President Joe Biden earned the endorsement of the United Autoworkers (UAW) as overall U.S. union job shares fell to an all-time low.
UAW President Shawn Fain announced the union’s endorsement on Wednesday at its national conference in Washington, D.C. In September, Biden rushed to join UAW members at the picket line during their strike ahead of former President Donald Trump who skipped a Republican presidential debate to instead meet and talk with union members.
“Joe Biden bet on the American worker while Donald Trump blamed the American worker,” Fain said. “So if our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it.”
“Today, I’m proud to stand up here with your international executive board and announce that the UAW is endorsing Joe Biden for president of the United States,” Fain continued as attendees chanted UAW.
Biden, who spoke after Fain, put a UAW baseball cap on as he took the podium.
“I kept my commitment to be the most pro-union president ever,” Biden said.
Even after other unions and the UAW’s strike in 2023 garnered attention, overall U.S. union job shares fell to an all-time low. In 2023, 10% of hourly and salaried workers were a part of a union in 2023, an all-time low and a .1% drop from 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In the 2020 election, 56% of union households voted for Biden while 40% voted for Trump, according to the Roper Center. Of those without a college degree, 53% voted for Trump and 46% voted for Biden, according to the New York Times. (RELATED: Things Are Going From Bad To Worse For Joe Biden, Polls Show)
“Thank you. I could not be more proud or more honored that you’ve chosen to stand with me,” Biden said Wednesday as the audience chanted “four more years.”