Now auto work hes could be next to walk off the job and demanding more than just higher pay. Their union leader is here after this bold statement online. Billionaires in my opinion dont have a right to exist. Plus a shift in the 2024 race as america comes off summer vacation. And the candidates zero in on the first contest on the calendar. And unplugging kids. Constantly connected. See chinas new minor mode. Could it work in your household . Welcome to this Special Edition of the lead. Im Bianna Golodryga in for jake tapper. And we start with labor day worries and big trouble. Were just ten days away from 140 to you union works possibly going on strike against the Big Three Automakers. Ford, General Motors and stillantis, though jen jeep, ram and chrysler. The contracts expire September 14th and in a video posted on x, sean feign lays down an ultimatum. Were parents. We are siblings. Were active members of our communities. And we demand respect and we demand to be valued. President biden gave a speech to other Union Workers in philadelphia today. And the administrations acting Labor Secretary tried to sound upbeat this morning here on cnn. It looks like parties are far apart and until theyre not. At this point the uaw is at the table with the big three and we respect their process and hopeful their going to grapple through some hard issues and come to an agreement that is a winwin. And let goez to the white hoe and kayla tausch. What, if anything, are they doing now to stave off this strike . Reporter well the primary role of the white house in these negotiations whether it is auto workers or other industries is to keep tabs with both sides and encourage them both to come to the negotiating table, avoid an economic shutdown or stoppage that could hurt the greater u. S. Economy. That is what has been happening behind the scenes. But the White House Counsels Office has long advised the Executive Branch to avoid taking sides and putting its thumb on the scales and to be sure President Biden in recent months has encouraged the Big Three Automakers to avoid Plant Closures as part of the negotiations. While also in recent weeks suggesting that workers at these companies deserved higher pay. But earlier today, when asked about Cnns Betsy Klein whether he believed a strike could happen in just less than two weeks time, when the contract of the United Auto Workers expires, President Biden said he didnt think so. I dont think it is going to happen. Reporter despite a overwhelming majority of workers at the Big Three Automakers voting in favor of a strike if they dont renew that contract. So in case viewers at hope didnt hear the president. He said he is not worried about a strike happening in that short video. Also interesting of note, kayla, the United Auto Workers havent endorsed President Biden yet. That is unusual. Is it causing any anxiety at the white house. The white house has been pretty vocal about the unions that has endorsed it. One of the president s very First Campaign rally of the 2024 election soon was back in june in philadelphia where he appeared today and he appeared in front of a Union Audience then and had a first of its kind joint Union Endorsement from a handful of very, very large unions. But youre right, United Auto Workers was ab sent and ties have been fraying as President Biden has backed electric vehicle manufacturing and that is been seen as a nonstarter by uaw. Kayla, thank you. We are joined by United Auto Workers president sean faehn. So the contracts conspire September 14th, a week from thursday. You heard the president just now that he doesnt think a strike will happen. Are you as confident as he is and how are negotiations going right now . Well thank you, bianna, for having us and while i appreciate President Bidens optimism, i hope the Big Three Get Serious and start bargaining in good faith. Were ready to do whatever is necessary to get our share of economic and social justice foroy members. And we are ten days away and today is pretty much over so were nine days away. Things have been poving slow. Weve had to file a mlb from the demands from over a month and all three big and have had no discussions about it and so we have a Long Way To Go and a short time to get there. If youre demands are not met, are you really prepared to take on not just one automaker but all three . Yes. And weve been very up front from the outset of bargaining, that this is going to be a different set of negotiations. We have different expectations. Our members have High Expectations due to the record profits. The quarter of a trillion dollars in profits these companies will recognize in the last decade. So theyve had our demands from the outset. And we told them we expect to get there by September 14th. And that is September 14th is a deadline, not a reference point. So, well see where we end up in nine days. Im curious, the administration and the president have been instrumental in averting two past major strikes this year. You have had any conversations with the president or the white house yourself on this issue . We stay in touch over updates and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, it is up could the corporations. The corporations have to come to the table. Again i go back to this. The pundits and Talking Heads want to talk about if we struck all three, it would cost the economy 5 billion a week and im glad that someone recognizes the value that is created by the work that our members do. And so it is time that these Companies Come to the pump and take care of the members that create these profits an the workers that get their equitable share. Lets talk about the things that you are pushing for. That includes a shorter workweek and a 46 hourly Wage Increase over four years. Critics say that would hurt the auto companys ability to compete with nonunion rivals like tesla. What do you say to those who view it as a threat to u. S. Competitiveness . The demand was 40 Wage Increase over the life of the agreement. And i find that odd that everyone thinks were asking for the moon when the ceos of these three corporations gave themselves 40 pay increases in the last four years. So, you know, we have High Expectations and rightfully so. And we expect to get there. Our members deserve their fair share. Where did you get that 40 figure and are you concerned at all that that could only add to the inflationary concerns that were still dealing with in this country and really causing and continuing a spiral on that issue . Well i think the inflation is caused by the price gouging. Again we go back to two words, corporate greed. These companies have been raising the prices and not due to if you remember right, you go back to the economic recession, we made massive sacrifices and we still are working under those conditions from 16 years ago. Meanwhile, the companies have recognized a decade of record