President Joe Biden joined striking US auto workers in Michigan this week to lend support to the labor unions that have been on the picket line.

This move – the first time a US president has joined organized labor groups in protest – shows the importance of specific states in the upper Midwest, where unions yield clout, in paving Biden’s path to victory in next year’s presidential election. Former President Donald Trump, for his part, also addressed auto workers in Michigan this week.

But this outreach isn’t just about the Great Lakes State and its important electorate – it’s reflective of both parties’ efforts to win over white working-class voters in a matchup that’s looking increasingly close.

We take a look at union representation across select battleground states and how they’ve voted in the past four presidential elections.

More For You

Students and their supporters take part in a protest demanding snap parliamentary elections, continuing an anti-corruption movement sparked by a deadly railway station collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024, in Belgrade, Serbia, May 10, 2026.
REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic

Student protesters are set to take to the streets in Serbia this weekend in the first major demonstrations of the year against President Aleksandar Vučić, as frustration mounts over democratic backsliding and corruption.

GZERO Media is back on the podium at the 47th Annual Telly Awards, adding six more trophies to our shelf — including three in Gold! We’re so grateful to be recognized for our groundbreaking work in global analysis and… *checks notes*... geopolitical puppetry.