Biden bashes Trump’s auto industry record in remarks to UAW members
Brett Samuels
Thu, November 9, 2023
President Biden used a major labor agreement between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the Big Three auto companies to hammer former President Trump on Thursday for his record on jobs and support for union workers.
Biden, donning a red UAW shirt, addressed a boisterous crowd of supporters and community officials in Belvidere, Ill., near a reopening auto plant. The president was in Illinois for a victory lap after the union reached an agreement with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis late last month on a contract that included significant pay increases and other benefits.
The agreement was a major win for Biden, who joined striking workers on the picket line in Michigan and has touted himself as the most pro-union president in history. On Thursday, he used the deal to draw a contrast with Trump, his likely 2024 opponent.
“When my predecessor was in office, six factories closed across the country. Tens of thousands of auto jobs were lost nationwide, and on top of that he was willing to cede the future of electric vehicles to China,” Biden said.
“Well, like almost everything else he said, he’s wrong,” Biden added. “And you have proved him wrong. Instead of lower wages, you won record gains. Instead of fewer jobs, you won a commitment for thousands of more jobs.”
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Biden bashed Trump for a September visit to Michigan, where he spoke at a nonunion shop amid the autoworkers strike. And the president blasted Trump’s claims that the U.S. is a “nation in decline,” prompting boos from the crowd and calls from one attendee to “jail Trump.”
The weeks-long auto strikes came to an end in late October after UAW leaders reached tentative deals with the three automakers. The agreements with the companies included a 25 percent general pay increase over the course of a four-year contract, increased retirement benefits and more paid leave.
“Look folks, these deals are game-changers,” Biden said. “Not only for UAW workers, but for all workers in America. Just ask the folks at Toyota, which last week announced it would significantly finally increase wages for their workers. They had no choice because of what you did. You helped everybody.”
The president described UAW workers who spent several weeks on strike as “tough as they come,” and he singled out UAW President Shawn Fain for praise, saying he had a “backbone like a ramrod.”
Biden also thanked Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which he said negotiated “ultimately in good faith.”
The negotiations presented a difficult balancing act for Biden, who has simultaneously fought for the rights of unions while pushing for more investments in electric vehicles, one of the issues that was at the center of the negotiations between the UAW and the automakers.
Biden was briefly interrupted at the start of his remarks by a protester who urged him to call for a cease-fire in Gaza amid fighting between Israel and Hamas. The woman was quickly escorted out of the room.
The president said earlier Thursday there was “no possibility of a cease-fire,” which U.S. officials have argued would benefit Hamas, a militant group that launched terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis last month.
Instead, the U.S. pushed Israel to agree to humanitarian pauses to allow aid into Gaza and for hostages to get out. Israel agreed Thursday to four-hour daily pauses in parts of Gaza.
Biden stresses support for unions and meets with UAW president after strike
Thu, November 9, 2023
President Biden used a major labor agreement between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the Big Three auto companies to hammer former President Trump on Thursday for his record on jobs and support for union workers.
Biden, donning a red UAW shirt, addressed a boisterous crowd of supporters and community officials in Belvidere, Ill., near a reopening auto plant. The president was in Illinois for a victory lap after the union reached an agreement with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis late last month on a contract that included significant pay increases and other benefits.
The agreement was a major win for Biden, who joined striking workers on the picket line in Michigan and has touted himself as the most pro-union president in history. On Thursday, he used the deal to draw a contrast with Trump, his likely 2024 opponent.
“When my predecessor was in office, six factories closed across the country. Tens of thousands of auto jobs were lost nationwide, and on top of that he was willing to cede the future of electric vehicles to China,” Biden said.
“Well, like almost everything else he said, he’s wrong,” Biden added. “And you have proved him wrong. Instead of lower wages, you won record gains. Instead of fewer jobs, you won a commitment for thousands of more jobs.”
Top Stories from The Hill
Biden bashed Trump for a September visit to Michigan, where he spoke at a nonunion shop amid the autoworkers strike. And the president blasted Trump’s claims that the U.S. is a “nation in decline,” prompting boos from the crowd and calls from one attendee to “jail Trump.”
The weeks-long auto strikes came to an end in late October after UAW leaders reached tentative deals with the three automakers. The agreements with the companies included a 25 percent general pay increase over the course of a four-year contract, increased retirement benefits and more paid leave.
“Look folks, these deals are game-changers,” Biden said. “Not only for UAW workers, but for all workers in America. Just ask the folks at Toyota, which last week announced it would significantly finally increase wages for their workers. They had no choice because of what you did. You helped everybody.”
