President Joe Biden on Tuesday joined a picket line with striking autoworkers in Michigan, supporting their call for a 40% pay raise and saying they deserve a "lot more" than they are getting.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday joined a picket line with striking autoworkers in Michigan, supporting their call for a 40% pay raise and saying they deserve a “lot more” than they are getting.

Biden’s appearance, the first visit by a U.S. president to striking workers in modern history, comes a day before Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for president, will speak to auto workers in Michigan. The rare back-to-back events highlight the importance of union support in the 2024 presidential election, even though unions represent a tiny fraction of U.S. workers.

Democrat Biden traveled to a Belleville, Michigan, parts distribution center owned by General Motors (GM.N), and joined dozens of picketers outside. “Companies were in trouble, now they’re doing incredibly well. And guess what? You should be doing incredibly well, too,” Biden said through a bullhorn. “Stick with it.”

  • doingthestuff@lemmy.world
    2322·
    1 year ago

    Why isn’t he championing a massive raise in minimum wage? Everyone other than the rich are struggling. Is he just trying to make cars even more expensive than they already have gotten here? I’m in my 40s and my first house cost less than an average new car today. Help all the people, man.

    • SlopppyEngineer
      471·
      1 year ago

      Republicans blocked Biden’s previous attempt to raise the minimum wage so not a lot of use to try again unless there is some more pressure.

        • paultimate14@lemmy.world
          231·
          1 year ago

          Because all that would accomplish right now is get some asshole on the Internet to comment “if that’s the case why doesn’t he do something about it?” Or “why doesn’t he do something about Medicare?”

          Does he need to give a 6 hour speech outlining every policy he supports every day to satisfy you?

          He has asked Congress to legislate a higher minimum wage. He issued an executive order requiring federal contractors to raise their minimum wage to qualify for government contracts.

          What are YOU doing to raise the minimum wage of you care so much about it? Are you contacting your representatives? Your state can raise its own minimum wage: are you harassing those officials?

          Or are you just trying to criticize Biden and draw attention away from his strike support on the Internet?

    • bobman@unilem.org
      114·
      1 year ago

      The problem is that owners are profiting off of labor while not doing any real work themselves.

      The rich need to make less profit so ‘everyone other than the rich’ can have more. It’s that simple, not sure why it needs to be spelled out for you.

      This should not be paid for by raising prices. It should be paid for by people wealthier than you making less profit while still being wealthier than you can ever hope to be.

      I’m in my 40s and my first house cost less than an average new car today.

      That’s because people like you don’t understand how basic economics work, so you’re routinely taken advantage of by people who do.