Washington, United States

US President Joe Biden will be participating in the United Auto Workers picket line on Tuesday (September 26). This will be the strongest show of support by the leader for union members who have been striking against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors.

On Friday, Biden took to X to announce that he will be travelling to Wayne County, Michigan, "to 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."

It is a move that some experts have called unprecedented in modern political history, a step which the White House has quickly called “historic”.

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"He supports the UAW workers and tomorrow what you're going to see is historic," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, while speaking to the reporters on Monday.

"This is going to be a historic visit,” the White House said.

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Jean-Pierre was asked if the president is officially siding with the demands of the striking workers by joining the picket line, and how his appearance is consistent with the claim of the White House that he will not get involved in the negotiations.

Biden not involved in negotiations

To this, she said, "He is standing with the workers. We are not involved in negotiations."

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"That is something for them to decide what is going to work for the parties that are involved, but he is standing with the autoworkers,” she said.

The appearance of Biden will come one day before former president Donald Trump reaches Michigan, a 2024 battleground, to campaign instead of participating in the second Republican primary debate to be held on Wednesday night.

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"I'm not gonna get into the details of what's being negotiated right now on the table with certainly with the parties. What we're saying is that we support the autoworkers," Jean-Pierre said.

Biden has stated that he feels union workers deserve their "fair share" of the record earnings of the companies and added that the time has come for a "win-win agreement" between the automakers and union.

On Monday, when quizzed whether he supports the UAW demands, Biden said, “I think the UAW gave up an incredible amount back when the automobile industry was going under. They gave up everything from their pensions on, and they saved the automobile industry.”

“And I think that now that the industry is roaring back, they should -- they should participate in the benefit of that. And if you take a look at the significant increase in salaries for the executives and growth for the industry, they should benefit from it. So yes, I support -- I always support the UAW,” he added while speaking to ABC.

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