Are American Voters Workers or Consumers?
Right now, the United Auto Workers are on strike, targeting a small number of auto plants in an attempt to get a pay raise and other concessions from management. Joe Biden is planning to walk the picket line with the striking workers, a first for a sitting president.
The pundits, of course, are offering their analyses of why Biden would choose to do this. Is he ideologically pro-union, hearkening back to the days when organized labor was strong and made up a significant part of the Democratic coalition? Is he riding the recent wave of pro-labor sentiment? Is he making a strategic play for white working-class voters who have flocked to the GOP since 2015? Is he, as Donald Trump claims, just trying to overshadow Trump’s own scheduled visit to Michigan?
Since the strike began, I’ve seen more stories about what the UAW’s actions will mean for consumers than I have about what they’ll mean for workers. There are a lot of stories forecasting whether car prices will soar (the consensus seems to be: maybe, but not right away), but many fewer about what a historic victory against the big three automakers would mean for workers in this country. Much of the coverage seems to rest on the assumption that, if autoworkers win, they’re the only ones who will benefit, while everyone who buys cars (which in America is pretty close to everyone) might lose out.
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