President Joe Biden believes unions built the middle class
That left him in the awkward position Wednesday of espousing the virtues of unionization in Detroit, a stalwart of the labor movement, while members of his administration went all-out to keepBiden at the Detroit auto show
A stoppage could begin as early as Friday if both sides can't agree on a deal. Out of the 12 unions involved, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 19 rejected a deal but agreed to prolong talks through Sept. 29. That bought a bit of time, but not necessarily any more certainty as a stoppage is still possible thatFar more is at stake than sick leave and salary bumps for 115,000 unionized railroad workers.
One person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss White House deliberations on the matter, said Biden's mindset in approaching the debate was that he's the president of the entire country, not just for organized labor. Vale added that the sticking point in the talks was about"respect basically — sick leave and bereavement leave,” issues Biden has supported in speeches and with his policy proposals.