Ex-Obama aide worries prolonged auto strike will hurt Biden's election chances
Steve Rattner also argued that the strike could harm the country's economic recovery
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Steve Rattner, a former aide to Barack Obama, wrote in The New York Times that a prolonged autoworkers union strike might hurt President Biden's re-election chances.
Rattner argued that while the United Auto Workers union has some legitimate concerns, it is overplaying its hand.
"But this increasingly militant U.A.W. is overplaying its hand with an overly lengthy and overly ambitious list of demands. I don’t think there’s any way the automakers will be able to meet these conditions, and I worry about the implications for our economy and for President Biden," Rattner wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added that a "prolonged strike" might hurt economic recovery.
Former Obama adviser Steven Rattner wrote an op-ed for The New York Times, warning of a prolonged autoworkers strike. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
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"Our nearly $800 billion auto industry accounts for three percent of economic output, with a particular concentration in the Midwest, where states like Michigan are critical to President Biden’s re-election," he wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rattner said the union was "asking for too much," and noted, "in addition to pay raises of 36 percent over four years, the list includes a 32-hour workweek with 40 hours of pay; a new version of the pre-recession ‘jobs bank,’ which continued to pay laid-off workers most of their usual wages and a return to defined benefit pensions, company-paid medical benefits for retirees and cost-of-living adjustments."
He added that automakers would not give in to all of their demands.
Some in the President Biden's circle believe former President Donald Trump might be "outmaneuvering" them with the UAW, according to Politico.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}United Auto Workers members strike at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on Friday. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
A union adviser claimed that Trump is beating out Biden on the political field, even though he is "still himself and will say and do crazy sh-t," according to the outlet.
But, the person also told Politico, "he actually has people who know what they’re doing. He boxed Biden in. It was kinda genius."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Trump scooped us. Now if we announce we’re going, it looks like we’re just going because of Trump," a Democratic strategist told the outlet. "We waited too long. That’s the challenge."
Former President Donald Trump recently announced he would be heading to Detroit to give a speech amid the UAW strike. (Julie Bennett/Getty Images)
"Unions have an important role to play in redressing imbalances between owners and workers, and the autoworkers are certainly deserving of a substantial pay raise. That said, we need to be careful about killing the goose that lays the golden egg," Rattner wrote.
The UAW officially began its strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis on Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The UAW did not immediately return a request for comment.
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Fox News' Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
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