The United Automobile Workers said on Friday it had secured an important concession from General Motors regarding the contracts of workers at battery factories.
As electric vehicles usher in a new era for the car economy and workers strike against rooted manufacturers, Neal E. Boudette is in Motor City to cover it all.
The former president will be making a campaign stop in Michigan on Wednesday amid the United Automobile Workers’ strike. He has both appeased unions and sought to circumvent them.
President Biden’s trip comes a day before former President Donald J. Trump arrives in Michigan, as the two men offer dueling messages to a powerful voting bloc in a key swing state.
Their responses obscure the nature of the conflict.
Elon Musk, the Tesla chief executive, may be able to exploit his rivals’ weaknesses, but the United Auto Workers union also has the electric carmaker in its sights.
Fewer Michigan residents work in auto manufacturing than before, but a strike by U.A.W. members is a reminder of what the industry still means to the state.
Autoworkers want, and deserve, a big raise. But they are asking for too much.
Experts on unions and the industry said the U.A.W. strike could accelerate a wave of worker actions, or stifle labor’s recent momentum.
The U.A.W. returned to the bargaining table on Sunday after its president warned, “We’re going to amp this thing up” if the car companies don’t improve their offers.