Biden visits Ann Arbor union workers

President Joe Biden made his first presidential visit to Ann Arbor Friday afternoon to discuss his Investing in America agenda and sign a “Good Jobs” executive order that seeks to implement consistent labor standards, raise wages and increase worker benefits. Biden visited the headquarters of United Association Local 190, which represents plumbers, pipefitters, service technicals and gas distribution union workers in Washtenaw County. 

Members of the presidential cabinet, union leaders and Biden discussed benefits of the agenda to an audience of approximately 180 union workers and Ann Arbor community members. Protesters gathered less than a mile from the UA training facility to  express their disappointment in the Biden administration’s policy on the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Biden’s previous visits to Michigan have been met with similar protests. 

Biden’s Invest in America aims to increase private sector investments, manufacturing jobs, union jobs and jobs that do not require college degrees in the United States. As part of this policy agenda, Biden has signed into law the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, CHIPs and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act. In Michigan, the agenda has resulted in the addition of more than 420,000 new jobs and $28.5 billion in private-sector manufacturing and clean energy investment. 

UA General President Mark McManus gave the opening remarks and said he believes the legislation passed under the Biden-Harris administration has strengthened unions.

“This president has four months left to go, and he’s running through the tape,” McManus said. “He’s still delivering on the promises he’s made four years ago for working men and women of the United States. He’s still doing the things that he needs to do, and his executive order today will even prove it some more.”

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, Pete Buttigieg, U.S. secretary of transportation, and Julie Su, acting U.S. secretary of labor, also gave remarks before Biden took the stage. Buttigieg highlighted the importance of bipartisan deals that include labor unions, mentioning that the Biden-Harris Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal supports more than 60,000 infrastructure projects.

“It’s not just about what we build, it’s about how we build it,” Buttigieg said. “It’s about who gets to build it — and yes, that includes supporting the good-paying union jobs. … One thing I’ve seen in my travels across the country in this job is that union workers aren’t just building roads, bridges, factories and airports. You’re building livelihoods.”

Standing beside signs reading “Good Jobs, Better Pay,” Biden spoke about conversations he had with his father that motivated him to prioritize job creation.

“(My dad) said a job is about a lot more than a paycheck,” Biden said. “It’s about your dignity. It’s about your place within a community. It’s about being able to look at your child and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it.”

Biden spoke about the “Good Jobs” executive order, which would promote “high-quality jobs” for middle-class citizens and strong labor standards, such as high wages to support families, workplace safety policies and opportunities to join a union.

“Good Jobs will call on a federal agency to protect the workers, empower the workers to encourage a free and fair choice to join a union,” Biden said. “It will include high labor standards and grants, prioritizing projects that pay wages you can raise a family on and provide benefits like childcare.”

Following his speech, Biden took photos with local union leaders and signed the executive order on stage.

LSA sophomore Dylan Robertson, a volunteer for UA Local 190 at the event, said he appreciated Biden’s ties to union workers throughout his presidency in an interview with The Michigan Daily.

“I think it’s very important for him to be (at UA Local 190),” Robertson said. “I think it’s great that he’s been one of the most pro-union presidents, and I think it’s important to stand with organized labor. I mean, he was the first president to go on a picket line, so this continues that trend and I think that will reflect well in the campaign for Kamala Harris.”

Robertson also emphasized the importance of Biden visiting the state of Michigan — one of the seven swing states that are expected to decide the November presidential election. 

“I hope that it helps everyone become more engaged during the election year,” Robertson said. “Even though this isn’t a campaign event, I want everyone to be involved, especially since Michigan is such an important state in the election.”

Patrick Ulanowicz, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 252 member, said he attended Biden’s remarks to show support for a pro-union president who has been an ally to the labor movement. Ulanowicz discussed what the “Good Jobs” executive order means to the unionized community.

“I think that’s a big deal,” Ulanowicz said. “He made a mention that when unions are doing good, that it raises the standard of living for all Americans everywhere, even (for) the people that are not working under a union contract right now. You like weekends? Thank a union. You like holidays? You can thank a union.”

Managing News Editor Rachel Mintz can be reached at mintzrac@umich.edu.

Related articles