PITTSBURGH — Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, told a crowd of union workers on Monday that she believes Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel should remain a domestic company and be run by the nation, echoing a promise made earlier this year by President Joe Biden.
“The president made it clear: U.S. Steel is a historic American company, and keeping a strong American steel company is critical to our country,” Harris said. “I couldn’t agree more with President Biden: U.S. Steel should remain American-owned.”
Japanese company Nippon Steel proposed buying the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker last December in a deal valued at $14.9 billion.
Harris also said she intends to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would amend the Labor Relations Act to provide additional support for workers.
Biden and Harris spoke at the headquarters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) on Pittsburgh’s South Side, their first campaign trail appearance together since Biden dropped his reelection bid in July and endorsed her presidential bid.
Harris called Pittsburgh “the birthplace of the American labor movement” and said the region is also shaping the future of labor. “Pittsburgh, together we are fighting to build an economy that works for all working people.”
Biden makes unions, steel key themes of his first visit to Pittsburgh in 2024
Former President Donald Trump, Harris said, blocked overtime benefits and efforts to raise the minimum wage as president and “appointed union busters to the National Labor Relations Board — and let’s not forget his support for so-called ‘right to work’ laws,” she said. “If Donald Trump were reelected, he’s going to give billionaires and big corporations more tax cuts.”
Biden took the stage to chants of “Thank you, Joe!” after being introduced by IBEW President Kenny Cooper, who said the president had been a steadfast friend to unions. Biden said he was “honored to be considered the most pro-union president in history” and reiterated his stance on U.S. Steel.
“I believe in American steel companies – American-owned and American-operated steel companies,” Biden said.
Trump “would rather cross a picket line than walk it,” Biden said. “But I have no problem walking a picket line.” Biden is believed to be the first sitting president to ever walk a picket line when he joined striking UAW workers in Michigan last year. Harris walked a picket line with UAW workers in 2019.
Biden referred to his great-grandfather, who he said was accused of belonging to a mysterious organization “Molly Maguires” group of Irish immigrants blamed for the murder of coal mine foremen in the 19th century.
“They accused my great-grandfather of being Molly, even though he wasn’t, but we were so damn disappointed,” Biden said, adding that “it’s a joke.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who briefly took the stage before Biden and Harris — pledging, “I will be your governor for a long time” — noted that first executive order issued as governor aimed to abolish the higher education requirement for more than 60,000 government jobs.
“Here at Pennsylvania, we value the skills, experience and knowledge you bring to the world every day,” he said. “Whether you want to be a laborer or a lawyer, we respect both paths to opportunity.”
Eugene DePasquale, the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania attorney general, said Monday that opposing the sale of U.S. Steel was the right decision for the region and the country.
“We need to stop thinking about everything as more for corporate America, more for shareholders,” he told the Capital-Star. “What about the workers? What about the community? And I think for too long, both parties in the ’80s and ’90s lost sight of that, and I think the Biden administration has done a better job for us of thinking about what’s best for the workers in the community.”
Criticism of proposed sale of US Steel to Nippon
Biden said in March It was “essential” that U.S. Steel remain American-owned and operated, a point he reiterated during April Campaign Visit to US Steelworkers Plant in Pittsburgh.
The deal has drawn anger from both Pennsylvania Democratic state officials and the United Steelworkers union, which represents the company’s employees, who say the company did not consult them about the deal in advance.
US Steel: Fetterman, Casey criticize proposed $14 billion sale of Nippon Steel
U.S. Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman and U.S. Representative Chris Deluzio (D-17th District) wrote a letter to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Shortly after the deal was announced in December, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) was asked to block the transaction, saying the committee should consider whether the merger would transfer control of a key domestic industry to a foreign entity.
Japan is not a foreign adversary of the U.S., but Nippon does business and operates facilities in China, the lawmakers noted in their letter. A U.S. Commerce Department investigation found that Nippon sold some products below market value, the lawmakers noted.
Shapiro said during Yellen’s visit to Pennsylvania in July that he wasn’t “happy” with the proposed acquisition of US Steel.
“If the U.S. Steelworkers are not happy with this deal, and they are not, then I am not happy with it either,” Shapiro said at the time.
American steel shareholders voted to approve sale to Nippon in April.
David McCall, international president of the United Steelworkers, praised Harris’s statements in a statement Monday. “Union workers built this country, and our union is proud to support the toughest, most pro-worker candidate in this race: Vice President Kamala Harris,” McCall said. “Today, she made it clear once again that she will always defend the Steelworkers and stand with us.”
Biden’s Frequent Pennsylvania Visits on Labor Day
The speech to the union crowd continued a Labor Day tradition for Biden; Biden, a Scranton native, has often spent the holiday in Pennsylvania. On Labor Day 2023, he touted his goodwill at work during visit to Philadelphiaand as vice president, Biden was a constant guest at the annual Labor Day Parade in Pittsburgh.
“You always come to the barbecue a little later because the parade goes on a little longer” when Biden attends, DePasquale said Monday. “It’s always special when he comes here. It also lets you know how important Pittsburgh is.”
While Biden and Harris campaigned in Pittsburgh, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was in Wisconsin for Laborfest, organized by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.
Trump and U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee, had no public appearances scheduled for Labor Day.
Trump posted a message on his Truth Social platform wishing “A Happy Labor Day to all of our American workers who set a great example of hard work and ingenuity” and praised his administration’s adoption of the bipartisan United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA).
This latest presidential polls finds Harris with a razor-thin lead over Trump in Pennsylvania. Her 19 electoral votes make her a major prize for both presidential candidates.
Before Harris was introduced, Biden repeated his now-familiar praise that it was “the best decision I’ve ever made” as president.
“We’ve made a lot of progress, and Kamala and I are going to build on that,” he said, before quickly correcting himself. “She’s going to build on that. I’ll be on the sidelines doing what I can to help.”
