The United Auto Workers (UAW) is criticizing President Joe Biden's "green energy" agenda, arguing that it will result in wage cuts for auto workers while providing billions of dollars in taxpayer money to the three largest automakers in the country: Ford, General Motors (GM), and Stellantis.
Under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, automakers are set to receive significant tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
UAW President Shawn Fain, along with the union's members in Lordstown, Ohio, are raising concerns about the potential wage cuts for auto workers due to the Biden administration's push for EVs, which is being incentivized with federal subsidies.
Fain expressed his frustration in a video produced by the UAW, stating, "There have been clear winners and losers, and the same people who've always won, the corporate elite and the billionaire class, seem to think they can keep calling the shots."
One example cited by Fain is GM's closure of its manufacturing plant in Lordstown a few years ago, resulting in thousands of layoffs and a devastating impact on the local community.
Dominic Giovannone of UAW Local 1112 described the closure as an economic crash, stating, "I mean, everybody here was GM... It took a hometown community and separated it."
Despite the closure, GM has partnered with LG to open Ultium Cells, an EV battery plant that was promised to bring high-paying, green energy jobs to Lordstown. However, Fain claims that the reality has fallen short of the promises made.
Dave Dellick of UAW Local 1112 expressed disappointment, stating that the community believed the new EV battery plant would bring a wave of manufacturing jobs. However, since its opening, the situation has not been as positive as anticipated.
According to Fain, former employees at the Lordstown Assembly plant earned upwards of $30 an hour. In contrast, employees at Ultium Cells are earning $16.50 an hour, with hourly earnings only increasing to $20 after seven years.
Fain emphasized that Ultium Cells has effectively cut auto wages in half.
Meanwhile, GM, Ford, and Stellantis are receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer money through EV tax credits.
Data analyzed by Good Jobs First reveals that many EV plants will receive over a billion dollars per year from the U.S. government, without any requirement to pay good wages to production workers. As a result, average annual wages in the auto industry are expected to fall below the national average.
Dellick expressed frustration, stating, "GM, LG they get a kickback from the government... You should be able to pay me a livable wage. I shouldn't be working two jobs."
The UAW has withheld an endorsement for President Biden, as the administration has yet to fulfill commitments to prevent wage cuts for auto workers transitioning from manufacturing jobs to green energy jobs.
It has long been reported by Breitbart News that a publicly funded transition from combustion engines to EVs could lead to the elimination of millions of American auto jobs and significantly reduced wages for auto workers.
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