The United Auto Workers’ walkout Friday at three Ford, General Motors and Stellantis plants could become the most politically and economically disruptive strike since President Joe Biden took office. But it’s hardly the only significant labor-management clash during his administration.
Workers, armed with the power of a tight labor market and at times angered by how employers treated them during the pandemic, have organized with new energy from Hollywood to UPS to Starbucks.
Biden has worked hard to brand himself as the most pro-labor president in American history and relied on unions’ political muscle to help him win the presidency. So when there’s even the threat of a major strike, he’s in the spotlight more than other presidents have been.
In the showdown between the UAW and automakers, Biden has publicly stepped carefully, as the administration engages primarily behind the scenes.
But that hasn’t always been the case.
Biden was able to intervene directly in talks between railroads and rail workers since federal law gives the government a big say in that industry’s labor relations due to its economic importance. And his top Labor Department official was involved in a deal this year between West Coast ports and dockworkers.
