Another auto deal gives Biden a boost

Oct 30, 2023

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By Alex Daugherty

Presented by

With help from Tanya Snyder

Quick fix

— Stellantis reaches a tentative deal with the UAW.

— FTA is considering new rest standards for transit workers.

— Ford postpones an EV plant as demand softens.

IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. You can reach Alex, Oriana, Tanya and Hannah at adaugherty@politico.com, opawlyk@politico.com, tsnyder@politico.com and hpinski@politico.com, respectively. Find us all on the platform formerly known as Twitter @alextdaugherty, @TSnyderDC, @oriana0214 and @HannahPinski.

“Left my livin' fast somewhere in the past / 'cause that's for chasin' cars.”

A message from Honda:

Honda leads all automakers in the 2023 Cars.com American-Made Index® with 5 vehicles in the Top 10 list. The Honda Ridgeline ranks as the most American-made pickup truck, with the Honda Passport, Honda Odyssey, Acura MDX, and Acura RDX also making the Top 10. Each model was developed in America, too. Honda’s U.S. workforce has built more than 30 million cars and light trucks in America, using domestic and globally sourced parts. Learn more at https://hondainamerica.com/.

Driving the day

TWO DOWN, ONE TO GO: The UAW reached a tentative agreement with Stellantis over the weekend, potentially giving President Joe Biden’s pro-union messaging a boost. Nick Niedzwiadek, Olivia Olander and Holly Otterbein report that UAW President Shawn Fain expanded the union’s strike against General Motors, the only one of the Big Three automakers where workers are still on strike after a tentative deal was reached with Ford last week.

Fain said his union was “victorious” after the deal with Stellantis was reached, while a local UAW chapter in Tennessee announced Saturday evening that it is joining the strike at GM’s Spring Hill Manufacturing facility, which employs nearly 4,000 union and non-union workers.

But Biden is now closer than ever to turning the page on a major economic concern as he begins navigating shared governance with new House Speaker Mike Johnson, and just ahead of another deadline to fund the government. It eases the danger that unrest in the sprawling auto industry will be an economic drag as he makes his pitch for reelection.

The Stellantis deal closely resembles the Ford deal, with a 25 percent wage bump for union workers over the life of the four-year contract.

When initially asked about the agreement, Biden responded with two thumbs up. The White House later released a statement from Biden calling the tentative agreement a "testament to the power of unions and collective bargaining to build strong middle-class jobs while helping our most iconic American companies thrive."

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Around the Agencies

PLANNING SAFETY: DOT on Friday announced $86 million in grant funding for 235 planning and demonstration projects across the country with an aim of helping communities develop safety action plans and testing safety measures such as bike lanes and curb extensions. A second grant funding announcement coming in December will include hundreds of millions in funding to implement safety improvements. The first year of DOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All grant saw $800 million awarded to 511 communities and was one of the infrastructure law’s most competitive grant programs.

“In the past five years, the communities we are awarding these grants to experienced nearly 14,000 roadway deaths,” DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “To help change that unacceptable reality, we are proud to deliver this needed funding to help them address their unique safety needs and save lives.”

A message from Honda:

Transit

DRIVING TIRED: FTA is considering making a new rule to set minimum rest standards for transit workers to reduce the risk of fatigue-related safety incidents. In a Federal Register notice set to be posted today, the agency is seeking public input on hours of service and fatigue risk management programs to better understand current practices and the costs and benefits of such a rule.

Automobiles

SOFTENING EV DEMAND: Ford is postponing a massive new electric vehicle battery plant in Kentucky, James Bikales and Kelsey Tamborrino report, part of a freeze in $12 million in capital spending on electric vehicles and one of a slate of projects that was set to receive a massive $9.2 billion federal loan. Ford CFO John Lawler said softening EV demand — the company is set to lose about $1.3 billion on EVs this year — is the reason for the postponement. Ford still plans to complete the first Kentucky battery plant with South Korean joint venture partner SK On, as well as another planned plant in Tennessee. The federal loan was set to support all three facilities.

“We are being judicious about our production and adjusting future capacity to better match market demand,” Lawler said.

Despite the pullback by Ford and the comments from its partners that the market was growing more slowly than they had forecast, the Energy Department said in a statement that it does not anticipate impacts in the conditional loan status, other than the postponed timing for production from the plant.

CALIFORNIA MOVIN': The director of Caltrans' Sacramento regional office is retiring after a top agency official accused the region's management of improperly using state funding to widen highways, Debra Kahn reports. Amarjeet Benipal, director of Caltrans' District 3 office, is stepping down at the end of the year.

A Caltrans official alleged last month that the Sacramento-area office was skirting environmental rules in order to widen highways. Jeanie Ward-Waller, Caltrans' former deputy director of planning and modal programs, was demoted in September. She said it was because she had warned her superiors that the agency — District 3 in particular — was breaking state and federal law by separating projects into small-enough segments to avoid doing full analyses of their environmental impacts.

SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.

Shifting Gears

The American Trucking Associations announced several key staff moves Friday. Mike Doran is being promoted to senior vice president of membership and allied partnerships. Henry Hanscom will be deputy senior vice president of legislative affairs. Dan Horvath is being promoted to senior vice president of regulatory affairs and safety policy. Alex Rosen will become vice president of advocacy. Rob Sillito will be regional vice president and senior director of membership sales.

A message from Honda:

When you think American-made, think Honda. For over 40 years, Honda has been manufacturing in America – and today has built more than 30 million cars and light trucks here, using domestic and globally sourced parts. In 2022, more than two-thirds of all U.S.-sold Honda automobiles were made in the U.S., including 100% of Acura vehicles.

With 74 U.S. facilities, including 12 manufacturing facilities, R&D centers, parts centers, marketing, sales, service, and finance operations, Honda is committed to investing in America.

Honda’s U.S. workforce of over 30,000 associates includes more than 75% in manufacturing roles. With a national workforce shortage, Honda supports workforce development activities for modern manufacturing to help associates grow their careers and to develop the next generation of Honda engineers, designers, and dreamers.

Charging into the future, Honda will continue revolutionizing its manufacturing operations and upskilling its workforce for an all-electric, American-made future. Learn more at https://hondainamerica.com/.