World enews: Biden joins striking auto workers on picket line in Michigan

President Joe Biden on Tuesday joined a United Auto Workers picket line outside a General Motors factory in Michigan, making a visible show of support for striking autoworkers and the US labor movement as the workers push for the “big three” automakers to honour their demands for better pay and benefits.

Mr Biden, speaking through a bullhorn, acknowledged the history of the moment by noting that he’d joined picket lines while a senator and as vice president, but never before as America’s chief executive.

The president told the workers that they deserved credit for helping save the American auto industry by agreeing to concessions during the 2008 financial crisis, and said that the automakers’ record profits since then should be used to reward the workers who helped earn those profits.

“The fact of the matter is is that you guys — the UAW — saved the automobile industry back in 2008 … you gave up a lot and the companies were in trouble, but now they’re doing incredibly well,” he said. “And guess what? You should be doing incredibly well, too”.

The president said the workers should “stick with it” because they “deserve a significant raise and other benefits,” and to “get back what [they] lost” during the crisis.

“You saved them, now it’s time that they step up for us,” he added.

Mr Biden’s trip to Michigan comes as the autoworkers union — and other US labour unions — have been flexing their muscles in recent months.

Earlier this week, the union representing Hollywood and television screenwriters ended a monthlong strike after producers and studios agreed to pay hikes and concessions in a new contract.

The president has long been a staunch supporter of organised labour, and has described himself as the most pro-union US president in American history.

The White House said he was joining the UAW picket line “in solidarity with the men and women of the United Auto Workers union as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create”.

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