President Biden met with the president of the United Auto Workers union at the White House Wednesday as a possible strike looms, according to multiple reports.

According to Reuters, UAW President Shawn Fain had requested the meeting with senior White House staff to brief them on contract negotiations with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, where 150,000 hourly UAW workers are employed. Biden initially wasn’t scheduled to attend but joined the meeting when he heard it was happening, the outlet reported.

Spectrum News has reached out to the White House for comment.

The UAW’s current contract with the major Detroit auto makers has been in place four years and expires September 14. Last week, Fain said the UAW was prepared to strike against the auto makers if the companies don’t meet its demands. 

In June, UAW leaders said they want stronger job protections against plants closing, higher wages, an end to tiered wages that pay some employees less for doing the same job and cost-of-living increases. Fain has said he also wants wages at electric vehicle battery plants to exceed their current cap of $32 since more UAW members will be transitioned into EV factories as the industry moves away from gas-powered vehicles.

The UAW negotiated with each of the Detroit-based auto makers separately over the past week, starting with Stellantis on Thursday and General Motors yesterday.

The opening round of negotiations came as labor groups around the country are striking or prepared to set up picket lines. SAG-AFTRA, representing 160,000 actors, and the Writers Guild of America, representing 20,000 Hollywood writers, are both on strike. The Teamsters have overwhelmingly voted to strike against UPS August 1 if their demands for better pay aren’t met when the contract for 340,000 of their workers ends July 31.