan, threatens to put a dent in all of his priorities. Fain announced earlier this year the union was holding off on endorsing Biden, whose administration he has criticized for giving out billions in clean-energy subsidies without demanding higher pay and more protections for workers.
Jennifer Haberkorn and Eugene Daniels contributed to this report.
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