Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Tina President JOE BIDEN has promised to have the “most pro-union administration in history.” He’s also trying to jump start the American economy. From Biden’s perspective, those two goals are complementary. Unions made the middle class, he likes to remind people. And the middle class makes the economy run. But the series of strikes this week at companies like John Deere and Kellogg’s that advocates have dubbed “Striketober” has added a wrinkle to that proposition, coming right before the holiday season and amid a labor shortage that even the administration has struggled to explain. Biden on Friday evening finally addressed the strike at John Deere saying, “My message is they have a right to strike and they have a right to demand higher wages.” Prior to then, White House officials had been privately gaming out what would happen if Biden voiced support for the wave of strikes or stuck to a policy of not commenting on individual labor actions. Union leaders are largely effusive in their praise of Biden, noting his support for legislative efforts to make organizing easier. But some strike organizers on the ground wish he’d get more involved in the nitty gritty labor battles. “At the end of the day, Kellogg’s is an iconic American manufacturer, food wise. We were essential workers, and I would hope the Biden administration would put something out there to encourage the Kellogg management to get back to the negotiating table,” said KERRY WILLIAMS, the 53-year old president of Local 374-G in Lancaster, Penn. who is helping organize the strike and has worked at Kellogg’s for nearly nine years. Williams noted that a number of other Democrats have expressed support including Sens. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.). “We just want to keep these good paying jobs here in the United States and not have food produced from other countries like Mexico,” Williams said Friday morning. “I thought we would hear something from [the Biden administration], but it's still early yet so you never know.” KEVIN BRADSHAW , the vice president of Local 252-G in Memphis, Tenn. who has worked at Kellogg’s for about two decades, said he “would actually want [Biden] to take this hands on and shine a light on what corporate greed is.” Despite his wishes for Biden to get more involved, he said “the Biden administration is probably one of the most pro-union administrations since I've been alive.” Bradshaw isn’t alone in that assessment either. “There's no question in my mind that Joe Biden is the most pro-union president in the history of the United States,” said STUART APPELBAUM, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It’s not the first time Biden has had to navigate these waters. Last February, he initially stayed away from a union organizing fight at Amazon in Alabama before ultimately putting out a video statement pushing back against company pressure and declaring his support for workers organizing. “Workers in Alabama – and all across America – are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace,” he said. “It’s a vitally important choice – one that should be made without intimidation or threats by employers.” Union leaders and organizers praised that statement as historic for a president, noting that when he was in office, BARACK OBAMA, often kept quiet as similar unionization efforts and strikes took place. Prior to Biden’s comments on Friday, the White House had been careful not to weigh in overtly on the strikes that include 1,400 workers across four Kellogg’s plants, 10,000 John Deere workers, and with more than 34,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente having authorized a walkout earlier this week if demands aren’t met. Another 60,000 or so movie and TV workers have also declared they will go on strike starting Monday unless something changes. Press Secretary JEN PSAKI said Thursday that “we, of course, are not going to speak to any individual ongoing — potential individual labor actions, as you know, as a standard.” For good measure, she added, “the President and the Vice President often say and — that this is the most pro-union administration in history, and they will continue to govern and lead with that in mind.” Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you NATALIE MONTELONGO, deputy director of strategic outreach? We want to hear from you — and we’ll keep you anonymous: westwingtips@politico.com. Or if you want to stay really anonymous send us a tip through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram, or Whatsapp here. | 
