The United Auto Workers strike that stretched into its fourth day on Monday has put a spotlight on how President Biden’s electric-vehicle transition is presenting hurdles for a key labor constituency of the incumbent Democrat.
EVs are a pillar of Mr. Biden’s green energy agenda, but they require far less labor to produce and are more often made with battery components from non-union labor.
Mr. Biden has promised to be history’s greenest and most pro-labor president. The striking autoworkers, who are demanding more pay and shorter workweeks, have proved those are difficult goals to achieve simultaneously. Notably, the UAW endorsed Mr. Biden in the 2020 election but has declined to do so yet for 2024. Mr. Fain declined to say how — or whether — Mr. Biden can win over the union’s endorsement a second time.
Mr. Biden’s tax-and-climate spending law known as the Inflation Reduction Act will pump tens of billions of dollars into EVs over the next decade through tax incentives for new battery manufacturing and purchases at the dealership. The administration is also considering forcing automakers to largely ditch gas-powered cars with a stringent proposed rule for tailpipe emissions that would require dealers’ new vehicle sales to be up to 60% EVs by 2030 and 67% EVs by 2032.
“We firmly support the UAW members’ demands and believe that the success of these negotiations is of critical importance for the rights and well-being of workers and to safeguard people and the environment,” said an open letter to the Big Three automakers signed by more than 100 environmental and advocacy organizations.
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