• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Q&A: Volvo CEO Jim Rowan Talks Hitting Targets, Future Vehicles
  • FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing
  • Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV
  • First Look: 2024 Lexus GX
  • GM Investing $500M in Texas Plant for Gas-Powered SUVs
  • New Battery Chemistry Promises Increased Range, Cell Life
  • Labor Unrest at West Coast Ports Threatens U.S. Automakers
  • Used Car Wholesale Prices Decline; Retail Prices Don't
  • Pandemic Accelerated Auto Dealers’ Shift to Digital-Oriented Sales Process
  • Detroit Auto Show Back Again in September
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Chevrolet Trax Activ
    • A Week With: 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0 SE
    • A Week With: 2023 Kia Niro SX Touring
    • A Week With: 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Estrema Q4
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus NX 350h Luxury
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line
    • First Drive: 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium RWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > UAW/union > New UAW President Threatens to Withhold Biden Endorsement Over EV Transition

        New UAW President Threatens to Withhold Biden Endorsement Over EV Transition

        Shawn Fain wants “just transition” — which translates into more union jobs.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        May 04, 2023

        A week after meeting with members of the Biden administration, the new leader of the United Auto Workers Union is threatening to withhold his support for the president’s reelection bid.

        Fain talks at 2023 bargaining convention
        New UAW President Shawn Fain said the union wants a “just transition” battery-electric vehicles.

        UAW President Shawn Fain wants a “just transition” to battery-electric vehicles, a concern that translates into a demand for more union jobs.

        “The federal government is pouring billions into the electric vehicle transition, with no strings attached and no commitment to workers,” Fain wrote to UAW workers. “The EV transition is at serious risk of becoming a race to the bottom. We want to see national leadership have our back on this before we make any commitments.”

        Biden pushes for an EV transition

        Under President Joe Biden, the federal government is aggressively pushing for a transition to EVs. New emissions standards announced last month will require about two-thirds of the new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2031 to produce zero emissions. That would limit them to electric or hydrogen fuel-cell technologies.

        The Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress last August, meanwhile, contains a number of strictures meant not only to boost sales of EVs but also to shift production of those vehicles to the U.S. Revised incentives require they be produced in North America along with their batteries. And manufacturers must source key components, including lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese, locally, as well.

        Biden looks in F-150 Lightning
        President Joe Biden’s aggressively pushed for the production of electric vehicles.

        Since the IRA was passed, at least 17 new U.S. battery plants have been announced, according to Bank of America Research. The U.S. Department of Energy now forecasts that domestic sources will produce around 1 terawatt-hour of automotive batteries by 2030, around 20 times more output than in 2022.

        But union leaders worry they could be left out

        But the real issue for the UAW, according to analysts, is not just getting more EV and battery production to come to the U.S. but to ensure that production is handled by union workers.

        To date, only the American assembly plants operated by Detroit’s Big Three — General Motors, Ford and the U.S. side of Stellantis — have been organized. And only one new battery plant has UAW representation, the GM/LG Energy Solution Ultium Cells LLC factory near Lordstown, Ohio.

        It is expected — but yet to be confirmed — that other Big Three battery plants will also be manned by UAW employees. That will depend upon likely representation votes.

        The UAW’s ongoing struggle

        UAW member No. 2 at 2023 bargaining convention
        Union delegates put forth demands ranging from additional training to improved healthcare. More jobs related to EVs is on the list as well.

        The Detroit-based union has struggled for decades to win over workers at foreign-owned auto assembly plants, such as the Nissan factory in Smyrna, Tennessee. It has lost a number of votes, most recently at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga.

        EVs are expected to be a hot-button issue when the UAW returns to the bargaining table with the Detroit automakers this summer because they generally require less labor to produce. The union fears this will result in fewer jobs as the industry shifts from internal combustion to battery-electric drive technology.

        But the Detroit Big Three hope to boost productivity in order to remain competitive with not only foreign, non-union EV plants but with Tesla, the only manufacturer currently earning a profit on its battery-electric vehicles.

        A ‘just transition”

        Reporting on his meeting with lawmakers and the Biden administration last week, Fain wrote, “We were very adamant that if the government is going to funnel billions in taxpayer money to these companies, the workers must be compensated with top wages and benefits.”

         “A ‘just transition,’” he added, “has to include standards for our members and future workers.”

        Orion worker assembles 2022 Bolt
        Electric vehicles require fewer workers to assemble, so the union is pushing to organize the battery makers as well.

        Exactly what Fain wants that to translate into is uncertain. And, with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, it has limited legislative options available to lend support to union organizing efforts.

        Get ready to “rumble”

        Fain is himself under pressure to deliver for his membership after narrowly winning the UAW leadership role in a runoff election. He has been sounding an aggressive tone in preparation for this summer’s contract talks, recently telling workers to be ready to “rumble” if they don’t win what the UAW seeks from the negotiations.

        But whether the new union chief will continue to withhold support for Biden’s reelection bid is uncertain. In his letter to union members, Fain said it “would be a disaster” to reelect former President Donald Trump.

        He hinted at the possibility of endorsing a Democratic challenger to Biden, saying that UAW workers need someone who can “deliver real results.”

        “We need to get our members organized behind a pro-worker, pro-climate, and pro-democracy political program that can deliver for the working class,” wrote Fain.

        The union doesn’t always deliver for Democrats

        The union has traditionally been a bulwark of support for the Democratic party. But how much it actually can deliver has varied widely over the years.

        Back in 1980, large numbers of workers shifted support to Ronald Reagan, helping him defeat then-incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Many of its members also sided with Trump in both 2016 and 2020, polling data showed.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published
        Volvo CEO Rowan in Milan 2023

        Q&A: Volvo CEO Jim Rowan Talks Hitting Targets, Future Vehicles

        Today
        FIA Formula E 2023 Jakarta teams on track REL

        FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing

        Today
        2024 Lexus TX - debut front 3-4

        Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV

        Today

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: