President Biden became today the first sitting American president to join a union picket line, speaking with United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain at a facility in Michigan while President Trump prepares to speak at a non-union plant Wednesday.

“The fact of the matter is that you guys, the UAW saved the automobile industry,” the president said during brief remarks at the picket line.  “Now they’re doing incredibly well, and guess what, you should be doing incredibly well too.”

Mr. Biden added, “you deserve what you earned, and you’ve earned a hell of a lot more than what you’re getting paid now.”

After Mr. Biden spoke, Mr. Fain took to the make-shift stage constructed from pallets, addressing the picket line and the crowd that gathered for the event.

“This is a historic moment: the first time in our country’s history that a sitting USA President has came out and stood on the picket line,” Mr. Fain said. “We know that the president will do right by the working class.”

He added, “I see these CEOs trying to justify a system where they take all the profit and workers are left to fight for the scraps.”

“They think they own the world but we make it run,” Mr. Fain said. “The CEOs think the future belongs to them — today belongs to the auto workers and the working class and the difference between them and us is just as our theme song, ‘Solidarity Forever,’ says, without our brain and muscle not a single wheel would turn.”

Though the union has not officially endorsed Mr. Biden in the 2024 election, the historic first and Mr. Fain’s remarks could foreshadow an endorsement of the president ahead of the 2024 election.

The union has also made clear that it will not be supporting Mr. Trump, even as he attempts to align himself with the striking union members in the public eye.

Wednesday,  Mr. Trump will hold a rally in Michigan at a non-union Drake Enterprises plant. The UAW confirmed to the Sun that the union had no involvement in the event. 

While an anonymous source at Mr. Trump’s campaign told the New York Times that they planned to fill the audience with 500 union members from different industries, the UAW was not able to say whether or not any current or former auto union members would be in attendance.

Mr. Trump’s event at the Drake Enterprises plant, which produces engine and transmission components for customers including the Big Three automakers, according to the company’s website, comes days after the UAW expanded its strike to include 38 union parts manufacturing facilities in 20 states.

Ahead of Mr. Biden’s appearance at the picket line, Mr. Trump attempted to frame Mr. Biden as being at odds with the auto industry employees, citing the president’s support for electric vehicles. “The only thing Biden could say today that would help the striking autoworkers is to announce the immediate termination of his ridiculous mandate,” Mr. Trump said. 

Issues around electric vehicles have played a role in discussions between the union and the Big Three. The union has demanded, for example, that employers support members whose jobs could be eliminated as companies scale back traditional auto manufacturing and ramp up electric vehicle manufacturing.

However, electric vehicles were not part of the remarks by either Mr. Biden or Mr. Fain at the picket line on Wednesday, with both men emphasizing wages and the relationship between employees and company executives.