Conversation

Harris and Biden pitch for steel votes in Pittsburgh in first joint appearance on campaign trail

Kenny Cooper, president of the IBEW union, introduced Biden and Harris,
noting that the passage of the Butch Lewis Act by Harris’s tie-breaking vote
saved the benefits of two million union members.
“They were only tied up for one reason,” he said. “We couldn’t find a Republican senator.”

Between comments about the administration’s support for organized labor and Donald Trump’s attacks on labor organizing,
Harris spoke against the pending purchase of US Steel by Nippon Steel,
arguing that the iconic Pennsylvania steel company should remain in the hands of American owners.

“US Steel is an historic American company and it is vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies.
And I couldn’t agree more with President Biden: US Steel should remain American-owned and American-operated.”

The United Steelworkers union, representing about 10,000 US Steel employees, opposes the $14.9bn deal,
taking issue with Nippon Steel’s alleged violations of the union’s rights concerning change of control under their four-year basic labor agreement signed in 2022. The union and the companies are in arbitration talks.

Harris again voiced support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) act, a broad basket of labor reforms that would spur union organizing.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/03/kamala-harris-joe-biden-campaign-labor-day-pittsburgh?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other