Biden appoints UAW president to White House advisory council

President Biden announced Friday he planned to appoint two key union leaders to an advisory committee on international trade, including United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain.

The White House announced Fain and Brian Bryant, who serves as the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) president, would be appointed to the advisory group.

The President’s Export Council serves as the main national committee advising the White House on matters of international trade. The group discusses and works to resolve trade-related issues around business, agriculture and labor.

The appointment of Fain is the latest instance of the UAW leader emerging as one of Biden’s closest allies in organized labor. Biden walked the picket line with UAW members in Michigan during a strike last year, and Fain and the group endorsed Biden’s reelection bid in January, citing the president’s solidarity with workers.

“This choice is clear. Joe Biden bet on the American worker while Donald Trump blamed the American worker,” Fain said during his endorsement. “We need to know who’s gonna sit in the most powerful seat in the world, and help us win as a united working class.”