2024 comes to Detroit early as UAW strike expands

Sep 25, 2023

With help from Olivia Olander

QUICK FIX

REVVING UP: As you know by now the United Auto Workers expanded their strike on Friday to include more than three dozen auto parts distribution centers across the country. The union targeted General Motors and Stellantis while sparing Ford’s facilities, citing significant progress in talks relative to the other two.

But in the coming days, the behind-the-scenes negotiations will be upstaged by the current and former president, both of whom are scheduled to appear in Michigan this week in hopes of appealing to a politically important slice of workers (and voters) in a key electoral region.

Former President Donald Trump made the first move and will hold a prime-time event Wednesday in Clinton Township, a suburb to the north of Detroit.

However on Friday, the White House one-upped the GOP presidential frontrunner by announcing that President Joe Biden would head there a day earlier than Trump and show up on the picket line, perhaps the most overt display of support by a sitting president in modern memory.

“He is proud of being the most pro-union, pro-worker president, not only compared to the Trump administration, with its anti-union policies, but really compared to any modern president,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday on CNN.

The decision to scramble to Michigan came just hours after UAW President Shawn Fain extended a not-too-subtle invite to the president while announcing the strike expansion, another demonstration of his unique tactics that has kept supporters and the Big Three alike off-kilter.

“Fain’s rhetoric has been extremely skillful,” University of California, Santa Barbara labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein told Shift. “[UAW’s outcome] will be a referendum on this renewed militancy, which is coursing through the the arteries of a lot of labor — and not just unions.”

The union’s aggressive strategy has forced a rewrite of Biden’s labor relations playbook, our Tanya Snyder, Holly Otterbein and Olivia report; his decision to head to Michigan is a tacit acknowledgement that the moment is demanding a demonstrative approach surpassing anything we’ve seen yet in his presidency.

“People have been worked over for so many years and are doing so badly economically that when someone quote-unquote works behind the scenes, and then comes to tell them how much they've done for them, they're really not convinced that it actually happened,” said Jeff Weaver, campaign manager for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, before Biden announced his trip.

At the same time, Biden’s overture clearly irked Trump, who over the weekend called Biden a “Manchurian Candidate” in a post lambasting his administration’s EV policies.

North of the border, the autoworkers represented by Unifor ratified their contract agreement with Ford, Reuters reports. In contrast to the mold-breaking approach by UAW, Unifor deployed the traditional strategy of picking out one car manufacturer with the intention of landing a deal that it would then use as a template for the others.

That split-screen will give labor strategists and others something to noodle on once the UAW talks play out, though of course there are legal and structural differences between the Canadian and U.S. landscapes that also play a role.

— Opinion: “The Moment It All Changed for UAW President Shawn Fain,” by Steven Greenhouse in POLITICO Magazine.

GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, Sept. 25. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. It’s been 195 days since the Senate received Julie Su’s nomination. The Hollywood writers’ strike made its way into college football this Saturday. Send feedback, tips and exclusives to nniedzwiadek@politico.com and oolander@politico.com. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @NickNiedz and @oliviaolanderr.

HAPPENING 9/28 — INSIDE THE CANCER MOONSHOT: Join POLITICO on Thursday, Sept. 28 for an in-depth discussion on the future of cancer treatment and innovation. Hear from experts including scientists, government officials and industry leaders as we explore the critical roles played by private industry, nonprofits, the National Cancer Institute and the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health in achieving the Biden administration's goal of cutting the cancer death rate in half over the next 25 years. Don't miss this opportunity to dive into the progress of cancer treatments and learn about the challenges patients encounter in accessing care. REGISTER HERE.

Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.

On the Hill

FIRST IN SHIFT: The top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce committee is asking OSHA’s head to testify about the effects of a government shutdown.

A letter sent Friday from Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) to OSHA chief Doug Parker, who’s scheduled to appear before the committee Wednesday, also asks Parker to testify about the possible effects of returning to fiscal 2022 funding levels, as some Republicans have suggested.

"It is regrettable that the threat of a government shutdown seems more certain," the letter states. "We, therefore, insist on your discussion of this shutdown — along with the threat of extreme budget cuts — at Wednesday’s hearing."

House Republicans’ struggles to pass appropriations bills mean the government will likely run out of funds Sept. 30, which would significantly hamper occupational safety enforcement and other Labor Department functions.

Around the Agencies

AMARILLO SURPRISE: A Trump-appointed judge in Texas who has been a thorn in the side of the Biden administration and progressive groups sided Thursday with the Labor Department over a group of Republican attorneys general who challenged the agency’s ESG-investing regulation.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk declined the state officials' motion for summary judgment in their lawsuit, writing that DOL’s rule does not mandate that fiduciaries always include ESG factors in their risk and return decisions, our Jordan Wolman reports for Pros.

