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FACT SHEET: Taking Action to Support Auto Workers and Manufacturers, Including in Michigan

Publisher: The White House
Date: 23 September 2024
Subject: American Government , Labor

In Detroit, the White House will convene the Michigan Workforce Hub to announce new commitments to support the auto workforce and increase capital access for auto suppliers

The American auto industry has driven the U.S. manufacturing base for generations, and the Biden-Harris Administration is ensuring that the future of the auto industry is made in America by American union workers. Today, National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard is traveling to Detroit, Michigan to convene the Michigan Workforce Hub and announce a suite of new actions to support automakers and auto workers, with an emphasis on historic auto communities in Michigan. The Michigan Workforce Hub is one of nine Investing in America Workforce Hubs launched by the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure all Americans can access the good jobs created by the Biden-Harris Investing in America agenda.

Today’s announcement builds on the actions that Vice President Harris announced in May to support small- and medium-sized auto manufacturers with access to capital to expand or retool manufacturing facilities, new workforce training resources, and new technical assistance programs.

“I believe in an economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed. Investing in the ambitions and aspirations of our people is the best way to grow the American economy and the middle class,” said Vice President Kamala Harris. “Yet for far too long, we have seen lack of investment in communities across America and profound obstacles to economic opportunity—including in communities with historic manufacturing expertise such as Detroit. Earlier this year, I was proud to announce new support for small- and medium-sized auto suppliers in Detroit. Today’s announcements build on those investments by making sure our auto supply chains stay here in America, strengthening our economy overall by investing in historically underserved communities, and keeping more auto jobs in Detroit.”

$1 Billion in Financing for Small- And Medium-Sized Auto Suppliers

Auto suppliers support the majority of auto manufacturing jobs, and small- and medium-sized suppliers employ more than 250,000 workers across the country—serving as economic engines in Michigan, Ohio, and other historic auto communities.

Today, the Department of the Treasury is announcing a $9.1 million grant to launch the Michigan Auto Supplier Transition Program to help small and underserved automotive manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers secure financing to scale and shift to supplying the electric vehicle supply chain. Made possible by Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), the Michigan Auto Supplier Transition Program will provide financial, legal, accounting, and other support services to underserved and very small businesses, including helping these firms access the over $230 million in additional lending and equity investments made available to support Michigan businesses through the American Rescue Plan’s SSBCI program. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation will oversee the Auto Supplier Transition program in coordination with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Community and Worker Economic Transition Office.

Additionally, Monroe Capital is announcing a commitment to raise up to $1 billion for a new “Drive Forward” Fund to facilitate access to lower cost capital for small- and medium-sized auto manufacturers to refinance, grow, and diversify their businesses. The Drive Forward Fund builds on successful investment funds catalyzed by the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Investment Company program, which provides low-cost government-guaranteed leverage funding to lower the cost of capital for portfolio companies. The Drive Forward Fund will be advised by a council with experts from across the automotive industry to ensure that capital is directed to small and medium-sized auto suppliers with high-road labor practices and significant domestic manufacturing content. A focus will be placed on manufacturers that are well-positioned to lead in the future of the automotive industry and need additional capital and support to grow their manufacturing capacity, including companies making critical investments in the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) production to electric vehicles (EV).

These new announcements build on investments that the Biden-Harris Administration has already made in auto manufacturers, including in Michigan. For example, under the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program, the Department of Energy announced a $500 million award to General Motors in Lansing and a $158 million award to ZF North America in Marysville to support the conversion of these legacy ICE facilities to EV production—retaining or creating over 1,000 combined jobs. Both of these facilities are UAW unionized. The Department of Energy also announced that the State of Michigan is eligible to receive over $18 million in funding to provide grants to small- and medium-sized auto suppliers converting their facilities to electric vehicle production. To protect these investments from unfair trade practices abroad, the President has taken strong and strategic action, including by raising tariffs to 100% on EVs and batteries from China.


The Administration welcomes additional commitments and actions from stakeholders across industry to support automakers and auto workers.

Michigan Workforce Hub Commitments

In 2023, First Lady Jill Biden announced the Investing in America Workforce Initiative in five initial locations where the Biden-Harris Investing in America agenda is catalyzing historic investments in industries of the future. In April, President Biden announced Michigan as one of four new Workforce Hubs, designed to prepare Michigan workers for the good-paying and union jobs created by these historic investments, with a focus on the auto sector. Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, industry has announced $28 billion in private investment in clean energy and manufacturing in Michigan. The Hub is focused on four pillars: improving alignment between training programs and industry needs, standardizing training program guidelines for emerging occupations in the auto supply chain, promoting career readiness with a focus on underserved communities, and addressing structural barriers to employment.

The Michigan Workforce Hub is coordinating across the Department of Labor, the Department of Energy, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, community colleges, unions, employers, philanthropy, nonprofits, and others to deliver on President Biden’s announcement. Since the launch of the Hub, the Department of Labor has invested more than $5.4 million to modernize, expand, and diversify registered apprenticeship programs in Michigan across key industries, including manufacturing, and connect workers to good-paying jobs, and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity has continued to leverage $25 million in American Rescue Plan funding to expand apprenticeships in the state. The Detroit Regional Partnership is also continuing to implement its $52.2 million grant from the American Rescue Plan to invest in the Detroit area’s legacy automotive industry and unite 135 local coalition members around a common vision for a collaborative and equitable regional economy; the coalition is undertaking

To institutionalize the work of the Michigan Workforce Hub, the Department of Energy is announcing the selection of a full-time Michigan Fellow, hosted by the Michigan AFL-CIO Workforce Development Institute. This Fellow is part of an inaugural cohort of ten fellows and host organizations funded by the Community Workforce Readiness Accelerator for Major Projects (RAMP) program—which is designed to address workforce gaps while ensuring that historic clean energy investments lift all communities, especially those historically left behind.

Today, the Michigan Workforce Hub is announcing a suite of new federal, state, philanthropic, nonprofit, and private sector commitments:

Building pipelines to careers for underserved communities:



Driving career readiness and standardizing training programs for good-paying jobs:

 Supporting employers in building a skilled workforce and navigating resources:

Supporting employers in building a skilled workforce and navigating resources:



Building local capacity and promoting economic development:

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