[ "We are glad to see the Biden administration doing its part to
reject the false choice between a good job and a green job," said the
United Auto Workers president.]
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AS AUTO STRIKE LOOMS, BIDEN ADMIN PUTS $15.5 BILLION TOWARD JUST
TRANSITION TO EVS  
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Jessica Corbett
September 1, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ "We are glad to see the Biden administration doing its part to
reject the false choice between a good job and a green job," said the
United Auto Workers president. _

UAW President Shawn Fein, shown here at an August union rally in
Detroit, welcomed a union friendly transition to EVs., AP Photo/Mike
Householder

 

In a move welcomed by progressives in Congress and a top union leader,
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Friday announced a $15.5
billion package "primarily focused on retooling existing factories for
the transition to electric vehicles" and stressed the importance of
"supporting good jobs and a just transition to EVs."

The Biden administration is making available $2 billion in grants
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up to $10 billion in loans
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conversion projects that keep jobs in communities already home to
automaker facilities, according to
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statement about the package. The Department of Energy (DOE) is also
planning for $3.5 billion in funding to expand domestic manufacturing
of batteries and related materials for EVs and the U.S. electric grid
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"President Biden is investing in the workforce and factories that made
our country a global manufacturing powerhouse," said U.S. Secretary of
Energy Jennifer Granholm. "Today's announcements show that President
Biden understands that building the cars of the future also
necessitates helping the communities challenged by the transition away
from the internal combustion engine."

The package follows the United Auto Workers (UAW) revealing
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week that 97% of participating members at "Big Three" vehicle
manufacturers Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis—whose brands
include Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and RAM—voted to
authorize a strike if a contract deal with management isn't reached by
mid-September.

It also comes after the UAW on Thursday filed
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labor practice charges against General Motors and Stellantis, accusing
them of illegally refusing to negotiate in good faith and dragging out
talks "with the goal of forcing the union to swallow a milquetoast
contract at the last minute," in the words of UAW president Shawn
Fain.

Fain on Friday celebrated the DOE package, saying
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"the UAW supports and is ready for the transition to a clean auto
industry. But the EV transition must be a just transition that ensures
auto workers have a place in the new economy. Today's announcement
from the Department of Energy echoes the UAW's call for strong labor
standards tied to all taxpayer funding that goes to auto and
manufacturing companies."

The UAW leader—whose union has pressured
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to use his power to help ensure a just transition to EVs—continued:

We are glad to see the Biden administration doing its part to reject
the false choice between a good job and a green job. This new policy
makes clear to employers that the EV transition must include strong
union partnerships with the high pay and safety standards that
generations of UAW members have fought for and won.

The Big Three have closed or spun off 65 plants in the last 20 years.
The automakers have not yet promised job security in our ongoing
negotiations. I have traveled across the country, meeting displaced
workers who've had to pick up and move their families when plants shut
down recently in Belvidere, Illinois, Lordstown, Ohio, and Romeo,
Michigan. These new grants and loans will give plants like these a
chance for federal support to ensure those jobs and communities are
protected.

Granholm noted Fain's remarks on social media, saying
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"couldn't agree more" that the shift to EVs must be a just transition.

Members of Congress, including Rep. Ro Khanna
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took to social media to highlight the UAW leader's comments.

Along with also pointing to Fain's statement, Sen. Bernie Sanders
[[link removed]] (I-Vt.) said
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"President Biden is right. When the federal government provides
billions to the auto industry for the production of electric vehicles,
the jobs that are created must be good-paying union jobs and the cars
must be produced in the U.S. This new policy is an important step
forward."

_Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common
Dreams._

* Electric vehicles
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* UAW
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* Renewable energy jobs
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* pro-union
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* President Biden
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