Republicans seize on auto workers strike as opportunity to recapture the White House

Republicans believe they stand to gain from the dispute but there is a divide between sympathy and disdain for the workers

A strike pitting a resurgent trade union against the US's three biggest carmakers has exposed key differences in labour relations among Republicans - even while animating their assault on Joe Biden's self-styled Bidenomics" policies.

Led by Donald Trump, the former president and 2024 party frontrunner, Republican hopefuls have seized on the stoppage by 13,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) members at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis production facilities in Missouri, Michigan and Ohio to highlight rumbling economic discontent as a catalyst to recapturing the White House. The UAW is demanding a 40% pay raise, shorter hours and better pensions for its members - and is threatening to spread the strike to other plants if its terms are not met.