The president described UAW workers who spent several weeks on strike as “tough as they come,” and he singled out UAW President Shawn Fain for praise, saying he had a “backbone like a ramrod.”
Biden also thanked Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which he said negotiated “ultimately in good faith.”
The negotiations presented a difficult balancing act for Biden, who has simultaneously fought for the rights of unions while pushing for more investments in electric vehicles, one of the issues that was at the center of the negotiations between the UAW and the automakers.
Biden was briefly interrupted at the start of his remarks by a protester who urged him to call for a cease-fire in Gaza amid fighting between Israel and Hamas. The woman was quickly escorted out of the room.
The president said earlier Thursday there was “no possibility of a cease-fire,” which U.S. officials have argued would benefit Hamas, a militant group that launched terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis last month.
Instead, the U.S. pushed Israel to agree to humanitarian pauses to allow aid into Gaza and for hostages to get out. Israel agreed Thursday to four-hour daily pauses in parts of Gaza.
Biden stresses support for unions and meets with UAW president after strike
Megan Lebowitz and Marley Jay and Owen Hayes and Allie Raffa
Thu, November 9, 2023
President Joe Biden on Thursday emphasized his support for unions during a trip to Illinois and celebrated the reopening of a Stellantis plant after tentative deals were recently struck between the United Auto Workers and three major U.S. automakers following a strike that lasted weeks.
Biden also met with United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, as well as union members in his visit to the city of Belvidere, northwest of Chicago.
"I want to thank you for your commitment to the solidarity, for exercising your right to bargain collectively," Biden said in remarks delivered to an audience of union members. "You made this happen."
The president told the crowd that they are changing "the face of the country economically" with their efforts.
The plant's planned reopening will help highlight Biden's commitment to "rehiring and retooling the EV and EV battery jobs in the same communities where auto jobs have created good-paying union jobs for decades," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday, ahead of the president's trip. The plant had been idled early this year.
The UAW struck a tentative agreement with General Motors late last month, days after making similar breakthroughs with Ford and Stellantis. The White House and Fain have touted the Stellantis plant's planned reopening as the result of the tentative agreement between the UAW and the company, which owns Chrysler.
The White House has said that the factory's reopening would bring back “more than all of the 1,200 jobs lost, and at higher wages.” The company is also adding about 1,000 new union jobs because Stellantis is investing in new battery manufacturing, the White House said.
Biden frequently highlights unions in his economy speeches, claiming he is the “most pro-union president” in history. He visited a UAW picket line in Michigan early in the autoworkers’ strike, becoming the first sitting president to do so.
“You saved the automobile industry back in 2008 and before,” Biden said in remarks on the picket line in September. “You made a lot of sacrifices. You gave up a lot, and the companies were in trouble. But now they’re doing incredibly well. And guess what? You should be doing incredibly well too.”
Ahead of his remarks on Thursday, a local union leader gave Biden a T-shirt from the union chapter, which he wore during his speech.
"That shirt looks good on you," an audience member yelled during the program.
Biden's remarks were briefly interrupted at the beginning by a protester who shouted for him to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The crowd booed the interruption while Biden tried to quell the tension, saying: "Let her go ... it's OK."
The UAW strike started in mid-September as union members worked to negotiate contracts with the three big automakers. The union was ultimately able to negotiate contracts that would provide union members with increased pay and reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, among other benefits.
"My administration will keep working to make sure UAW has what it needs to outcompete China and everyone else in the world. I've reminded other world leaders it's never, never, never been a good bet to bet against America," Biden said during his remarks.
Biden also took a shot at former president Donald Trump during his speech, mentioning him by name which he often refrains from doing in remarks to the public.
"Is there ever anything America set its mind to as a nation that we’ve done together and we haven’t succeeded?" Biden said. "Well, you know, Donald Trump often says, 'We’re now a failing nation. We’re a nation in decline.'" The audience booed in response, with one person shouting, "put him in jail!"
Following the event, Fain called Biden's visit "a great day." But despite the praise, the UAW has not endorsed Biden's re-election bid. The union endorsed him in 2020.
"Our primary focus right now is just getting the contracts ratified," Fain told NBC News. "You know, getting the membership, the information they need to make a decision." He added that there will be a time for making endorsements.
Biden's remarks come just a day after a tentative agreement was also reached between the actors union SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, potentially ending a monthslong actors strike that along with a writers strike, ground Hollywood to a halt. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is a trade group that bargains for studio and streaming services and represents Comcast, which owns NBC News.
“When both sides come to the table to negotiate in earnest, they can make businesses stronger and allow workers to secure pay and benefits that help them raise families and retire with dignity,” Biden said in a statement celebrating the tentative agreement.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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