Harris hunts blue-collar voters and brings Biden to Pittsburgh on Labor Day

WASHINGTON – Seeking to shore up her support among blue-collar voters, Vice President Kamala Harris is campaigning alongside President Joe Biden and wading into a dispute over the ownership of one of America's largest steel producers.

Harris visited Detroit on Monday afternoon. Later in the day, she will meet Biden in Pittsburgh, the headquarters of steelmaker US Steel.

“We celebrate unions because unions helped build America and unions helped build America’s middle class,” Harris said in a speech in Detroit attended by national union leaders.

In her speech in Pittsburgh, Harris will say that U.S. Steel, which last year struck a deal to be acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel Corporation, should remain domestically owned and operated, her campaign said. The proposed merger has not yet received U.S. regulatory approval and is opposed by the United Steelworkers union, which supports Harris.

Biden spoke out against the $14.9 billion deal in March.

Read more: Biden addresses union members and rejects sale of US Steel to Japanese company

The president enjoys strong blue-collar support, and Harris is looking to capitalize on that in Allegheny County, a populous county where increasing turnout is critical for her to win Pennsylvania. It's her second trip to the Pittsburgh area in about two weeks — a testament to how important she believes Western Pennsylvania is to winning the state.

Harris' running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is meeting with labor leaders from his state in St. Paul. Walz is also attending the Milwaukee Area Labor Council's Labor Fest in Wisconsin on Monday. Biden plans to travel to Wisconsin this week for an official visit that the White House said will focus on his economic agenda.

In Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, the election is still undecided, and both the Republican and Democratic parties are actively courting their voters.

Former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance held events in the three states last week. Trump plans to return to Mosinee on Saturday.

Neither he nor Vance had planned campaign events for Labor Day, effectively leaving the campaign to Biden and Harris.

Harris in Detroit said the labor movement’s approach was instructive for the country.

“As we fight against so much nonsense designed to divide and tear our country apart, we should look at what the history and present of labor tells us about the power of the collective and unity, about the spirit of that labor as well as the product of that labor,” Harris said in Detroit.

Harris immediately set about winning the support of the largest national unions after Biden dropped out of the race in late July. She received endorsements from the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the United Steelworkers, the United Auto Workers, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and many others.

Biden took part in a UAW picket in Michigan last fall.

Labor Day Campaign: In the battle between Trump and Harris, both campaigns are targeting the Blue Wall

One support that has so far eluded Harris concerns the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Sean O'Brien, chairman of the Teamsters, delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention – an offer he said at the time was made to both major political parties.

O'Brien said Sunday during an appearance on CBS's “Face the Nation” that his union plans to meet with Harris before deciding which candidate to support. Half of the union's 1.3 million members are Republicans and the other half are Democrats, he said.

“We want to have the opportunity to sit down with Vice President Harris,” he said. “You don't hire someone without giving them an interview.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harris joins Biden in courting workers, unions on Labor Day