UAW endorses Biden

Washington – The United Auto Workers granted President Joe Biden its long-awaited endorsement for reelection last week as he makes the case that he’s delivered for working people, the Detroit News reported.

“Elections aren’t about picking your best friend for the job or the candidate who makes you feel good. Elections are about power,” UAW President Shawn Fain said during the union’s National Community Action Program Conference.

“This November, we can stand up and elect someone who stands with us and supports our cause, or we can elect someone who will fight us and divide us every step of the way. That’s what this choice is about. The question is, who do we want in that office to give us the best shot at winning?”

TRUMP DOESN’T CARE
Fain said former President Donald Trump, who is leading the Republican nomination race, doesn’t care about the American worker, while Biden stood “by our side every step of the way” in efforts last year to reopen a Stellantis assembly plant from closure in Belvidere, Ill., and appearing with striking General Motors Co. workers on the picket line in Wayne County, Mich.

“That’s a choice we face. It’s not about who you like. It’s not about your party, it’s not this bull—- about age. It’s not about anything but our best shot at taking back power for the working class,” Fain said.

“Donald Trump is a scab. Donald Trump is a billionaire, and that’s who he represents. If Donald Trump ever worked in an auto plant, he wouldn’t be a UAW member. He’d be a company man trying to squeeze the American worker.”

‘PROUD YOU HAVE MY BACK’
After Fain’s announcement, Biden came onto stage amid chants of “Joe! Joe! Joe!” from workers on their feet.

“I’m proud that you have my back. Let me just say I’m honored to have your back and you have mine. That’s the deal,” Biden said. “I was so damn proud to stand on that picket line with you.”

The UAW last year won wage increases totaling 25 percent over the life of the union’s new contracts with GM, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV, prompting foreign-owned automakers like Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. to raise wages for their non-union workers.

The UAW nod could be pivotal for this year’s presidential election, with many of the union’s 383,000 active members and hundreds of thousands of retirees living in battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin that have been decided by tight margins in recent cycles.

(Reprinted from the Detroit News.)