Harris and President Biden sought to court union workers on Labor Day during their first joint campaign event in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, said on Sept. 2 that she opposes the sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese firm Nippon Steel Corporation.
“U.S. Steel is a historic American company, and it is vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies,” she said during a Labor Day campaign event in Pittsburgh. “U.S. Steel should remain American-owned and American-operated.”
She addressed steelworkers and other supporters in a union hall alongside President Joe Biden. It’s the first time they have held a campaign event together since the president exited the 2024 race and endorsed Harris for president.
Last month, both leaders appeared together at the Democratic National Convention and at a White House event about lowering prescription drugs in Maryland.
During the first joint campaign event in Pittsburgh, Harris echoed Biden’s remarks in March that U.S. Steel “should remain totally American.”
Nippon Steel, the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker, announced in December that it would purchase U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion in an all-cash agreement. On April 12, U.S. Steel shareholders approved Nippon Steel’s takeover bid. However, the union representing the company’s workers is seeking to block the deal.
“We love our country, and we know it is one of the highest forms of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country,” Harris said while stressing her commitment to protecting labor unions.
Harris has received endorsement from major unions including United Steelworkers and United Auto Workers.
During the event, President Biden referred to the vice president as “a true friend” and called her “the next great president.”
“I come from two neighborhoods where it’s not hard to say the word union,” he said. “An awful lot of politicians have trouble saying union. … I’m not one of them. Neither is Kamala.”
Before wrapping up his speech, Biden made the case for Harris.
“This woman knows what she’s doing. Folks, I promise you, if you elect Kamala Harris as president it will be the best decision you will have ever made.”
Speaking at the event, Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States, said that one in five voters in Pennsylvania is a union voter.
“So, we are the difference-maker,” she said, emphasizing the importance of union members in the upcoming election.
Before heading to Pennsylvania, Harris visited Michigan, another key swing state. She delivered a speech to a crowd at Northwestern High School in Detroit, emphasizing the importance of labor unions.
She praised their roles in securing fair pay, benefits, and safe working conditions.
“Every person in our nation has benefited from that work. You may not be a union member but you better thank a union member,” she said.
On Labor Day, the Harris campaign targeted the Republican candidate for president, former President Donald Trump, saying that he’s against workers and unions.
The campaign also took aim at his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), for opposing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which seeks to expand workers’ rights to unionize.
“Happy Labor Day to all of our American Workers who represent the Shining Example of Hard Work and Ingenuity,” Trump wrote on Sept. 2 on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump argued that his policies, including revised trade deals and investments in training, helped businesses and workers thrive.
“We were an Economic Powerhouse, all because of the American Worker! But Kamala and Biden have undone all of that,” he said.
Before the campaign events, Harris met with President Biden in the White House Situation Room with the U.S. hostage deal negotiation team following the murder of American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by the Hamas terrorist group. Both leaders received an update from the U.S. team on the status of negotiations on the proposal outlined by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.