profits, a quarter of a trillion dollars, 21 billion in profits in the last six months. And so when they talk about competition and being competitive, with the counterparts, what that is,s that code for race to the bottom. They want to find the lowest bidder and they want to drive a scale down and we havent enough in this urncountry while worker live paycheck to paycheck. According to the bureau of labor statistics, 90 of American Workers do not belong to a union. What do you say to those people that would like to get a 40 pay increase but dont see that on the horizon . I think they should join a union. And it is sad when you look at statistics. Over 70 of workers in this country would belong to a union if given the opportunity. But unfortunately, the laws arent in peoples favor when they try to organize. Look at the starbucks workers, thousands nationwide right now that organize and the company is refusing to bargain with them. Theyre breaking the law. And so, you know, and also if you look at the recent poll, the gallup poll, 75 of the people interviewed stated that they side with the uaw in this fight. You were clearly not afraid to break the mold here and one of those issues is involving an endorsement for the democratic president in this case, President Biden and his endorsement for his reelection. Is an endorsement contingent upon a deal with the white house on the demands that you have related to his Inflation Reduction Act and that is subsidies for electric vehicles, you would like some contingencies based upon that for guarantees for employees too . Well, you know, it is back to the same old story. When the corporations come to the government with their hand out, the government always delivers billions and billions of dollar. But when the Working Class people show up and say we want our share, there is always a reason why it cant happen. When it comes to endorsements, theyre going to be earned and so actions speak louder than words so well make endorsements when the time is right and we feel like that the candidates have shown and delivered for our members needs an for the Working Class needs. Is an endorsement contingent upon these specific acts that you have. Well see. There is a lot of work to be done still. But i mean naturally all of these things are a big part of it. Again workers cant be left behind in this transition. When we talk about the ev transition, youre talking about 20 of the Powertrain Workers in the big three stand to lose their jobs down the road if we go from ice engines to battery power. And you cant call this a Just Transition if youre going from 32 an hour wages down to 16 an hour. The clock is ticking. Uaw president sean faehn thank you for your time. Lets get peer rspective wi Ron Brownstein is here with more. And were just days away from a possible strike here. We know the Economic Risks of one. But what are the political risks here . For President Biden who calls himself the most prounion president in u. S. History if a deal isnt made by next thursday . Generally has tried to governor that way. I think this is critical not only in the terms of the shortterm impact on the strike of the economy, but the longterm impact of the dispute that you got into there in that last exchange with the president for the president of the uaw and for President Bidens vision of a transition toward a lower Carbon Economy of which transitioning from the internal Combustion Engine to evs is the critical, maybe the central arch in that. The core problem is that evs have fewer parts than conventional internal Combustion Engines so they take less labor to assemble and so the unions are worried about losing jobs in the transition the way democrats have tried to assuage those fears saying they could manufacture batteries and offsets any lost jobs in asembly that way. But the companies are arguing with the new Battery Plans that they are doing in collaboration with Foreign Companies are not subject to the National Agreement and theyre locating them largely in red states. Like kentucky, tennessee, South Carolina, georgia, where unions arent strong and so you get that concern that you heard from president faehn right there at the end. Which is that in the long run, they will be Trading Union jobs in blue states that pay 32 an hour or so, for nonunion jobs in red states that pay 16 an hour. And that is a real rub in this transition that President Biden is trying to accelerate. Could President Biden survive without an endorsement without the uaw. I think it would be tougher. The last line for democrats, castle keep for them in getting to 270 Electoral College votes is the recovery of democratic fortunes in those three Upper Midwest and rust belt states that trump dislodged from the blue wall in 2016. Michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin. Democrats did very well there in 2018, 2020 and again in 2022. They dont need a big fight with the uaw in that environment. It is worth noting that biden lost his biggest tool to try to encourage that this ev Transition Center on union labor when joe manchin striped out of the Inflation Reduction Act a provision that gave it greater tax credits to consumers for the evs that were produced and now theyre trying to make a dent with subsidies and grants to encourage the misdirection but he doesnt want to fight with the uaw. Ron brownstein, thank you. And up ahead, the new mode for a 2024 race and why the last hour alone had so many candidates so busy. Also new sightings in the haunt for a fugitive outside of philadelphia and an urgent message from the escaped inmates mother. And the sloppy muddy mess of the burning man festival. People trapped all weekend are making their way out now and sharing epic stories with cnn. Well be back. This just in got the keyeys to what you want and what you need something newew Something Sweet moving to a Diffeferent Beat okay now what . can i get a get a drumroll . what . can i get a drumroll drumroll . what . can i get a can i get a drumroll please oohh thats nice yahh ya, can i get a drumroll, can i get a drum thats nice the allnew tempurpedic breeze makes sleep feel cool. So, no more sweating all night. Or blasting the air conditioning. Because the tempbreeze feels up to 10 cooler, all night long. For a limited time, save up to 700 on sect tempurpedic Adjustable Mattress sets. 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The appearances also underscore the importance of New Hampshire, the first state to hold a primary. Jeff zeleny at that labor day picnic in salem, New Hampshire. A hot day and a hot picnic. How are these candidates trying to separate themselves from the pack today . Reporter it is a hot racin deed. This president ial campaign of course has been going on for several weeks and months already. But many of the candidates who will be speaking behind me here in just a few moments are trying to make the cas