Biden On The Picket Line
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 September 2023
⏱️ 15 minutes
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Summary
Biden is walking a political tightrope. He wants a better contract for workers–and to win union members' votes in battleground states. He also wants to support carmakers as they transition to a future of electric vehicles.
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Micheline Maynard, the author of The End of Detroit: How the Big Three Lost Their Grip on the American Car Market, to understand how profitable the big carmakers are right now. And NPR's Michel Martin speaks with historian Jefferson Cowie about the unprecedented nature of Biden walking the picket lines.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Presidents have visited war zones. |
| 0:09.0 | I really pleased to be with the 10th Mountain Division. |
| 0:12.0 | They've stopped by factories. |
| 0:14.0 | I have just been on an incredibly impressive tour of this facility. |
| 0:20.0 | Commencement stages. |
| 0:22.0 | President Clinton, it is our great honor and privilege to welcome you to the University of Chicago campus. |
| 0:29.0 | Majorly baseball diamonds. |
| 0:31.0 | For tonight's ceremonial first pitch. |
| 0:35.0 | And please welcome the President of the United States. |
| 0:41.0 | But no U.S. President, as far as we can tell, has ever stood on a union picket line. |
| 0:47.0 | On Tuesday, President Biden joined members of the United Auto. |
| 0:58.0 | Workers of the United Auto Workers as they strike for better pay and benefits from the big three automakers. |
| 1:04.0 | That's Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. |
| 1:07.0 | As he walked the picket line outside a GM facility in Michigan, Biden was also walking a political tightrope. |
| 1:15.0 | He wants a better contract for workers. |
| 1:17.0 | He also wants to support car makers as they transition to a future of electric vehicles. |
| 1:23.0 | Here he is a year ago. |
| 1:25.0 | Auto companies like Ford, GM, Stellantis. |
| 1:28.0 | I still have, I still am inclined to say that other word, Christler, my dad worked for them for a while. |
| 1:34.0 | We're all our partners here. |
| 1:36.0 | They made commitments. |
| 1:38.0 | We're having investing billions of dollars in themselves to go electric. |
... |
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