President Joe Biden joined striking United Auto Workers members on a picket line in Michigan on Tuesday, making history as the first sitting president to do so.
"They’re doing incredibly well," Biden said of the car companies through a bullhorn as he stood before a cheering crowd of striking auto workers. "And, guess what? You should be doing incredibly well too."
"Folks, stick with it," the president urged the striking workers. "Because you deserve the significant raise you need and other benefits."
About 19,000 of the UAW's 150,000 members are striking three factories and 38 parts-distribution centers operated by Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, including the Belleville location the president visited. The UAW initiated the strike September 15 after the two sides failed to agree on the terms of a new contract.
The president was greeted by United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain as he arrived in Detroit early Tuesday afternoon. The two traveled together to meet with striking auto workers at General Motors' Willow Run Redistribution Center in Belleville, Mich.
Last Friday, UAW president Fain invited the president to the picket line after announcing an expansion of its strike at General Motors and Stellantis facilities. Just a few hours later, Biden posted on social media that he would take Fain up on his invitation.
"This is a historic moment, the first time in our country’s history that a stiting U.S. president has come out and stood on the picket line,” Fain shouted to the crowd. "Our president chose to stand up with workers in our fight for economic and social justice."
While acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su is traveling with the president, the White House has declined to say whether Biden or Su would meet with auto executives while they are in Michigan. Democratic U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell, Shari Thanedar and Rashida Tlaib were on the tarmac to greet the president upon his arrival.
Biden’s visit comes one day before former President Donald Trump plans to visit the auto parts supplier, Drake Enterprises, in nearby Clinton Township. Trump’s visit is scheduled to begin one hour before the second GOP presidential debate begins in Simi Valley Calif. Trump will not attend the debate.
Fain has condemned Trump's plan.
“Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of the workers,” Fain said in a statement. “We can’t keep electing billionaires and millionaires that don’t have any understanding what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to get by and expecting them to solve the problems of the working class."
The UAW has yet to endorse a presidential candidate.
Trump blasted Biden's visit in a statement released by his campaign, claiming that the president's "draconian and indefensible electric vehicle mandate will annihilate the U.S. auto industry and cost countless thousands of autoworkers their jobs."
Biden isn’t the only Democrat joining auto workers on the picket lines Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., posted on social media Tuesday that he bought coffee and donuts to workers in Tappan, N.Y. “They’re out here rain or shine standing for a fair, equitable contract to share in the progits they helped create,” he wrote.
Prior to Biden’s visit, the Democratic National Committee issued a statement, saying, “President Biden’s strong record of delivering for auto workers will stand in stark contrast with former President Donald Trump’s string of broken promises, shuttered factories and lost jobs.”
Michigan resident and Republican National Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel also released a statement on the eve of Biden’s visit, saying, “This is nothing more than a photo op, and shame on Biden for attempting to gaslight Michigan families who are footing the bill for his green energy campaign.”