Biden walks picket line with striking UAW members at Willow Run parts center

Detroit Free Press

Update:In historic first, Biden walks picket line with striking autoworkers in Michigan

President Joe Biden came to Michigan on Tuesday to show support for striking United Auto Workers and join them on the picket line.

Biden's visit is believed to be perhaps the first time an American president has joined in support of striking workers on a picket line.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to also be in Michigan on Wednesday to address around 500 former or current union members at Drake Enterprises in Clinton Township.

Follow our live updates from Biden's visit below. Refresh your browser for the latest.

1:54 p.m.: Air Force One departs

Following Biden's historic — and brief — visit to Michigan to stand with striking auto workers, the president returned to Air Force One and took off at 1:54 p.m., from Detroit Metro Airport, headed to California.

1:03 p.m.: Biden walks line with striking workers, talks to crowd

President Biden walks the union picket line with UAW President Shawn Fain at GM's Willow Run parts center, becoming the first U.S. president believed to join a labor strike.

Wearing a UAW hat and speaking through a bullhorn, Biden tells workers they helped save the auto companies with their sacrifices. "Now they’re doing incredibly well and, guess what, you should be doing incredibly well too."

Fain speaks after Biden, saying, "This is a historic moment."

Fain also thanked Biden for coming, a significant gesture, given that the union hasn't yet endorsed the president in his reelection bid, when most other major unions have done so. "Thank you, Mr. President," he said, "for coming... to stand up with us in our generation's defining moment."

Biden took the bullhorn back and said a line he often says: "Wall Street didn’t build the country. The middle class built the country. And unions built the middle class, that's a fact."

Then he walked among workers, shaking hands, as John Mellencamp's "Small Town," played from speakers. The event ended after about 10 minutes.

12:59 p.m.: Biden travels to Willow Run parts center

Biden has traveled from the airport with UAW President Shawn Fain to General Motors' Willow Run Redistribution Center in Belleville, one of the sites the union is striking in its labor dispute with the Detroit Three automakers.

The center stores and ships parts. Last Friday, Fain announced the UAW was expanding the strike to target parts distribution centers at General Motors and Stellantis but was not including Ford because talks with that automaker were showing signs of progress.

12:35 p.m.: Biden, Fain ready to head to picket line

After meeting with those there to greet him, Biden and UAW President Shawn Fain got into the president's limo and prepared to leave Detroit Metro Airport, on their way to an undisclosed picket line.

12:18 p.m.: Air Force One has landed at DTW

Air Force One has landed at Detroit Metro Airport, ahead of President Biden's visit to a still-undisclosed UAW picket line. There to greet the president as he came off the aircraft were UAW President Shawn Fain − who invited the president to join the picket line last week — as well as Democratic U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell of Ann Arbor and Shri Thanedar and Rashida Tlaib, both of Detroit and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II.

11:48 a.m. Press secretary briefs media on Air Force One

Ahead of the Michigan visit by the president, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefed the traveling press on Air Force One, underscoring the fact that Biden — to anyone's knowledge — on Tuesday was set to become the first sitting U.S. president to join workers on a picket line.

"This is an important message to America's auto workers," she said. "This is the most pro-union president in modern times... He is continuing to show his support for union workers, in this case autoworkers. This is something he believes in."

"He believes the women and men of UAW deserve a fair share of the value they have helped create, record profits should lead to a record UAW contract," she added. "It's about standing in solidarity with the union members."

She said, however, that the White House is not actively involved in the contact discussions in any way.

"Negotiations are happening, they are talking," she said of the UAW, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. "We leave it to the UAW and the Big Three to have that conversation. We’re not part of that—we’re not part of the negotiations."

Jean-Pierre also said no details about the site of the event were being given out in advance for security reasons "and the unprecedented nature of this historic visit."

11:39 a.m.: Democrats put out statement ahead of visit

The Democratic National Committee put out a statement praising Biden's visit and hitting Trump:

"Today, President Biden is heading to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of the UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create. When he does, President Biden’s strong record of delivering for auto workers will stand in stark contrast with former President Donald Trump’s string of broken promises, shuttered factories, and lost jobs."

11:27 a.m.: Biden behind schedule, here's who is coming with him

Biden's motorcade didn't get to Joint Base Andrews until almost a half hour after it was supposed to depart, so the event with autoworkers will be further delayed.

Here's who is traveling with the president on Air Force One to Michigan (and on to California and Arizona):

Acting Secretary Julie Su, Department of Labor
Dr. Arati Prabhakar, Assistant to the President & Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
Bruce Reed, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
Mike Donilon, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President
Annie Tomasini, Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of Oval Office Operations
Karine Jean-Pierre, Assistant to the President & Press Secretary
Lael Brainard, Assistant to the President & Director of the National Economic Council
Vinay Reddy, Assistant to the President & Director of Speechwriting
Emmy Ruiz, Assistant to the President & Director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach
Ben LaBolt, Assistant to the President & Director of Communications
Ryan Montoya, Assistant to the President & Director of Scheduling & Advance
Gene Sperling, Senior Advisor to the President & American Rescue Plan Coordinator
John McCarthy, Deputy Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the Counselor to the President
Curtis Ried, Deputy Assistant to the President & NSC Chief of Staff & Executive Secretary
Ashley Jones, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs & House Liaison
Travis Dredd, Special Assistant to the President & Trip Director
Erika Dinkel-Smith, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Labor Advisor

Air Force One will be wheels up shortly.

11:24 a.m.: RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel criticizes Biden

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan resident and former state party chair, released a statement on Biden's visit to to Michigan, saying, "This is nothing more than a photo op, and shame on Biden for attempting to gaslight Michigan families who are footing the bill for his green energy campaign.”

11:04 a.m.: Trump statement on Biden visit

Former President Donald Trump, who is running for reelection next year, issued a statement, ahead of Biden's visit to Michigan, saying: "Joe Biden's draconian and indefensible Electric Vehicle mandate will annihilate the U.S. auto industry and cost countless thousands of autoworkers their jobs."

He added: "The only thing Biden could say today that would help the striking autoworkers is to announce the immediate termination of his ridiculous mandate. Anything else is just a feeble and insulting attempt to distract American labor from this vicious Biden betrayal."

Trump has been repeating this line of attack for weeks, but there is no specific mandate on electric vehicles that has been finalized. And while automakers have argued that emissions rules under consideration that could result in them being forced to try to sell many more EVs may be tougher than they should be, they have already announced their own plans to make the transition to producing more electric vehicles apart from any Biden administration requirement.

It should also be noted: Trump − who is visiting a non-union plant in Macomb County on Wednesday night − has been trying to woo favor with the UAW rank-and-file but hasn't in any way addressed their demands for better pay and benefits and more job security.

10:48 a.m.: Biden set to leave for Michigan

According to the White House press pool report, President Biden was scheduled to leave Joint Base Andrews on Air Force One at 11 a.m. and land at Detroit Metro Airport at about 12:20 p.m., with the event with autoworkers now not expected to begin until 12:45 p.m.

Because of rain in Washington, by the way, Biden was headed to the base by motorcade instead of helicopter as usual.

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