At a General Motors facility in Belleville, Mich., Biden spoke to a group of United Auto Workers (UAW) members alongside union president Shawn Fain.
“Wall Street didn’t build the country. The middle class built the country. Unions built the middle class,” Biden, wearing a baseball cap and quarter-zip sweater, said via a bullhorn.
“Let’s keep going; you deserve what you’ve earned, and you deserve a hell of a lot more than what you’re getting paid now.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also joined striking UAW members Tuesday in Tappan, N.Y.
“We’re gonna fight until we win,” Schumer said in a video posted to the UAW’s account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“We are going to persist and we are going to succeed,” he said.
Negotiations between the UAW and the “Big Three” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — are focused on higher wages, better pensions and career security.
Biden announced his decision to visit Michigan hours after Fain called on the union to expand its strike last Friday to include Stellantis and GM parts distribution facilities at 38 locations across 28 states.
The president has maintained his support for workers, but he had previously stopped short of supporting the union’s 40-percent pay increase and 32-hour work week demands.
But when a reporter asked Tuesday if unions deserved the pay increase, workers surrounding Biden shouted “yes.” The president then also responded “yes.”
UAW endorsed Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020 but has not endorsed his 2024 run. Fain said union members “expect actions, not words.”
“Our endorsements are going to be earned,” Fain said earlier this month. “We’ve been very clear about that, no matter what politician.”
Former President Trump is also planning to visit Michigan and speak with workers on Wednesday.
The Hill’s Alex Gangitano has more on Biden’s visit here, and Tara Suter breaks down Schumer’s trip here.
