Remarks by UAW President Shawn Fain on President Biden’s Statement Today on Big Three Negotiations, Issued One Month Before the Contract Expires on Sept. 14

President Joe Biden issued a statement today on the contract talks between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three automakers. The current UAW contract expires in one month on Sept. 14 at 11:59 p.m. (The full statement from President Joe Biden is below the following remarks from UAW President Shawn Fain.) 

UAW President Shawn Fain issued these remarks about Biden’s statement: 

“At this critical moment in negotiations, we appreciate President Biden’s support for strong contracts that ensure good paying union jobs now and pave the way for a just transition to an EV future. We agree with the president that the Big Three’s joint venture battery plants should have the same strong pay and safety standards that generations of UAW members have fought for. As the president said, the UAW helped build the middle class and we are fighting for contracts that will bring prosperity back to working-class communities that have been struggling for far too long. The Big Three have been extraordinarily profitable for years now, making a quarter-trillion dollars in North American profits over the last decade and another $21 billion in total profits in the first half of this year. With the president’s support, we know those profits can be invested in collective bargaining agreements that lift up autoworkers, our families and our communities.”  

[FULL STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT BIDEN ISSUED BY THE WHITE HOUSE] 

Statement from President Joe Biden on the United Auto Workers and Big Three Contract Negotiations 

“The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class. The need to transition to a clean energy economy should provide a win-win opportunity for auto companies and unionized workers. It should enable workers to make good wages and benefits to support their families, while leading us into a future where America is leading the way in reducing vehicle emissions and producing autos that will successfully compete domestically and globally. Companies should use this process to make sure they enlist their workers in the next chapter of the industry by offering them good paying jobs and a say in the future of their workplace.  

"As the Big Three auto companies and the United Auto Workers come together — one month before the expiration of their contract — to negotiate a new agreement, I want to be clear about where I stand. I’m asking all sides to work together to forge a fair agreement.  

"I support a fair transition to a clean energy future. That means ensuring that Big Three auto jobs are good jobs that can support a family; that auto companies should honor the right to organize; take every possible step to avoid painful plant closings; and ensure that when transitions are needed, the transitions are fair and look to retool, reboot, and rehire in the same factories and communities at comparable wages, while giving existing workers the first shot to fill those jobs. The UAW helped create the American middle class and as we move forward in this transition to new technologies, the UAW deserves a contract that sustains the middle class.”  

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