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Biden screws Union workers again. Willing to Slash United Auto Worker Union Wages to Appease Green Energy Cult.
By Becky Noble
Among Joe Biden’s many carefully cultivated personas of family man and elder statesman is also his longtime support of America’s Union members—the blue-collar men and women who work as painters, construction workers, and electricians. Apparently, Joe Biden takes their votes for granted, much like he does minority Americans, and those who could soon find out how Joe really feels about union workers are in the auto industry. There is a new report from the United Auto Workers (UAW), and it seems to detail how Joe Biden is choosing sides between those who are pushing for more aggressive green energy policies and union employees.
As part of the ill-fated Inflation Reduction Act, which, of course, does nothing to reduce inflation, companies that produce electric vehicles (EVs), and also the batteries used to power them, could hit the jackpot of roughly $220 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies by 2031. Because of a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s automakers are allowed to take advantage of tax credits if not only the EVs but the batteries as well are primarily sourced in the U.S. and are manufactured in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. What does this mean for the average union auto worker? It means that large automakers will see billions of dollars in new wealth, what is essentially an industry bailout, at the expense of American taxpayers and union wages.
As an example, the UAW report looked at what happened in Lordstown, Ohio. Lordstown was once the site of a GM assembly plant. Now, in place of the assembly plant sits the GM and LG Ultium Cells plant. Ultium Cells manufactures EV batteries. Evidently, manufacturing EV batteries is not nearly as lucrative as assembling cars. Workers at the old assembly plant used to make around $30 an hour. Workers at the Ultium Cells plant are earning half that, around $16.50 an hour, with a bump up to $20 an hour after seven years of employment. If you do the math, that is about a 45 percent drop in wages. Contrast that with the fact that GM and LG, through just the Ultium Cells plant, could rake in subsidies of more than $1 billion annually thanks to Joe Biden’s EV tax credits.
As one might expect, this is not sitting well with the UAW. Response in the report to this reads in part:
We cannot allow a race to the bottom for America’s working families. The UAW fully supports the transition to a more climate-friendly auto industry, and we are convinced that it can be done without making workers pay the price. … there is a real danger that hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars will subsidize an EV industry that underpays and endangers workers.
The UAW may support transitioning to a more “climate-friendly” industry, but it may come with a risk of committing suicide.
This isn’t the first time Joe Biden has thrown his beloved unions under the bus to avoid the wrath of the green energy cultists. On day one of his presidency, he canceled the Keystone XL pipeline project that would have resulted in thousands of high-paying, high skilled union jobs. TC Energy Corp. was the company that owned the pipeline, along with the government of Alberta, Canada. The plan was for the company to award contracts to six American contractors to help build the pipeline. The American contractors would have been responsible for hiring roughly 7,000 workers. Thanks, Joe.
What may also be another slap in the face to union auto workers is the fact that many dealerships have EVs sitting on their lots with no buyers in sight. The nationwide supply of EVs is up almost 350 percent, translating to around 92,000 units. At a three-month supply, that is twice the industry average, and clearly, sales are not keeping up with output. Many models are luxury models that have steep price tags, which make them ineligible for tax credits.
The UAW has responded to Joe Biden giving them a second shove under the bus in the form of withholding an immediate endorsement for 2024. In May, in a memo to union rank and file, UAW President Shawn Fain said:
We’ll stand with whoever stands with our members in that fight. The federal government is pouring billions into the electric vehicle transition, with no strings attached and no commitment to workers … We want to see national leadership have our back on this before we make any commitments.
America’s unions used to be Joe Biden’s best friends. Perhaps they are discovering that the corporations they work for are his new best friends.
Becky Noble has been a political writer for over ten years. She has written for Politichicks, The Black Sphere, and The Political Insider. She holds a degree in Communications/Journalism from Regent University.
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