“While the court is not unsympathetic to Plaintiffs’ concerns over ESG investing trends, it need not condone ESG investing generally or ultimately agree with the Rule to reach this conclusion,” he wrote.

DOL’s rule created a stir on Capitol Hill earlier this year as Republicans made it part of their broader campaign against ESG investing. Both chambers passed a resolution seeking to nullify the rule, forcing President Joe Biden to issue the first veto of his presidency.

A spokesperson for Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, whose office led the suit, said they were “disappointed” in Kacsmaryk and evaluating their options.

“We will continue to fight on all fronts to protect the interests of investors and all Utahns against the ESG agenda,” Rich Piatt said in a statement.

NLRB WIELDS CEMEX: An administrative law judge at the National Labor Relations Board ordered a company to bargain with a union that came up short in a representation election for the first time since this summer’s pivotal Cemex decision.

Administrative Law Judge Andrew Gollin ruled that a Massachusetts marijuana company illegally fired union backers and committed other labor law violations in the run up to the 2022 election that “irreparably harms the organizing effort and undermines the integrity of the election process.”

As such the chances of a rerun election being on level ground was unlikely, and Gollin applied the standard set in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific to force I.N.S.A. Inc. to the bargaining table.

Gollin’s ruling can be appealed to the board.

— A top NLRB official in San Francisco ruled that Google is a joint employer of a content creation operations team, along with Accenture, and scheduled a union representation vote for later this fall.

“When you untangle the Google web of contracting, what becomes clear is the direct line of control Google exerts of our working conditions,” Emma Shibley, a worker at the division affiliated with Alphabet Workers Union-CWA.

An Accenture spokesperson said the company “acknowledge our peoples’ right to form or join unions, and we will continue to participate in the NLRB process.”

The regional director’s decision follows another involving Google and one of its numerous contractors in which YouTube Music workers who in April overwhelmingly voted to unionize under AWU after the NLRB ruled that Google was a joint employer with IT company Cognizant. Those workers reportedly held a strike this month in protest of Google’s refusal to bargain with them, Motherboard reports.

More NLRB news: “Starbucks Wrong to Ban Union Slogan on Cups, NLRB Judge Says,” from Bloomberg Law.

Other agency news: “EEOC sues Cedar Point’s parent company over housing policies for workers 40 and older,” from Cleveland.com.

WILL TPS BE A PULL FACTOR?: The Biden administration’s decision to extend temporary protected status — and, by extension, legal work authorization — to Venezuelan migrants already in the U.S. may draw more people to the country, The New York Times reports.

“The work authorization extends temporary protected status, known as T.P.S., to more than 400,000 Venezuelans who have entered the country since March 2021 and were on American soil by July 31 of this year. Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, warned that anyone who arrived after that would be ‘removed when they are found to not have a legal basis to stay.’”

More immigration news: “[New York City Mayor Eric] Adams says migrant work authorization from White House shouldn’t be the end,” from our Joe Anuta and Katelyn Cordero.

In the Workplace

RELIGION AT WORK: Companies are increasingly allowing avenues for employees to express themselves and their identities at work — including their faith.

“Human resources professionals, diversity consultants and scholars all say it’s become more common for employees to share their religious identities at work and to request the same corporate recognition and support given to other identity groups,” The New York Times reports.

Those include things like faith groups, “prayer portals” where employees can request and receive support, and additional accommodations to observe religious practices in the office.

More workplace news: “AstraZeneca Sued by Staffer Whose Bonus Was Cut for Working at Home,” from Bloomberg.

IN THE STATES

NEWSOM NO-GO: California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation late Friday that would have required human operators onboard self-driving trucks, our Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte report.

The measure was a priority for organized labor groups — particularly the Teamsters — who fear artificial intelligence and automation will lead to widespread economic upheaval. Tumult around self-driving taxis in San Francisco, where city officials fought an expansion of malfunctioning vehicles that have snarled traffic and blocked first responders, also factored in.

Newsom’s rejection was not a surprise after his top business official opposed the bill, arguing it would stifle innovation. The governor wrote in his veto message that regulatory agencies were well-equipped to oversee the emerging technology, though that is unlikely to satisfy lawmakers and the California Labor Federation ripped the veto.

DON’T MISS POLITICO’S TECH & AI SUMMIT: America’s ability to lead and champion emerging innovations in technology like generative AI will shape our industries, manufacturing base and future economy. Do we have the right policies in place to secure that future? How will the U.S. retain its status as the global tech leader? Join POLITICO on Sept. 27 for our Tech & AI Summit to hear what the public and private sectors need to do to sharpen our competitive edge amidst rising global competitors and rapidly evolving disruptive technologies. REGISTER HERE.

IMMIGRATION

More immigration news: “[New York City Mayor Eric] Adams says migrant work authorization from White House shouldn’t be the end,” from our Joe Anuta and Katelyn Cordero.