In Michigan, Biden and Trump vie to be labor鈥檚 best friend
| Washington
President Joe Biden鈥檚 trip to suburban Detroit on Tuesday was about so much more than a show of support for striking autoworkers.聽
It was history in action 鈥� the first time a sitting American president joined a picket line.聽It was an effort by a struggling Democratic president with a personal narrative centered on working-class values to woo a key voting bloc. And it was effectively the launch of the 2024 general election campaign.聽
Former President Donald Trump, President Biden鈥檚 likely opponent in 2024, is skipping the Republican primary debate Wednesday night and delivering a prime-time speech in Detroit to current and former union members. The Trump campaign called Mr. Biden鈥檚 picket-line appearance 鈥渘othing more than a cheap photo op.鈥� The White House responded by noting that Mr. Biden was personally invited by the president of the autoworkers鈥� union.
Why We Wrote This
Back-to-back appearances with autoworkers in Michigan by President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump underscore the importance of working-class voters in the Midwest, at a time when unions are exercising their clout.
鈥淪tick with it. You deserve a significant raise and other benefits,鈥� Mr. Biden told the picketers.
For Mr. Biden, Tuesday's trip reflects a larger Democratic effort to shore up support among blue-collar voters, who have been shifting toward the Republican Party in recent years over cultural and economic issues and a distrust of elites. Mr. Trump鈥檚 populist pitch was key to winning the crucial battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in 2016 鈥� all states that Mr. Biden then took back in 2020. Now, both he and Mr. Trump 鈥� deadlocked聽聽鈥� are pouncing early.
鈥淯nion support of Democrats has not been monolithic, and this is the latest version of that contest,鈥� says Michael Traugott, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.聽鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of economic anxiety that comes partially from growing income inequality in the American population.鈥�
Workers striking against the big three U.S. automakers 鈥� General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis 鈥� are demanding a 40% wage hike and full-time pay for a 32-hour work week. Mr. Biden has offered statements of support for the United Auto Workers union, but avoided commenting on specific demands. The UAW has yet to make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential race, but Mr. Biden has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO and 17 other unions.聽
The strike 鈥撀�which expanded last week聽to additional GM and Stellantis plants, but not Ford, amid signs of progress in talks with that company 鈥� threatens to harm the American economy at a delicate moment. And therefore Mr. Biden鈥檚 appearance on the picket line Tuesday is risky: If the strikes drags on, and becomes unpopular, he owns it.聽Mr. Biden has pushed hard for electric cars, including financial incentives contained in the Inflation Reduction Act, but autoworkers are concerned about job security. Electric cars require fewer workers to build, and there鈥檚 no guarantee they will be produced in union shops.聽
Mr. Trump has聽聽saying that their union is heading for obsolescence, as most electric cars will soon be built in China. 鈥淭he autoworkers are being sold down the river by their leadership,鈥� he said in an interview on NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press.鈥澛燯nlike Mr. Biden, the former president will not be joining a picket line Wednesday, instead speaking to about 500 workers at a non-unionized auto-parts manufacturer in Macomb County, near Detroit. Mr. Trump鈥檚 speech was announced before Mr. Biden鈥檚 plan to come to Detroit.聽
鈥淛oe Biden has been forced to come join the picket line ... because of the fact that Trump basically called his card,鈥� says聽Rocky Raczkowski, chair of the Oakland County GOP in suburban Detroit.
Mr. Raczkowski, like Mr. Trump, argues that union leaders have failed workers by aligning with the Democrats and their climate agenda, including the transition to electric cars, while foreign companies increase their market share. 鈥淭he corporate bosses of these companies are in favor of Democratic leaders and Democratic leadership and not fighting back,鈥� he says.
As the 2024 campaign ramps up, Mr. Trump鈥檚 policies vis a vis union workers are also likely to garner more scrutiny.聽
鈥淭rump talks a lot about his solidarity and plays into the anger of particular groups,鈥� says Peter Berg, a professor of employment relations at Michigan State University.聽 鈥淏ut when you look at what he actually does in his policies, they鈥檙e pretty mainstream conservative.鈥�
Mr. Trump鈥檚 appointees to the National Labor Relations Board weren鈥檛 particularly union-friendly, Professor Berg notes. The Trump NRLB聽took steps to limit employees鈥� rights to organize in certain workplaces and made it easier for workplaces to get rid of existing unions and to classify workers as independent contractors.
鈥淭rump probably ran the most vehemently anti-union administration we鈥檝e seen in decades,鈥� says Democratic strategist Steve Rosenthal, a former political director of the AFL-CIO. He聽also characterizes Trump Supreme Court appointees as hostile to labor.
On the other hand, some of Mr. Trump鈥檚 actions on trade 鈥� such as imposing stiff tariffs on certain imports, and renegotiating trade agreements 鈥� drew praise from labor leaders.聽
Mr. Biden鈥檚 record on labor includes strong support for unions and the right to collective bargaining, and his appointees to the NLRB have worked to reverse some of the Trump administration鈥檚 policies. In his first two years in office, he got numerous job-generating bills through Congress, including massive investments in climate, infrastructure, and semiconductor manufacturing. Mr. Biden also proudly advertises a law restoring the pensions of more than a million people that had been underfunded.
This week鈥檚 showdown in Detroit harks back to the 2016 election, when Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton gave short shrift to union-aligned households and lost to Mr. Trump.聽聽
鈥淪he didn鈥檛 make the traditional stops, didn鈥檛 visit union halls or plants in Michigan or steel mills in Pennsylvania,鈥� says Mr. Rosenthal. 鈥淪he essentially was saying to those union workers, this election is not about you, and it showed.鈥�
In that election, Mrs. Clinton won union households in Michigan 53% to 40% according to exit polls 鈥� a smaller margin than Democratic nominees typically have received. In 2020, Mr. Biden won the union vote in Michigan 62%-37%. The other two 鈥渂lue wall鈥� states, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, showed similar turnarounds for the Democratic ticket among union members in 2020.聽
Mr. Biden has to keep reassuring blue-collar voters on economic matters, even as some disagree with him on cultural matters, such as gun rights, Democratic strategists say.聽
鈥淏lue-collar folks have felt like they鈥檝e been screwed for 40 years, that no one was paying attention to them, that the establishments of both parties were not looking out for them and there was a lot of bitterness about that,鈥� says Mike Lux, a Democratic consultant who has worked with unions.聽
鈥淭rump was the ultimate anti-establishment guy 鈥� anti-Republican Party establishment and anti-Democratic Party establishment 鈥� and some people saw in him someone who would shake things up,鈥� Mr. Lux adds.
One key voting bloc in the 2024 race will be nonwhite voters who have not finished college 鈥撀燼 group that includes many UAW workers.聽
In his 2012 reelection, President Barack Obama won nonwhite working-class voters by a 67-point margin. Last week, a聽聽showed Mr. Biden鈥檚 lead over Mr. Trump within that cohort at a much narrower 49%-33%. Third-party candidates and voters choosing to stay home are other things that worry Democrats, whose likely nominee does not generate intense enthusiasm among base voters to the degree that Mr. Trump does.
Staff writer Sophie Hills contributed to this report.
