‘Joe Biden Bet on the American Worker’
President wins big union endorsement heading towards reelection
Four months after he became the first sitting president to join their picket line, President Biden received the endorsement of the United Auto Workers (UAW).
The backing of one of the nation’s oldest and most prominent labor unions will no doubt be an asset to Biden as he heads for his expected rematch against Donald Trump in November.
Shawn Fain, president of a union boasting nearly 400,000 members, announced the endorsement in Washington DC alongside Biden.
“When I first came into office, we made some headlines by saying that our endorsements would be earned, not freely given,” Fain said, to applause from the crowd. “We’ve said we’d stand with whoever stood with us in our fight.
“Not because somebody was nice to us and we want to be nice to them, but because we need to know who’s gonna put up and who’s gonna shut up. And going even further, we need to know who’s gonna stand up with us,” Fain added, to rising cheering and applause. “And this choice is clear. Joe Biden bet on the American worker, while Donald Trump blamed the American worker!
“We need to know who’s going to sit in the most powerful seat in the world and help us win as a united working class. So if our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it,” he said.
Biden made history last fall when he joined striking UAW members on a picket line in Michigan, as the union was fighting for a new contract from the nation’s biggest automakers.
In accepting the endorsement Wednesday, Biden said, “Together, we’re proving what I’ve always believed: Wall Street didn’t build America. The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class. That’s a fact.
“Look, I kept my commitment to be the most pro-union president ever, and I’m proud you have my back. Let me just say I’m honored to have your back and you have mine. That’s the deal,” the president added, to applause from the crowd. “It comes down to seeing the world the same way. It’s not complicated.”
Biden fondly recalled joining the UAW strike last September.
“And I’ll say I was so damn proud to stand on that picket line with you,” he said to applause. “It’s not the first UAW picket line I stood in. In my home state of Delaware, I’ve done it many times. But it’s the first time a president did it, I found out later.”
Please support our work…
Please subscribe…