More than 400,000 workers are members of the United Automobile Workers, a significant US union that has supported President Joe Biden’s reelection.
It comes after the Democrat, 81, became the first sitting president to join UAW workers on a picket line last year.
In November’s general election, Mr. Biden is anticipated to compete against Donald Trump, who has a stronger lead among voters in the blue-collar sector.
The support from the UAW might increase his attempts to reduce that edge.
Even though the UAW supported Mr. Biden before the 2020 election, its new leadership decided not to support his reelection alongside other prominent unions last year. A 2024 endorsement should “be earned, not freely given,” according to President Shawn Fain.
However, Mr. Fain stated on Wednesday that members, who are primarily employed in the auto and truck industries, must decide whether to support “someone who stands up with us and supports our cause” or “someone who will divide us and fight us every step of the way” when casting their ballots.
At the end of the three-day national conference held by the UAW in Washington, DC, he declared, “If our endorsements have to be earned, Joe Biden has earned it.”
Accepting the endorsement, Mr. Biden, who frequently describes himself as the most pro-union US leader, put on a UAW ballcap and remarked, “It’s great to be home.”
“You have my back and I am honored to have yours. He addressed a sea of ordinary union members wearing red polo shirts, saying, “That’s a deal.”
Using a bullhorn, the president joined striking union members in September at a Detroit, Michigan General Motors parts warehouse.
The extraordinary outpouring of support coincided with the UAW’s simultaneous contract negotiations with the three major US automakers, GM, Ford, and Stellantis, through a series of rolling, little-noticed individual strikes.
Mr. Trump called the incident “nothing more than a PR stunt” after holding an event at a Michigan non-union plant the following day.
However, by November, union leaders had negotiated a historic new deal that included cost-of-living increases and record salary increases.
Mr. Biden stated on Wednesday, “You deserve to benefit when these companies thrive because you built these companies, you sacrificed to save them in the worst of times.”
In this country, the days of working people being left out of deals are long gone.”
Mr. Fain complimented the president on his involvement in the talks, saying that he had not only vocally supported the right to strike but also created new opportunities for organizing and had “heard the call” and “joined us in solidarity.”
Conversely, he claimed that the outgoing president had “trashed our union” and taken steps to “screw the American middle class.”
The UAW’s endorsement might spur its members to support Mr. Biden, who is having trouble garnering support for his reelection campaign due to his low approval ratings.
This is especially the case for the laborers centered in Michigan, a battleground state for auto manufacturing, where Mr. Biden needs to narrow his opponent’s lead among working-class voters.
Although Mr. Biden won the state over Mr. Trump in 2020, his stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict has angered a sizable portion of the state’s Arab-American electorate this year, along with a large number of young voters.
As is now customary at his public appearances, demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza cut off Mr. Biden’s speech, giving an early glimpse of those electability issues.