September 28, 2023
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
Global conflict was at a record high in 2025, will 2026 be more peaceful? Ian Bremmer talks with CNN’s Clarissa Ward and Comfort Ero of the International Crisis Group on the GZERO World Podcast.
Most Popular
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi isn’t necessarily known as the greatest friend of Muslim people, yet his own government is now seeking to build bridges with Afghanistan’s Islamist leaders, the Taliban.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner, along with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and otherEuropean leaders, pose for a group photo at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 15, 2025.
Kay Nietfeld/Pool via REUTERS
The European Union just pulled off something that, a year ago, seemed politically impossible: it froze $247 billion in Russian central bank assets indefinitely, stripping the Kremlin of one of its most reliable pressure points.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.