CHICAGO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Negotiations between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Big Three U.S. automakers continued Tuesday, as U.S. President Joe Biden visited a picket line outside a General Motors parts distribution center in the U.S. state of Michigan and Republican Donald Trump announced a visit to the state Wednesday to show his support to autoworkers.

Each 2024 presidential candidate, tied in the polls over a year out from the election, is seeking to win over blue-collar voters and their dueling trips have ensured that the strike will now become a political battleground, reports said.

"You made a lot of sacrifice. You gave up a lot when the companies were in trouble. Now, they're doing incredibly well... You should be doing incredibly well, too," Biden said on the 12th day of the union's strike, amid the applause from the striking workers. "You deserve a significant raise you need and other benefits... It's time for them to step up for us."

"Wall Street didn't build the country," Biden said. "The middle class built the country, and unions built the middle class. That's a fact. Let's keep it going."

This is the first time in at least a century for a sitting president to visit a labor union's picket line, at the invitation of UAW President Shawn Fain, The Detroit News quoted the White House as saying on Tuesday.

"The White House has been toeing a careful line during the strike, voicing support for the workers and a pay increase but declining to specifically endorse the union demands," CNN reported on Tuesday.

Fain joined Biden at the picket line. He thanked Biden for coming, saying the president "will do right by the working class."

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is set to make an address Wednesday at an auto supplier in Macomb County, Michigan, to show his support to the autoworkers.

Trump's support among union members has increased as Biden's has fallen in recent months, according to Michigan polling company EPIC·MRA. Trump led Biden 46 percent to 43 percent among union members in an August survey, after Biden led Trump 51 percent to 42 percent in June, according to Bernie Porn, president of EPIC·MRA. Enditem

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