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President Joe Biden on Tuesday received a tepid welcome from striking autoworkers in the Detroit area, with many expressing concerns about his support for electric vehicles.
«I have a lot of mixed emotions about Biden being here today,» said Casey Rutner, who builds trucks for Ford. «I want my job to be here in the future, not for me—but I have a son. I had hoped he would work for Ford one day too. With electric vehicles, now I’m not so sure.»
Rutner is a member of the United Auto Workers, which earlier this month kicked off the country’s largest strike in decades. The union wants the «Big Three» automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, which makes Chryslers—to guarantee higher wages and benefits, particularly in the face of expanded electric vehicle production. Autoworkers are nervous about losing their jobs as the industry increases production of electric vehicles, which require about 40 percent less manpower to build, according to Ford CEO James Farley.
Union members’ opposition to electric vehicle production has put them at odds with Biden, who often boasts that he is the «most pro-union president» in history. Biden has praised General Motors chief Mary Barra for her efforts to ramp up electric vehicle production, and his Democratic allies in Congress since 2021 have passed tens of billions of dollars in tax credits and subsidies to boost demand and production for electric vehicles.
