Michigan native Gene Sperling, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, is being tapped to coordinate the administration’s bid to facilitate smooth contract talks between the Detroit Three automakers and United Auto Workers union.
Sperling is the White House’s coordinator of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package enacted in 2021. He directed the National Economic Council under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, making him one of the defining economic policymakers of the past several decades.
“As a White House point person on key issues related to the UAW and Big 3, Sperling will help ensure administration-wide coordination across interested parties and among White House policymakers. Gene will work hand-in-glove with Acting (Labor) Secretary Julie Su on all labor-related issues,” a White House official said in a statement to Crain’s Detroit Business. The official requested anonymity to confirm the move that was first reported by Politico.
Contracts with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which together employ about 150,000 auto workers, expire on Sept. 14. Negotiations are to start sometime in mid-July, but no specific dates have been released.
New UAW President Shawn Fain has vowed to take a more confrontational stance in negotiating and has warned there could be strikes. In a video released Wednesday, he expressed concern about the transition to electric vehicles, saying the automakers are taking billions of dollars in government subsidies “but those benefits aren’t trickling down to UAW members.”
GM spokesperson Jeannine Ginivan, while not commenting on Sperling’s appointment, said in a statement: “Like General Motors, the White House understands the importance of our workforce and their contribution to the U.S. economy and their local communities. The General Motors team is committed to work with newly elected UAW president Shawn Fain and UAW International vice president Mike Booth. We are focused on building a working relationship based on trust and mutual respect, operating in the best interest of our employees and stakeholders.”
The UAW, Ford and Stellantis did not respond to requests for comment on Sperling’s role.
Sterling, 64, grew up in Ann Arbor. He visited Detroit last week for the reopening of a renovated Roosevelt Park in front of Ford’s Michigan Central Station redevelopment. American Rescue Plan funds were used to boost the park.
