By Doina Chiacu
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will now not converse at gathering of the most important U.S. trainer’s union on Sunday, the White Home stated after the union’s workers introduced a strike.
The Nationwide Training Affiliation Employees Union stated it will strike on Friday, urging supporters to hitch them on a picket line exterior the NEA’s conference in Philadelphia over the weekend.
“President Biden is a fierce supporter of unions and he gained’t cross a picket line. The president continues to be planning to journey to Pennsylvania this weekend, and we may have extra particulars to share at a later level,” the marketing campaign stated.
The union stated it filed two unfair labor observe complaints with the Nationwide Labor Relations Board this week involving additional time nonpayment and unanswered info requests.
The NEA stated misinformation had been shared concerning the ongoing contract negotiations however it stays dedicated to a good bargaining course of.
“NEA’s purpose is to craft collective bargaining agreements with our workers unions that stability the pursuits of our members, associates, and workers whereas reflecting our mutual dedication to college students, union values and racial and social justice,” a spokesperson stated.
The consultant didn’t touch upon the Biden determination.
Biden will nonetheless journey to Pennsylvania this weekend, with particulars to be launched later, the marketing campaign stated.
The Nationwide Training Affiliation, with 3 million members, backed the Democratic president in his 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns.
Biden, whose spouse, Jill Biden, is a trainer and NEA member, calls himself essentially the most pro-union president in historical past. He has supported quite a lot of measures to strengthen employees rights, together with signing laws to guard union pensions and different pro-union positions, since taking workplace in 2021.
In September, Biden joined members of the United Auto Employees (UAW) labor union on the picket line exterior a Normal Motors elements distribution middle in Belleville, Michigan, and supported the union’s name for a 40% pay elevate.
It was the primary go to by a U.S. president to placing employees in trendy historical past. The UAW endorsed him in January.
Biden and Donald Trump, his Republican rival within the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, are courting union votes in battleground states together with Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Nandita Bose; Modifying by Josie Kao)
