Are American Voters Workers or Consumers?

<p>Right now, the United Auto Workers are on strike, targeting a small number of auto plants in an attempt to get a pay raise and other concessions from management. Joe Biden is planning to walk the picket line with the striking workers, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/22/politics/joe-biden-michigan-trip-uaw/index.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">first</a>&nbsp;for a sitting president.</p> <p>The pundits, of course, are offering their analyses of why Biden would choose to do this. Is he ideologically pro-union, hearkening back to the days when organized labor was strong and made up a significant part of the Democratic coalition? Is he riding the recent wave of pro-labor sentiment? Is he making a strategic play for white working-class voters who have flocked to the GOP since 2015? Is he, as Donald Trump claims, just trying to overshadow Trump&rsquo;s own scheduled visit to Michigan?</p> <p>You could make a case for all of these arguments. But I&rsquo;m more interested in what the visit and its potential fallout could reveal about American voters.</p> <p>By explicitly supporting the strike, Biden is betting on the fact that American voters think of themselves more as workers than consumers. If he&rsquo;s correct, he&rsquo;ll win the upcoming election. If he&rsquo;s wrong, he&rsquo;s in trouble.</p> <p>Since the strike began, I&rsquo;ve seen more stories about what the UAW&rsquo;s actions will mean for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/23/1200614584/uaw-strike-big-3-shawn-fain-ford-gm-stellantis-car-prices-repairs-spare-parts" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">consumers</a>&nbsp;than I have about what they&rsquo;ll mean for workers. There are a lot of stories forecasting whether car prices will soar (the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/22/could-the-uaw-strike-affect-car-prices-inevitably-yes-expert-says.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">consensus</a>&nbsp;seems to be: maybe, but not right away), but many fewer about what a historic victory against the big three automakers would mean for workers in this country.&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/rome-magazine/are-american-voters-workers-or-consumers-5ef5e406e19d"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>