Biden Versus Biden on the Picket Line
Arlington, VA – In response to President Biden joining the striking United Auto Workers today on the picket line today in Michigan, AFP Employment Policy Fellow Austen Bannan issued the following statement:
“It’s not every day you see a president join the picket line to protest the policies of their own administration, but that’s exactly what we saw today. In many ways, the UAW strike and President Biden’s visit perfectly illustrate the failure of Bidenomics and this administration’s top-down industrial policy.
“President Biden’s Department of Labor and National Labor Relations Board are barreling through new regulations directly benefiting union leaders at the expense of worker choice and flexibility while his energy and industrial policies, including electric vehicle mandates and taxpayer subsidies, are undermining the long-term health of the auto industry and countless others. So, now the UAW is so emboldened by President Biden’s policies they are striking over President Biden’s policies – and the result will be a weaker economy, a weaker auto sector, and much higher prices for consumers.
“Instead of emboldening union leaders to aggressively seek power grabs over American workers and businesses, President Biden and Congress should focus on advancing worker choice and flexibility. This includes rejecting the PRO Act and President Biden’s regulatory agenda while enacting reforms to better equip workers and businesses to navigate the 21st Century economy such as the Employee Rights Act. The Employee Rights Act would protect self-employment career paths, champion franchises and other small business entrepreneurship, and secure instead of take away secret ballot elections and information privacy for workers in union matters.
“In other words, President Biden should stand with all Americans in reversing his inflationary Bidenomics agenda if he doesn’t want Americans picketing his agenda.”
