UAW President Shawn Fain said the Detroit-based organization is not backing President Joe Biden for a second term due to the electric car policy.
Fain wrote to members on Wednesday that other national unions endorsed Biden, but the UAW has not.
The federal government is investing billions in the electric car transition without restrictions or job commitments. As a result, EV adoption might become a race to the bottom. “We want national leadership to support us before we commit,” Fain stated.
Biden’s campaign didn’t respond.
The new UAW president met with legislators and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients last week in Washington.
Fain and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders slammed a General Motors (GM.N) joint venture battery facility on Thursday for paying workers significantly less than assembly plant employees while receiving large tax subsidies.
The Warren, Ohio, joint venture Ultium Cells facility in Lordstown pays $16.50 an hour, rising to $20 after seven years. In contrast, union workers at a nearby Ohio GM assembly plant that closed in 2019 paid $32 or more.
Lordstown and the EV transition are unacceptable. Expect action from Fain, stated.
At full production, Ultium will receive more than $1.2 billion in U.S. battery production tax credits, Fain said.
The letter stated that the UAW would negotiate for 150,000 General Motors, Ford Motor, and Chrysler-parent Stellantis workers. “Record profits while workers get left behind,” Fain remarked of the Detroit Three. We’ll support whoever fights for our members.”
Fain said the union will be “ready to talk politics once we secure a future for this industry and the workers who make it run.” Another Trump presidency would be disastrous, he added. Our members need an option that works.”
GM and LG Energy Solution (373220. KS) inaugurated the Ultium battery facility in Ohio in August 2022 and are developing two more JV battery factories in Michigan and Tennessee.
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