By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain met on Wednesday with President Joe Biden at the White House as the union briefed staff on contract talks with the Detroit Three automakers, a White House official told Reuters.
The UAW leadership had asked for time to brief White House senior staff on negotiations, the official said. That meeting took place on Wednesday in the West Wing, and when Biden learned of it, he asked to also talk directly with Fain and the two had a brief meeting, the official added.
Fain, who is on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers to discuss the labor talks, has not yet endorsed Biden for re-election and has criticized some administration EV policies.
“We have expectations and that’s why we haven’t made endorsements yet,” Fain said last week. “We expect people to be there for us if they want our endorsement.”
Last month, Fain harshly criticized the U.S. Energy Department plan to lend $9.2 billion to a joint venture of Ford and South Korea’s SK On to build three U.S. battery plants.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis)
