![]() ![]() Privately, some Democrats said the White House was caught off-guard by Fain’s ascension to the top of UAW. The fact that Biden’s team and UAW’s brand-new leadership are just getting to know each other, however, could make it more difficult for the president to navigate this perilous moment. They also note that he has racked up early endorsements from major unions like the AFL-CIO.īiden officials downplayed the likelihood that there would be a major financial fallout if UAW and Teamsters strike, saying that the economy is resilient and supply chains are healing. When it comes to the UAW, Teamsters and other unions, his authority is more limited. He also had the power to sign legislation to impose a contract on the rail workers under the Railway Labor Act. Sometimes the workers are just asking not even for help, but to not put your thumb on the scale.”īiden administration officials said that the rail strike last year was a unique situation in which the president had to protect the economy. Ocasio-Cortez recently met with Fain and O’Brien and said “their big ask was for the White House to stay out of it and to not intervene. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in an interview. “Sometimes the best thing that they can do is stay out of it,” Rep. The concern among some progressives is that short-term election considerations may lead to bad long-term outcomes. And he will be challenged to do so again if several work stoppages take place simultaneously, rattling the nation’s economy. “He’s been hands-off up to this point.”īut Biden has intervened in a labor standoff before to prevent a rail strike, angering his labor allies. monitor the situation and see what happens,” said Walsh. “If you have a general president or a company that doesn’t want your intervention, then your best bet’s not to be involved in it and just. Marty Walsh, Biden’s former secretary of Labor, likewise said he only sees Biden getting involved if he is asked. So his commitment to all of those has been clear.” “He met with young workers on Monday and emphasized with them his support for the right to organize and the right to collectively bargain, and by the way, the right to strike. “I will say, it’s really important to realize where we’ve been and what the president continues to say,” said Celeste Drake, deputy director of the National Economic Council. In interviews with POLITICO, senior Biden administration officials did not rule out the possibility of the president getting involved, but they also pointed to his pro-labor bona fides to suggest that he likely wouldn’t unless both sides asked him to. Labor leaders and top Democrats are urging Biden to stay out, and Teamsters president Sean O’Brien has repeatedly told the White House to not intervene if the union strikes. Taken together, it is a profoundly difficult test for the president: whether to side with a constituency that’s been a bedrock throughout his career or lean on them right as he’s set to face off against Donald Trump, who is gunning for the UAW endorsement after winning the backing of many rank-and-file union members seven years ago.īiden has few tools available to fix the problem. Taken alone, each standoff presents complications for the White House. And actors and writers are already striking in Hollywood, in what may be the highest-profile union battle of all. ![]() ![]() ![]() Current and former Biden aides and allies are miffed and perplexed by the non-endorsement, according to several people familiar with their thinking, and Democrats are bracing for a likely strike when the UAW’s contract ends in September.Ī potential work stoppage by the Teamsters of UPS, which handles a quarter of the country’s parcel shipments, is also looming when their contract ends July 31. UAW’s new president - the tough-talking, left-leaning Shawn Fain - has bashed the administration for doling out billions in subsidies for electric vehicles without demanding higher wages and other protections. The United Auto Workers, a powerful union with a base in the critical battleground state of Michigan, is withholding support from the president for the time being. Already, one labor group is creating difficulties for Biden. ![]()
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