UAW not endorsing Biden for reelection.

Major Union on the Fence About Endorsing Biden’s Reelection Bid

A week after President Biden announced his reelection bid, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union is still undecided about endorsing him. The UAW leader, Shawn Fain, expressed concerns about the administration’s electric vehicle push, stating that not enough has been done to address the union’s worries.

UAW’s Concerns About the EV Transition

Fain wrote in an internal memo to members that the federal government is pouring billions into the electric vehicle transition, with no commitment to workers. He added that the EV transition is at serious risk of becoming a race to the bottom. Union leaders brought these concerns to Biden administration officials during a meeting in Washington last week, highlighting how the transition is affecting members’ lives, including plant closures and idlings that uproot workers’ families and communities.

Biden’s Climate Change Moves and the UAW’s Political Support

The memo underscores how some of Mr. Biden’s boldest moves to fight climate change, which animate his liberal base, could at the same time weaken his political support among another crucial constituency. The U.A.W. has shrunk in size in recent decades, but it still counts about 400,000 active members, with a robust presence in Michigan, a critical battleground state for Democrats.

The Costs of Enacting Biden’s Climate Regulations

In April, the Biden administration proposed the nation’s most ambitious climate regulations yet, which would ensure that two-thirds of new passenger cars are all-electric by 2032. The rules, if enacted, could sharply lower planet-warming pollution from vehicle tailpipes, the nation’s largest source of greenhouse emissions. However, they come with costs for autoworkers, as it takes fewer than half the laborers to assemble an all-electric vehicle as it does to build a gasoline-powered car.

UAW’s Stance on Endorsing Biden

While Fain was clear that the UAW would not endorse former President Trump should he become the GOP nominee, he said that the union is not yet making an endorsement of Biden. Fain provided “talking points” for members about why the union was not immediately lining up behind Mr. Biden, writing that if companies received federal subsidies, then workers “must be compensated with top wages and benefits.”

According to the New York Times, Biden quickly picked up endorsements from other unions, including the Amalgamated Transit Union, the Service Employees International Union, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, after making his reelection announcement. However, the UAW is still waiting to see an alternative that delivers real results and a pro-worker, pro-climate, and pro-democracy political program that can deliver for the working class.