OPINION:
At a time when the United Auto Workers union seems intent on derailing the nation’s economy with a strike premised on unrealistic demands, President Biden joined the picket line, which many view as an inflammatory escalation that will do little to resolve the labor tensions bringing the U.S. auto industry to a standstill.
Others can speculate as to the political wisdom of Mr. Biden’s approach, but this issue should transcend politics and party. Mr. Biden needs to prioritize getting the economy back on track and focus instead on mediation, not grandstanding. An easy way for him to do that would be to deploy someone with the experience and expertise to forge a compromise between the UAW and Detroit’s automakers without politics.
Luckily, there is an option that could appeal to both sides of the aisle.
Labeled the “car czar” by the media, Steven Rattner — an investor and former journalist — spearheaded the 2009 effort to rescue two ailing auto manufacturers and bring them back from insolvency. Through an $82 billion bailout of the auto sector and several other onerous provisions, Mr. Rattner helped both imperiled auto companies emerge from bankruptcy less than six months later and reach profitability.
Mr. Rattner’s solution was imperfect, but it saved Detroit and allowed then-President Barack Obama — and then-Vice President Joe Biden — to weather the administration’s first significant storm.
Nearly 15 years later, now-President Biden should consider once again recruiting Mr. Rattner — or if he is not willing to take up the task, someone like his right-hand man, Brian Deese — to play the role of “car czar” and develop a mutually acceptable compromise to end the strike before it does any more harm to an inflation-weary economy.
While the Biden White House has had discussions of ways to blunt any economic fallout from a potential full walkout in the autoworkers strike, his administration has been noticeably absent in taking any leading role in helping mediate a resolution.
The strike, however, is not just a company-vs.-labor dispute that the White House chose to ignore or treat as a simple campaign stop. The national implications of a protracted strike will cripple an economy still struggling with over high inflation, driving up car prices already at record highs.
As Mr. Rattner wrote in The New York Times: “A prolonged strike, which could lead to far more widespread shutdowns of auto facilities, could jeopardize the economic recovery. Our nearly $800 billion auto industry accounts for 3 percent of economic output, with a particular concentration in the Midwest, where states like Michigan are critical …”
The Biden administration needs someone to help negotiate real solutions to the strike and make the UAW come to the table with reasonable demands.
Autoworkers are certainly deserving of some concessions from their employers. But they are overplaying their hand with impractical demands, including pay raises of 36% over four years, a 32-hour workweek with 40 hours of pay, and an updated version of the “jobs bank” that would pay laid-off workers most of their usual wages.
Someone like Mr. Rattner has the experience and ability to meet with both sides, find common ground, and come to a solution where everyone can go home with a win. Bringing opposing groups together is something Mr. Biden has yet to deliver to mitigate Americans’ economic worries.
Polls consistently reflect that Americans are skeptical of the current administration: Mr. Biden has a 41% approval rating.
Furthermore, despite Mr. Biden’s reference to himself as the most pro-union president in the nation’s history, many UAW members are lukewarm on him. Perhaps the rank and file understand that this move — and others like them — are more about optics than substance.
With high stakes for the country, it is flummoxing that the White House has taken such an aggressive stance against the three Detroit automakers. If Mr. Biden wants what is best for the country and not for a political party, he should seriously consider dialing up someone who is nonpartisan to do what he cannot — bring people together.
• John Burnett is a business and political analyst and an adjunct assistant professor at New York University.
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