Biden to join UAW picket line in Michigan

President Joe Biden will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to join members of the United Auto Workers union as they continue to strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers.

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The president announced his upcoming visit in a post Friday on social media.

“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,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“It’s time for a win-win agreement that keeps American auto manufacturing thriving with well-paid UAW jobs.”

The decision came after union President Shawn Fain said strikes launched Sept. 15 against General Motors, Stellantis and Ford had been expanded.

On Friday, Fain called for workers at 18 GM and 20 Stellantis parts distribution facilities in 20 states to join the strikes, saying that the companies needed to “come to their senses and come to the table with a serious offer.” He added that negotiators had made “some real progress at Ford” though “we still have serious issues to work through.”

He also invited Biden and other supporters to join the picket lines.

The president’s trip to Michigan will come one day before former President Donald Trump is scheduled to be in the state, Reuters reported. Trump is leading Republicans vying for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination. A spokesperson for his campaign told Reuters that Biden’s trip amounted to “a cheap photo op.”

“The only reason Biden is going to Michigan on Tuesday is because President Trump announced he is going on Wednesday,” the campaign said in a statement obtained by the news agency.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who, alongside Rep. Cori Bush, joined workers striking Sunday at a rally in Missouri, said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that Biden’s plan to join the picket lines will be a “historic, historic event.”

“We have never seen in modern history a president show up to a picket line like this,” the New York Democrat said.

Earlier this month, Biden shared support for the striking workers.

“Over the past decade, auto companies have seen record-profits, including in the last few years, because of (the) extraordinary skills and sacrifices of UAW workers,” the president said during a Sept. 15 news conference at the White House. “Those record-profits have not been shared fairly, in my view, with those workers.”