The influential American auto union UAW called on Wednesday to vote for President Joe Biden in November, a welcome endorsement for the 81-year-old Democrat against his Republican rival Donald Trump.
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“Our support is earned. Joe Biden deserves it,” said Shawn Fain, president of the union.
Concluding a forceful speech, peppered with attacks on the former Republican president, he said: “The UAW calls for voting for Joe Biden as president of the United States.”
“I kept my promise to be the most pro-union president. I am proud of your support. (…) You have mine,” then reacted the American president, who wore an organization cap at the start of his speech.
“We are going to put up a big fight. We are going to fundamentally change the economy of this country,” promised the Democrat, visibly buoyed by the enthusiasm of the audience.
Joe Biden said he wanted to “transform an economy that protects those at the top, into an economy that gives a real chance of survival to those who built this country,” he said.
He accused his predecessor of having “lowered taxes for the very rich and businesses”, of having “sent good jobs abroad”, and of having “reduced investment”.
Donald Trump, big favorite in the race for the Republican nomination, “doesn’t care about workers,” for his part accused the head of the union organization, while the audience booed this mention of the former president.
“Donald Trump is a scab (derogatory term for scabs). Donald Trump is a billionaire and they are the ones he represents,” he asserted.
Shawn Fain recalled that Joe Biden, megaphone in hand, was the first American president in history to go on a picket line last year.
“He heard our call, he stepped up, he came,” declared the unionist.
The Democrat had joined workers from a factory near Detroit, Michigan, a state that will weigh heavily in the presidential election.
The UAW then launched a strike against the three largest American manufacturers: General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, owner of the Chrysler brand.
The mobilization led to salary increases.
“Come November, we can stand up and elect someone who will stand with us and support our cause. Or we can elect someone who will divide us and oppose us,” said Shawn Fain.
Donald Trump won, in 2016 as in 2020, a large majority of the votes of the white working electorate, who have generally voted to the right since the mid-1960s.
Joe Biden, however, during his battle against Donald Trump four years ago, did better than Hillary Clinton in 2016 with this electorate.
This time he hopes to maintain, or even slightly increase, this pool of votes, which could prove decisive in certain contested constituencies.
