President Joe Biden expressed solidarity with the United Auto Workers union in remarks from the White House on Friday amid a strike against the U.S.’s Big Three automakers—a situation that puts the president in politically perilous territory.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the contract ... [+]
Biden attributed auto companies’ “record profits” to the “extraordinary skill and sacrifice” of union workers and said the profits “have not been shared fairly, in my view, with those workers.”
Biden made the remarks after about 13,000 UAW workers went on strike at a General Motors plant in Missouri, a Stellantis plant in Ohio and a Ford plant in Michigan.
“Let’s be clear, no one wants a strike,” Biden said, adding that he respects “workers’ right to use their options under the collective bargaining system, and I understand their frustration.”
Biden said has been in touch with leaders from both the union and the companies and is sending two members of his administration, Labor Secretary Julie Su and advisor Gene Sperling, to Detroit to participate in the negotiations.
This is a developing story and will be updated.