White House confirms President Joe Biden will visit Michigan on Tuesday

DETROIT - President Joe Biden will tour a Ford Motor Co. facility in Dearborn next week ahead of the company's unveiling of the all-electric F-150 Lightning, the White House confirmed to the Detroit Free Press.

In a statement Tuesday, the White House said Biden will visit the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn. No other details, including the time of the visit, were immediately available.

A source familiar with the plans had earlier confirmed the visit for the Free Press.

Ford is set to reveal the new electric version of the company's best-selling truck on May 19, during a livestream event at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn. That event is expected to begin at 9:30 p.m.

While it's not known whether Biden has a speech planned, it's likely that he will make note of the fact that the electric F-150 will be built with UAW workers at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center.

Electric pickup: Ford to reveal new all-electric F-150 Lightning in livestream event May 19

Biden is a longtime labor union supporter

Biden has been a staunch and vocal ally of labor unions before and since becoming president in January. In recent months, he has called for additional government incentives to spur electric vehicle innovations and the infrastructure needed to make them widely popular while also saying those vehicles and that infrastructure needs to provide union jobs with good wages and benefits.

The UAW, meanwhile, has been urging Biden and Congress to adopt restrictions on incentives that would ensure that they are focused on vehicles built in the U.S.

Longtime union backer: Joe Biden's support of labor unions is historic. Here's what it means

The union recently called General Motors' decision to open a plant in Mexico, where it would assemble electric vehicles, "a slap in the face" and wants automakers to ensure that electric vehicle battery manufacturers — where much of the labor on the vehicles is done — provide union-level wages and benefits.

Biden's visit will be his second since taking office. In February, he visited the facility in west Michigan where Pfizer manufactures its COVID-19 vaccine.

Contact Todd Spangler at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Biden to visit Michigan ahead of Ford F-150 reveal