Striking auto workers slammed Joe Biden’s green agenda, warning his push for Electric Vehicle (EV) mandates will wipe them out.
Around 25,000 auto workers across the US are striking against General Motors (GM), Ford, and Stellantis after the UAW announced a strike last month in the hopes of raising wages to keep up with soaring inflation and commitments jobs won’t be destroyed by Biden’s EV mandates.
Auto workers told E&E News that Biden’s EV mandates could completely destroy their jobs in the American auto industry.
“I think EVs are going to wipe us out,” 28-year-old Whitney Walch, who works at Stellantis’ Portland Parts Distribution Center in Beaverton, Oregon, said.
“[EVs] don’t need spark plugs, what else, oil filters, we sell a lot of those,” Walch added.
If we don’t have all those parts, I feel like we don’t have a lot to do.”
37-year-old DeJhon Moore from Michigan said he is “good with the regular 87 unleaded,” referring to gas-powered cars he helps make at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant
“I don’t trust [EVs] to drive long distances, I’d rather just do the regular, go get some fuel, and go about my day,” Moore told E&E News.
The UAW president for GM’s distribution warehouse in Texas said the strike against the Big Three is about commitments that auto workers that their jobs won’t be wiped out.
“My question is, our security as far as jobs,” 49-year-old Cornelius Lincoln said.
When asked about looming job losses, Lincoln said, “It’s almost inevitable” that electric vehicles will destroy auto jobs.
According to UAW President Shawn Fain, the strike is ongoing because automakers are working in lockstep with Biden’s green agenda, regardless of the impact on wages and jobs.
Auto workers say their jobs will be eliminated altogether due to supply chains being dominated by China.
China currently controls almost 70 percent of the world’s lithium, 95 percent of manganese, 73 percent of cobalt, 70 percent of graphite, and 63 percent of nickel.
OUR DEFINING MOMENT.
— UAW (@UAW) July 5, 2023
A new industry is being born. New standards are being set.
It's not just about Lordstown.
Everywhere, our message is the same: Our country deserves good, safe, living-wage union jobs.
It's time to build an EV industry that puts workers first.#UAW pic.twitter.com/cNB6ujxR99
When Biden visited striking auto workers in September, he did not mention his EV green agenda.
However, former President Donald Trump spoke with auto workers in Michigan about Biden’s EV mandates.
“People have no idea how bad this is going to be … you can be loyal to American labor, or you can be loyal to the environmental lunatics, but you can’t really be loyal to both,” Trump said.
“… Joe is siding with the left-wing crazies who will destroy automobile manufacturing … I side with the workers of America.”
However, the transition to EVs is not without its hurdles.
Earlier this year, Ford Motor Company projected a staggering $4.5 billion loss for electric vehicles in its second-quarter financial results for 2023.
That figure is almost twice its $2.1 billion loss on its Model E division in 2022.
While there were losses on Electric Vehicles, Ford posted a $1.9 billion net income, bringing in $45 billion in net revenue.
The company also brought in $2.4 billion in its commercial division, Ford Pro.
Ford’s gas and hybrid division, Ford Blue, earned $2.3 billion.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said:
“The near-term pace of EV adoption will be a little slower than expected, which is going to benefit early movers like Ford.”
As The Daily Fetched reported earlier this year, Electric vehicle maker Lucid reported it made $150.9 million after selling 1,404 vehicles.
However, the production costs for the company exceeded $555.8 million.
The company also spent another $431.2 million on research, development, and other costs, while the only additional revenue was $71.9 million from other sources.
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