Blue
Cross
Blue
Shield
employees
show
their
support
to
members
of
the
United
Auto
Workers
(UAW)
union
as
they
march
through
the
streets
of
downtown
Detroit
following
a
rally
on
the
first
day
of
the
UAW
strike
in
Detroit,
Michigan,
on
September
15,
2023.
Matthew
Hatcher
|
AFP
|
Getty
Images
A
team
that
President
Joe
Biden
dispatched
to
help
resolve the
strike
between
the
United
States’
largest
autoworkers
union
and
the Big
Three
auto
companies plans
to
be
in
Detroit
to
support
talks
“early
in
the
week,”
an
administration
official
told
NBC
News
on
Sunday.
White
House
adviser
Gene
Sperling
and
Acting
Labor
Secretary
Julie
Su
were
named
by
the
president
last
week
to
go
to
Detroit
to
help end
the
walkout
by
the
United
Auto
Workers union,
which
began
early
Friday.
Sperling
has
been
serving
as
the
point
person
on
key
issues
connected
to
the
union
and
the
companies,
and
has
been
coordinating
with
Su.
“Both
Sperling
and
Acting
Secretary
Su
are engaging
with
the
parties
by
phone,
as
they
have
for
weeks,
with
the
intention
of
being
there
early
in
the
week,”
the
official
said,
adding
that
the
administration
was
“pleased
that
the
parties
are
continuing
to
meet
as
they
had
been
before
the
contract
expired.”
Su
and
Sperling’s
goal
was
not
to
serve
as
mediators
or
intervene,
but
“help
support
the
negotiations
in
any
way
the
parties
feel
is
constructive,”
the
official
said.
On
Friday, Biden
said
that
he
hoped
that
the
UAW
and
Big
Three returned
to
negotiations.
After
talks
collapsed
Biden
said
that
he
understands
workers’
frustrations
that
as
automobile
companies
register
“record
profits,”
these
haven’t
“been
shared
fairly,
in
my
view,
with
those
workers.”
“Let’s
be
clear,
no
one
wants
a
strike,”
he
said.
“But
I
respect
workers’
right
to
use
their
options
under
the
collective
bargaining
system.”
Read
more
from
NBC
News:
The
strike
is
a
particular
challenge
for
Biden,
who
has
called
himself
“the
most
pro-union
president
you’ve
ever
seen.”
While
the
UAW
has
historically
supported
Democrats
like
the
president,
former
President
Donald
Trump won
important
backing from
blue-collar
autoworkers.
Before
the
strike
was
declared, UAW
President
Shawn
Fain
said
a
walkout
would
force
Biden
and
other
politicians pick
a
side
when
it
comes
to
organized
labor.
On
Friday
at
midnight,
about
13,000
members
of
the
UAW
walked
out
a
General
Motors
site
in
Missouri,
a
Stellantis
center
in
Ohio
and
a
Ford
assembly
plant
in
Michigan.
If
every
UAW
member
struck
immediately,
the
union
would
have
enough
funds
to
supply
about
11
weeks
of
strike
pay.
