The United Auto Workers (UAW) endorsed President Biden on Wednesday, boosting his campaign's focus on the November election.
UAW President Sean Fein introduced Biden's speech at the conference in Washington, D.C., and expressed support for the union, citing the president's recent solidarity with strikes against major automakers.
“He heard the call and got up and showed up,” Fain said, prompting chants of “Joe!”
“The choice is clear. Joe Biden bet on American workers, Donald Trump denounced American workers. We know who will sit in the most powerful seat in the world, and we stand united. “We need to help them win as a working class,” he added. “So if we had to get our support, Joe Biden got it.”
Fein also highlighted several instances dating back to the 2007-2008 recession in which Biden supported autoworkers while slamming former President Trump's criticism of unions.
“As a union, we rarely have such a clear choice between two candidates,” Fain said.
Although the UAW has previously supported Democratic candidates and supported Biden in the 2020 election, it had withheld its support for the president. Mr. Fein originally expressed concern about the administration's efforts to direct funding to the transition to electric vehicles in a memo last May.
“The federal government is pouring billions of dollars into the electric vehicle transition, but with no strings attached or commitments to workers,” Fein wrote at the time. “The transition to EVs is at serious risk of becoming a race to the bottom. We want national leaders to turn their backs on this before we make any commitments.”
Still, the confirmation delay is a victory for Biden, who has called himself “the most pro-union president in American history” and has gone to unprecedented lengths to prove that.
When the UAW went on strike against three major automakers last year, Biden became the first sitting president to join a strike by auto workers on picket lines in Michigan.
After a six-week strike, the union finally reached an agreement in late October with three major U.S. automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
The UAW's endorsement comes as Biden's reelection campaign shifts its focus to the general election following Trump's victory in New Hampshire's Republican primary on Tuesday.
Biden also won the Democratic primary through a write-in campaign, although he did not appear on the ballot in the Granite State.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley remains in the Republican primary, but it appears increasingly likely that Trump will secure the Republican nomination, sparking a rematch between Biden and the former president.
Mr. Biden acknowledged as much on Tuesday, saying in a message to voters that it was “now clear” that Mr. Trump would be the Republican nominee.
Michigan is known for its big role in the U.S. auto industry and is a key battleground between Biden, who won the state in 2020, and Trump, who flipped the state in 2016 after years of reliable Democratic support. There is a high possibility that it will become a land.
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