Joe Biden calls himself the “Most pro-union president in history.” That may be true, but that doesn’t make him the most pro-worker president in history — something no one has bothered to point out, since union workers only make up 13% of the American workforce.
Biden and his labor boss buddies want to change that.
But there’s a reason why only 13% of American workers belong to a union. Unions are corrupt and tend to destroy jobs, not create them. This is evident in the decline of the Big Three automakers — General Motors, Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler), and Ford — in the last 50 years.
“In 1980, 60% of U.S. workers in auto factories were represented by the UAW. Now, just 18% of autoworkers wear the union label, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by Rattner. That’s because of the rapid buildup of non-union auto plants, primarily in the South,” notes Michigan Advance.
The loss of workers for the Big Three mirrors their loss of market share. In 1965, the Big Three enjoyed a market share of 90%. During the 1950s and 60s, their market share held steady at around 85%. Even during the 1990s, the Big Three held a 70% market share or above. It didn’t drop below 50% until 2008.
But Biden’s big labor friends did him a solid in 2020. Massive numbers of volunteers from the UAW probably made the difference for him in Michigan and Pennsylvania. And now the UAW wants to collect.
The UAW’s radical President, Shawn Fain, has roped Biden into making an unprecedented statement of support by getting him to walk the picket line.
Tuesday, I’ll go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create.
It’s time for a win-win agreement that keeps American auto manufacturing thriving with well-paid UAW jobs.
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 22, 2023
Yes, the Big Three had billions of profits over the last few years. But Biden seems to have forgotten his electric vehicle mandates. The companies are going to need that cash to make the switch to EVs.
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Estimates range from $800 billion to $1 trillion in transition costs. The auto manufacturers can’t both pay the union their exorbitant demands and satisfy Biden’s mandates.
His decision to stand alongside the striking workers represents perhaps the most significant display of union solidarity ever by a sitting president. Biden’s announcement comes a week after he expressed solidarity with the UAW and said he “understand[s] the workers’ frustration.”
The announcement of his trip was seen as a seismic moment within certain segments of the labor community. “Pretty hard-core,” said one union adviser, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
When a president takes sides, he better be seen as coming out on top. And there’s no way the companies are going to agree to the radical demands of the union, including a 46% raise and mandating a 32-hour workweek while still getting paid for 40 hours.
Sensing that, Fain has expanded the strike significantly.
Union workers walked out of 38 GM and Stellantis parts warehouses in 20 states just after noon Friday to “shut down parts distribution until those two companies come to their senses and come to the table with a serious offer,” UAW President Shawn Fain said. The strike escalation adds about 5,600 workers to the work stoppage, for a total of 18,300 — about 12 percent of the UAW’s autoworker members.
The UAW is not in the business of keeping corporations profitable. But keeping them in business should be a priority.
“The automakers have said the UAW demands could hike the current mid-$60-per-hour labor cost to more than $150 an hour. GM said on Thursday the UAW wage and benefits proposals would cost it $100 billion, while Ford’s Farley said a 40% UAW wage hike would “put us out of business.” according to Reuters.
So if Fain negotiates a deal that gives workers any less than what he promised, Biden will look like an idiot for his unquestioning support for the UAW.
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