The Biden administration, through legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and new proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, hopes to ensure that two-thirds of new passenger cars are completely electric by 2032.

But while electric vehicles (EV) are certainly an environmental improvement over gas-powered vehicles, the Biden administration’s current approach to the EV transition could spell disaster for US autoworkers. Like many other components of the IRA, the administration has chosen a model that throws vast amounts of public money at electric vehicle manufacturers without attaching any kind of labor standards. Absent a serious change of direction, the future of EV production will be low-wage and nonunion.

The United Auto Workers’ new reform leadership has put the Biden administration on notice that this won’t be acceptable. Earlier this month, UAW president Shawn Fain released a memo to union members after visiting with lawmakers in Washington, DC. He made clear that the UAW will not simply rubber-stamp an endorsement of Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election if the president doesn’t change his stance on electric vehicles (while also making clear the union would not back Donald Trump).