Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will mark Labor Day on Monday with several campaign events, including one with President Joe Biden, focused on working-class voters.
“On Labor Day, we thank the organizers, activists, workers, and leaders of the labor movement who have helped build this nation,” Harris wrote in a Labor Day post on X. “Our entire country benefits from the work of unions because when unions are strong, America is strong.”
Detroit, the Union Hub
Harris will first make a solo appearance in the battleground state of Michigan to kick off her Labor Day campaign blitz.
The Democratic nominee will meet with union members and deliver remarks in metro Detroit at 1 p.m. ET.
“You may not be a union member, but thank unions for the five-day workweek,” Harris wrote in a statement on Monday ahead of her campaign stop in Detroit. “You may not be a union member, but thank unions for the eight-hour workday. You may not be a union member, but thank unions for sick leave, paid family leave, and vacation time.”
Biden during last month’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) called himself “the most pro-union president in history.” Labor unions historically have backed Democrats.
Labor groups and leaders, including the United Auto Workers (UAW), will join Harris at the event. UAW President Shawn Fein said at the DNC that the Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, did nothing for union workers in 2019 when a General Motors factory in Ohio shut down. The union has officially endorsed Harris for president.
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten and the Teamsters union will also participate in the campaign event in Detroit.
Swing State of Pennsylvania
Biden and Harris are co-headlining a campaign event Monday night in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
In her remarks in the industrial city of Pittsburgh, Harris is expected to oppose the sale of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel to Japan’s largest steelmaker, Nippon Steel. Her position on the issue is consistent with that of Biden, who previously took the position that U.S. Steel should be domestically owned.
Biden earlier this year voiced his concerns over the Tokyo-based company’s $14.1 billion takeover of the American firm.
“U.S. Steel has been an iconic American company for more than a century and it should remain a totally American company,” Biden said during a visit to the United Steelworkers headquarters earlier this year. “American-owned, American-operated by American union steelworkers, the best in the world. And that’s going to happen. I promise you.”
Biden and Harris are also scheduled to attend Pittsburgh’s Labor Day parade.
Labor Day History
The federal holiday traditionally pays tribute to the contributions of American workers. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894.
“It’s Labor Day—a day to stand in solidarity with America’s workers, the backbone of our nation’s prosperity,” Biden wrote in a statement on X. “Today we recommit to ensuring that every worker has a shot at achieving the American Dream.”
The president wrote in a separate post that today is about celebrating “good-paying jobs with high-quality benefits” that Americans can raise a family on, adding that nearly 16 million of those jobs have been created since he and Harris took office.