U.S. Sen. John Fetterman traveled to Michigan this weekend in a show of support from the Pennsylvania Democrat to striking autoworkers.
Mr. Fetterman’s office said he drove Saturday to Wayne, Mich., to walk the picket line at the Ford factory where his Bronco was built.
“I drove 290 miles from Braddock in my UAW-made Ford Bronco to stand in solidarity with these brave workers as they walk the picket line,” Mr. Fetterman said. “Pittsburgh is a union town just like Detroit is and we are always going to have these workers’ back. It is time for the Big 3 to come to the table and start bargaining in good faith. Enough is enough, last year the Big 3 CEOs made a combined $74 million, the Big 3 need to stop with their greed and give these workers what they deserve.”
About 13,000 members of the United Auto Workers union have staged a walkout against all three of Detroit’s biggest car makers. The union is demanding better wages and benefits. Their contracts with the so-called Big 3 expired Thursday, and a prolonged strike could have a significant impact on the U.S. economy.
President Joe Biden has also strongly backed the UAW, and has dispatched senior advisers to Michigan to help in negotiations to settle a strike that could affect his political standing in a key midwestern swing state.
“I drove here this morning all the way from Pittsburgh just to stand by you,” Mr. Fetterman said Saturday in a video on social media from outside local UAW headquarters in Wayne posted by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. “We are a union town out in Pittsburgh and we’re a union town here today.”
First Published: September 17, 2023, 2:20 p.m.
Updated: September 18, 2023, 12:01 a.m.
