President Joe Biden addresses striking members of the United Auto Workers union at a picket line outside a General Motors Service Parts Operations plant in Belleville, Michigan, in September.
Jim Watson/Getty
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will throw a spotlight on his support for organized labor Thursday when he comes to Belvidere, where United Auto Workersscored a big win with their new contract.
Afterward, he will head to Chicago for a fundraiser with mega-donors.
The Belvidere event will, the White House said, underscore the big victory the United Auto Workers negotiated with automaker Stellantis after a long strike. The deal still has to be ratified, and is expected to include the reopening of the plant, which has been closed since February. Before the shutdown, the plant made the Jeep Cherokee and employed 1,350 workers, the company said.
During the strike, Biden sided with the union. The sprawling facility in Belvidere has for decades been an economic engine for northwest Illinois. Currently the auto assembly plant is run by Stellantis, one of America’s major carmakers.
“Biden will deliver remarks and meet with UAW autoworkers, UAW President Shawn Fain, and Governor J.B. Pritzker in Belvidere, Illinois to highlight his commitment to delivering for working families and creating good-paying union jobs, as well as the UAW’s historic agreement that includes bringing thousands of UAW jobs back to Belvidere and reopening a plant,” the White House said in a statement.
On Oct. 28, after the pact was announced, Biden said in a statement, “I applaud the UAW and Stellantis for coming together after hard fought, good faith negotiations to reach a historic agreement that will guarantee workers the pay, benefits, dignity and respect they deserve. This groundbreaking contract rewards the autoworkers who sacrificed so much to revive our auto industry with record raises, more paid leave, greater retirement security, and more rights and respect at work.
“I want to applaud the UAW and Stellantis for agreeing to immediately bring back all of the Stellantis workers who have been walking the picket line on behalf of their UAW brothers and sisters. This contract is a testament to the power of unions and collective bargaining to build strong middle-class jobs while helping our most iconic American companies thrive.”
Pritzker has also been very involved in getting the plant reopened. “I’ve been in constant contact with auto workers, Stellantis executives, UAW representatives, and the White House as the bargaining has unfolded, and I am delighted we are now on the verge of getting this done,” Pritzker said in an Oct. 28 statement. “I look forward to finalizing the state’s economic package and not only reopening the shuttered assembly plant in Belvidere to manufacture electric vehicles, but also co-locating a new battery production facility. This will be thousands of jobs, billions in investment, and a huge win for Illinois.”
The top tab at the fundraiser in Chicago, to benefit Biden’s reelection campaign, is $200,000.
