WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Joe Biden on Friday dispatched two of his top aides to Detroit to help resolve , expressing sympathy for the union by suggesting that the Big 3 automakers should share their 鈥渞ecord profits.鈥�
鈥淣o one wants to strike,鈥� Biden said in brief remarks at the White House. 鈥淏ut I respect workers鈥� right to use their options under the collective bargaining system, and I understand the workers鈥� frustration.鈥�
The United Auto Workers announced a targeted strike of 13,000 workers at three factories after with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. Biden said he is sending acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and senior aide Gene Sperling to Detroit to help reach a 鈥渨in-win鈥� contract for the companies and their employees.
Biden said that when negotiations began, he encouraged leaders of the two sides to stay at the bargaining table as long as possible. Just a fraction of the UAW鈥檚 146,000 members employed by the Big 3 are striking. The UAW is seeking 36% wage increases over four years. GM and Ford have proposed 20%, while Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, has put forward 17.5%
鈥淭he companies have made some significant offers,鈥� Biden said. 鈥淏ut I believe they should go further to ensure record corporate profits mean record contracts for the UAW.鈥�
The strike began just as Biden is . Going into , the White House has said its policies will help blue collar workers, bolster the middle class and create factory jobs by shifting away from fossil fuels to address climate change. But there are also uncertainties about these changes as automakers gear up to produce and the UAW is the most prominent union to not endorse .
High inflation going back to 2021 has created an economic and political headache for Biden. Workers鈥� paychecks have not kept up with the cumulative increases in . Data from the Labor Department shows that new car prices have jumped nearly 20% since April 2021, while higher interest rates have made auto loans more expensive.
The Democratic president said he is backing the union鈥檚 efforts on wage increases because the contracts can set standards across the wider economy, 鈥減ushing up wages and strengthening benefits for everyone.鈥�
But Biden also described talks as having broken down, a characterization that UAW president Shawn Fain disputed. The head of the UAW said the union's negotiators 鈥渁re hard at work at the bargaining table.鈥�
The UAW strike is just one of many labor disruptions. Screen actors and writers are also , shutting down Hollywood production. Business leaders blamed Biden for encouraging the more aggressive union tactics from the White House by repeatedly voicing support for a constituency that he believes is part of his own identity and a key constituency in next year鈥檚 elections.
鈥淭he UAW strike and indeed the 鈥榮ummer of strikes鈥� is the natural result of the Biden administration鈥檚 鈥榳hole of government鈥� approach to promoting unionization at all costs,鈥� said Suzanne Clark, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Joshua Bolten, head of the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs, said: 鈥淲ith American families facing challenges from persistent inflation and a slowing economy, this strike will only make matters worse.鈥�
Fain, the UAW president, said that the union's strike would not hurt the economy, but 鈥渢he truth is we are going to wreck the billionaire economy.鈥�
鈥淲orking people are not afraid,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou know who鈥檚 afraid? The corporate media is afraid. The White House is afraid. The companies are afraid.鈥�
There are other possible strikes coming, including 60,000 health care workers in California, Oregon and Washington, said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the consultancy RSM. But the work stoppage at three auto plants, he said, 鈥渞epresents barely a ripple in the national economy鈥� as of now.
Still, by the UAW could cause parts of the U.S. economy to shudder.
The consultancy Oxford Economics estimated that a total strike by unionized workers at the Big 3 would cause motor vehicle production to drop 30% or more. The chain reaction across parts suppliers to the stores and restaurants that auto workers patronize could hurt local economies in Michigan, Wisconsin and other states that could be pivotal in .
The political spillover was beginning before a strike was formally announced.
Former President Donald Trump, the early , said that union workers jobs are at risk because of Biden鈥檚 push to use of government incentives to build more EVs. Trump said in a recent interview with NBC News that consumers should still be able to buy gasoline-powered autos and that any EVs will ultimately be manufactured in China, despite a wave of factory investments in the United States spurred by Biden鈥檚 policies.
鈥淭he auto workers are being sold down the river by their leadership, and their leadership should endorse Trump,鈥� said Trump, adding that the workers are 鈥渘ot going to have a union in three years from now. Those jobs are all going to be gone, because all of those electric cars are going to be made in China.鈥�
Biden, by contrast, sees the talks as critical for producing a contract that 鈥渓eads to that promotes good, strong middle class jobs.鈥�
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AP writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
Josh Boak, The Associated Press
