The UAW picks a side in the Presidential race.

It will come as no surprise that the UAW has endorsed Joe Biden, a Democrat. Previous presidential endorsements by the auto union included candidates Clinton, Obama, and Kerry.

“In these dangerous and difficult times, the country needs a president who will demonstrate clear, stable leadership, less partisan acrimony and more balance to the rights and protections of working Americans,” said Rory Gamble, President of the UAW. “UAW Members need a federal government that ensures that members have both a good job to go to, and that they come home to their families at night having earned a fair day’s wage in a safe and secure place.”

Those who follow the ins and outs of the media’s coverage of the presidential race may remember that candidate Biden had a tense, profanity-laced exchange with a union autoworker related to the topic of Second Amendment rights just last month. This was not followed by a painful to watch beer summit (thankfully).

The union listed by bullet point some examples of what candidate Joe Biden will accomplish. These include:

-Reign in the abuse of corporate power over working people and hold corporate executives personally accountable for violations of labor laws.
-Encourage and incentivize unionization and collective bargaining; and
-Ensure that workers are treated with dignity and receive the pay, benefits and workplace protections they deserve.
-Ensure we expand access to affordable quality health care.

Interestingly, the UAW did not include in this list “Keep American manufacturing jobs in America.” The union’s press release did mention that Joe Biden’s “…experience in the Obama-Biden Administration during the successful auto recovery will be instrumental as the industry experiences massive changes in technology and jobs in auto and other UAW sectors.”

The union also brought up the COVID-19 crisis and the related issue of worker safety during the pandemic. “This issue demonstrates the need for Presidential leadership to follow the guidance of science and give workers a seat in discussions over their safety and well-being. Now it is time for workers to take their place at the table,” said Gamble

You can view a list of other political candidates the union has endorsed here.

Top of page image of UAW logo courtesy of the UAW media site. Image of Joe Biden courtesy of Joebiden.com.