Biden says UAW should fight for 40% pay raise in Michigan strike visit

MicroWave@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 590 points – Biden says UAW should fight for 40% pay raise in Michigan strike visit
reuters.com

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."

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Did he though? His Congress pushed through a bill with a smaller compensation package, 1(one) day of sick time, no removal of advance notice for sick time, none of the OT protections, and no acknowledgement of safety concerns.

Hih

I mean, just because they're cool with a shitty deal doesn't mean it wasn't a shitty deal.

It's easier to fool someone than to convince them they've been fooled, after all.

asdfasfsaf

No, but just because they’re cool with a shitty deal doesn’t mean it wasn’t a shitty deal.

It’s easier to fool someone than to convince them they’ve been fooled, after all.

sadfasfsadf

Err.. what? I copied and pasted what I wrote before because it was a sufficient response to your comment.

You seem to have this weird idea that just because they accepted the deal, that it was a good deal. I said that's not necessarily true. Then you replied saying "yes it is, they know more than you" which completely ignores my point, so I re-iterated it.

sadfasdf

Lol, what? I'm countering the point that just because they've accepted it doesn't mean it's good.

Just because they are union workers doesn't mean they weren't taken advantage of.

What about this is so hard for you to understand?

You seem to think that any deal they would've taken is a good deal, because they know more about it than you do. That's a classic appeal to authority, and it's hilarious that you're trying to defend it.

Anyways, goodbye man.

asdfsafasdfad

Right. Good thing is I'm not here to convince you.

I never said their deal was bad.

Your entire argument has been “people can accept bad deals” to get you in striking distance of “they accepted a bad deal.”

This is just you replacing my point with something that is easier to argue against. I see it all the time.

So yeah, I’m trusting them for now. Because there’s nothing in front of me indicating they are wrong.

Go right on ahead man. That doesn't invalidate my point.

  1. Fuck you for assuming I'm any kind of liberal. Especially fuck you for insinuating I'm a Republican.
  2. Regardless of the RLA holding a gun to their Union's head, they did vote to approve the Senate's contract. I'm personally very dissatisfied with the agreement, but ultimately, their union voted to ratify the agreement. As NPR notes, the deal falls significantly short of the goals rail workers were fighting for. They decided to accept it, in the face of a repeat of PATCO.

Hfzgixitsitdiyx

I got a bit upset about you saying I was fueling right-wing talking points, so my bad. I'll always fight on the side of labor, even if the Republican party is trying to make them the ball in political games.

Personally I think it would have turned out much better for their union after even a day on strike, but I guess we'll never know. My point is not "they didn't get what they wanted but got something good", it's that the deal was forcibly imposed on them without any other options. I was not aware of the aftermath of the deal so I appreciate you highlighting it, but it still falls short in my eyes. Were I in their union, I'd be a minority opposed to the outcome. But that's the thing, I'm just a guy on the Internet, not a member of IBEW, SMART-MD, or IBT (CWA guy in the tech industry, actually).

I trust you to do the right thing, I don't need a screen shot. Thank you for putting up.

I didn’t say anything about your personal politics - I have far too little to go off to make that kind of claim.

You accused them of listening to Hannity, so uh

Heidisjjwnsnsjwk

He did. Stop listening to hannity.

This necessarily implies anyone who disagrees listens to Hannity.