President Joe Biden allied himself with the UAW’s strike demands when pressed at the White House on the eve of his trip to Detroit.

The president was asked point blank if he supported the union’s demands as its workers strike at auto plants around the country.

Biden referenced worker sacrifices during the auto industry bailout during the Obama administration – then came close to saying he backed its negotiating position without answering entirely directly.

‘I think the UAW gave up an incredible amount back when the auto industry was going under. Think of everything from the pensions on. And they saved the automobile industry,’ Biden told reporters at an event on historically black colleges and universities Monday.

‘And I think that now that the industry is roaring back, they should participate in the benefit. And take a look at the significant increase in salaries for executives and growth of the industry. They should benefit from it,’ he continued.

‘Yes I support – I always support the UAW,’ Biden said.

'Yes I support ¿ I always support the UAW,' President Joe Biden said when asked if he backs the United Auto Workers' negotiating position

'Yes I support ¿ I always support the UAW,' President Joe Biden said when asked if he backs the United Auto Workers' negotiating position

‘Yes I support – I always support the UAW,’ President Joe Biden said when asked if he backs the United Auto Workers’ negotiating position

His remarks came just minutes after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will ‘stand on the side of workers’ when he visits a Detroit UAW picket line – without saying if he’ll stand by their specific bargaining demands.

Jean-Pierre asked repeatedly if Biden was getting behind the United Auto Worker’s position in negotiations in their expanded strike against auto companies.

But she declined answer directly when asked if he was getting behind the union’s call for a 32-hour work week with 40-hour pay, a 40 per cent raise over time.

Biden heads to Detroit Tuesday where he’ll walk the picket line in a strike that began Sept. 15th against three auto companies: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. 

UNION GUY: 'Now that the industry is roaring back, they should participate in the benefit,' President Biden said. That came after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said 'the president is a union guy' but declined to say if he backs the specific demands of striking UAW workers. He is visiting in Detroit on Tuesday

UNION GUY: 'Now that the industry is roaring back, they should participate in the benefit,' President Biden said. That came after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said 'the president is a union guy' but declined to say if he backs the specific demands of striking UAW workers. He is visiting in Detroit on Tuesday

UNION GUY: ‘Now that the industry is roaring back, they should participate in the benefit,’ President Biden said. That came after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said ‘the president is a union guy’ but declined to say if he backs the specific demands of striking UAW workers. He is visiting in Detroit on Tuesday

‘This is the President that stands with workers … It is not confusing. What he is saying, and we’ve been very clear he stands. He stands with the workers,’ Jean-Pierre said at the White House press briefing Monday.

She called him ‘the most pro-union president in history.’

The White House won’t give specifics on Biden’s visit, but he is visiting a state where workers have been striking at the Ford assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan. 

‘The president is a union guy,’ she said, calling him the ‘most pro-union president in modern times.’

But when pressed on specifics of negotiations, Jean-Pierre said that ‘we’re not going to speak to what’s being put at the table.’  

'I'm not going to get into negotiations from here,' Jean-Pierre said when pressed on specifics

'I'm not going to get into negotiations from here,' Jean-Pierre said when pressed on specifics

‘I’m not going to get into negotiations from here,’ Jean-Pierre said when pressed on specifics

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (L) was hit by a series of questions about Biden's trip to Michigan. She appeared with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at the White House Monday

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (L) was hit by a series of questions about Biden's trip to Michigan. She appeared with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at the White House Monday

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (L) was hit by a series of questions about Biden’s trip to Michigan. She appeared with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at the White House Monday

‘I’m not going to get into negotiations from here. This is for the parties to negotiate,’ she said. She said the UAW ‘should have a record contract’ to match company gains.

She also brushed off a question about past presidents who have acted as a mediator to resolve strikes, amid fears the labor action could drag on and harm the economy.

She pushed back when asked if Biden’s trip, announced late last week, had anything to do with former President Donald Trump’s decision to meet with striking workers in Michigan on Wednesday.

That event puts Trump opposite the Republican presidential debate taking place in Los Angeles. Trump will deliver a prime time speech from Michigan that will compete with the debate.

Biden’s own visit comes en route to a trip to San Francisco.

‘Absolutely not,’ she said. ‘This is what the President wanted to do to stand with our workers.’

Unions voted to strike after the collapse of talks with the companies.

Their demands include the wage hike of up to 40 per cent, changes in contract length, a 32-hour workweek with full pay for the current 40-hour week, along with changes to retirement and health plans.

The companies countered with a 19.5 per cent salary increase, up from an earlier offer of 17.5 per cent.

‘What’s driving members’ expectations are the Big Three’s profits,’ UAW president Shawn Fain said this month. 

Annual gross profits are up 34 per cent at Ford and 50 per cent at GM since 2019 and 19 per cent at Stellantis from 2021 to 2022, NBC reported. The company formed when Fiat Chrysler merged with Peugeot. 

Jean-Pierre’s comment comes after Trump campaign senior advisor Jason Miller said his trip was ‘nothing more than a cheap photo op as he finds himself between a rock and a political hard place.’ He claimed the ‘only reason Biden is going to Michigan on Tuesday is because President Trump announced he is going on Wednesday.’

The White House guidance on the trip states that ‘the President will join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create.’

Biden’s tone was lighthearted when he got asked for Monday afternoon if he had a message to auto companies.

‘Stay under the speed limit,’ he quipped. 

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