As the UAW’s simultaneous strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis stretches into its second week, US President Joe Biden made a historic visit to workers on the picket line. He addressed UAW members at GM’s Willow Run redistribution center west of Detroit, marking the first time a president has made such a move while holding office.
“You guys, the UAW, you saved the auto industry back in 2008 and before,” said Biden, speaking to members of UAW Local 174 via bullhorn. “You made a lot of sacrifices, gave up a lot when the companies were in trouble. But now they’re doing incredibly well. And guess what? You should be doing incredibly well too.”
President Biden was joined by UAW President Shawn Fain, who’s been quite vocal in recent weeks regarding the terms for which its members seek to settle the strike. Speaking to union members after Biden, he evoked the history of the former Willow Run assembly plant, where B-24 Liberator bombers were built during World War II.
“Today, the enemy isn’t some foreign country miles away. It’s right here in our own area. It’s corporate greed,” he said. “And the weapon we produce to fight that enemy is the liberators, the true liberators; it’s the working class people, all of you working your butts off on those lines to deliver a great product for our company. That’s how we’re going to defeat these people, that’s how we’re going to defeat corporate greed, is by standing together.”
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