The United Automobile Workers’ (UAW) strike against the Big Three manufacturers that commenced today poses a major political vulnerability to President Joe Biden’s clean-energy economy initiative. Despite Biden’s successful passage of three bills promoting clean-energy projects, the majority of green investments and job creation are benefiting red-leaning communities that are typically hostile towards Democrats and labor unions. This raises concerns among progressives that the transformation will not yield sufficient political rewards or generate the promised blue-collar jobs.
Fears regarding the impact of electric vehicles on job quality in the auto industry underlie the strike initiated by the UAW. Union officials suspect that the auto industry is utilizing the technological transition to facilitate an economic shift. They worry that as companies move from internal-combustion engines to carbon-free electric vehicles, they will also relocate operations from high-paying, union jobs in northern states to lower-paying, nonunion jobs in southern states.
Moreover, the union and its allies are concerned about federal subsidies inadvertently supporting this transition towards low-wage and nonunion plants. The UAW’s new president, Shawn Fain, highlighted the issue, stating, “There’s a lot with the EV transition that has to happen, and there’s… hundreds of billions of our taxpayer dollars that are helping fund this, and workers cannot continue to be left behind in that equation.”
In response to these concerns, the Biden administration announced various Department of Energy loans and grants aimed at encouraging auto companies to convert existing unionized plants to electric vehicle production. The administration wants the jobs created by these investments to be high-quality, union jobs, emphasizing Biden’s pro-union stance.
However, the challenge lies in the decisions made by auto companies and other industries in response to the legislation signed by Biden to promote domestic investment in clean energy. Many of these investments are flowing into red states with “right to work” laws that impede unionization. For instance, the South has attracted more than half of the total private investment in electric vehicles and batteries under the Biden administration, whereas the Midwest, where most auto plants are unionized, has received considerably less.
This preference for nonunion states has resulted in a long-term shift of the auto industry’s employment from the Midwest to the South, weakening the UAW’s position. Most auto plants in the South are not unionized, and wages for manufacturing workers in the region and other red states are notably lower than in the Midwest. As the UAW seeks favorable terms in the ongoing strike, there is concern that the auto industry may further relocate jobs to nonunion plants in the South in response.
The UAW strike and the distribution of green investments raise significant challenges for President Biden’s clean-energy initiatives. While the administration has taken steps to align with union interests, the decisions made by auto companies and the dominance of red states in receiving investments pose obstacles to ensuring both political success and the creation of well-paying blue-collar jobs.
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