Vice President Kamala Harris said U.S. Steel should remain owned by an American company, marking her first public comments in opposition to the iconic Pittsburgh company’s proposed sale to Japanese giant Nippon Steel Corp.
Harris came out forcefully against the sale while speaking to a crowd of hundreds of union members and supporters at the IBEW Local 5 union hall in Pittsburgh’s South Side on Monday afternoon.
“U.S. Steel should remain American owned and American made. And I will always have your back,” she said, addressing the United Steelworkers members in the crowd.
Nippon Steel proposed buying U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion last year, in a deal that has since come under scrutiny from the labor union and attracted intense political opposition from Democrats and some Republicans.
Nippon Steel replied to Harris’ comments with a statement that, in part, read: “We’re confident that Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel will revitalize the American steel Rust Belt, (and) benefit American workers, local communities and national security in a way no other alternative can.”
Harris joined President Joe Biden on stage in Pittsburgh, one of their first times campaigning together since Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris in July. Biden visiting the Steel City on Labor Day is somewhat of a tradition. He has made several appearances in Pittsburgh over the decades on the holiday.
Labor leaders at the campaign event praised the Biden-Harris administration multiple times and called it “the most pro-labor administration” in presidential history.
Biden took the stage before Harris and said she will be a “historic pro-union president.” Harris praised Biden, almost symbolically grabbing the pro-labor baton from him.
“When times were hard, forces were mighty, and the heat was intense, Joe Biden has always stood with the workers of America,” Harris said. “We fight for workers. We fight for families.”
Harris spoke for 15 minutes to a crowd of more than 600 union members, supporters, and other invited guests. The fire marshal capped the attendance number at 600, according to White House pool reports.
She stayed vigilant to her message that her rival, former President Donald Trump, represents the past and she represents the future. She said Trump opposed efforts to raise the minimum wage, and she will fight to raise it. Harris said Trump put union-busters on the National Labor Relations Board, and she will continue Biden’s efforts to place more union-friendly people on the board. She said she supports the PRO Act to make it easier for Americans to join a union.
“America has tried those failed policies before, and we are not going back,” Harris said. “We have dreams, we can see what is possible unburdened by what has been.”
Hundreds were sporting their union garb proudly, with members from Service Workers International Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, United Steelworkers and more joining the thousands that marched earlier in Pittsburgh’s Labor Day parade, the largest in the country.
Some led chants of “Pittsburgh is a union town” before Harris and Biden took the stage.
The Harris campaign has garnered dozens of large union endorsements this cycle, including from the Pittsburgh-based United Steelworkers and Iron Workers International, which traces its roots to Pittsburgh.
Greg Vogt, 35, of Monroeville, is a member of IBEW Local 5 and has attended every Labor Day Parade in the city since 2007. He said he’s not a fan of Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel and he appreciated the vice president’s strong words on the matter.
“I do not support that,” Vogt said. “I support an American company buying an American company.”
Biden also opposes the U.S. Steel sale to Nippon, and voiced opposition to the proposal when he met with the steelworkers union in April at their Downtown Pittsburgh headquarters.
His 20-minute speech Monday focused on his administration’s accomplishments and his well-trodden praise of unions for their role in uplifting America’s middle class.
“Wall Street did not build America. Unions built America,” Biden said. “And unions built the middle class. We have the strongest economy in the world because of unions.”
Biden also criticized Trump, the Republican nominee for president, and contrasted Trump’s administration to his and Harris’. Biden said the $1.2 trillion infrastructure act passed under his administration has brought in $17 billion in project funding to Pennsylvania so far.
“Trump said he was gonna do something about it, but we did it,” Biden said. “He promised infrastructure week for four years. He didn’t build a damn thing.”
Trump also opposes the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon. He insulted Harris on Monday on social media, calling her “Comrade Kamala Harris” and claiming that her leadership led to higher prices for Americans.
“All Americans are suffering during this Holiday weekend — High Gas Prices, Transportation Costs are up, and Grocery Prices are through the roof,” posted Trump on Truth Social, his social media website. “We can’t keep living under this weak and failed ‘Leadership.’”
Harris and Biden were joined by a number of prominent Pennsylvania Democrats at the Pittsburgh event, including Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato; U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio and Summer Lee; and Gisele Fetterman, wife of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.
Biden praised Fetterman, saying he is “someone you want in a foxhole with you” and said he couldn’t be at the event.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey fired up the crowd before the president and vice president arrived.
Casey lauded the history of organized labor and industry in Western Pennsylvania.
“You helped build Pennsylvania and you helped build our nation,” he said. “You invented your own future by your hard work and determination”
Jean Stevenson, 57, of Carrick, was working the Biden-Harris event Monday for a local catering company. Stevenson, who is on the executive board for Unite Here, a labor union representing 300,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada, said unions are very important to her and her family.
Stevenson, a registered Democrat, said it means a lot that Harris supports organized labor and showed up in Pittsburgh.
“I think she’s for the union people,” Stevenson said. “I think she’s for the people. I just think she’s a better candidate.”
