DETROIT — The Harris-Walz campaign didn’t take Labor Day off as Election Day draws near.
With just more than 60 days until Nov. 5, Vice President Kamala Harris showed union members she’ll have their back by joining them at Northwestern High School in Detroit on Monday following the city’s annual parade.
“On Labor Day, and every day, we celebrate the dignity of work,” Ms. Harris said. “We celebrate unions because unions help build America.”
If elected in November, Ms. Harris promised to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act, which would codify the working class’ right to form a union and bargain for change. Republicans advocate against the act out of fear it would force employees to become union members and could hurt the economy by making everyone pay union dues.
Ms. Harris also promised to bring down the cost of prescriptions and advocated for her “opportunity economy,” where she vowed to lower costs so Americans can afford to buy a home and older generations can financially live off of their retirement.
She criticized her opponent, former President Donald Trump, for opposing efforts to raise the minimum wage and appointing a Republican-majority general counsel to the National Labor Relations Board while he was in office. She warned that, if elected, Trump would give the upper class tax cuts, eliminate Social Security and Medicare, and repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“Look, America has tried those policies,” Ms. Harris said. “They are failed policies, and we are not going back.”
After Detroit, she headed to Pittsburgh to meet with local union members there and President Biden. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, visited with labor members in Milwaukee, and Ms. Harris’ husband and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is campaigning on behalf of the ticket in Virginia. Trump and his running mate JD Vance did not have any public events scheduled for Labor Day.
Trump still took to social media to show appreciation for union members on the holiday and promised to deliver relief for the working class if elected in November.
“Happy Labor Day to all of our American Workers who represent the Shining Example of Hard Work and Ingenuity,” Trump wrote on his app Truth Social. “Under Comrade Kamala Harris, all Americans are suffering during this Holiday Weekend — High Gas Prices, Transportation Costs are up, and Grocery Prices are through the roof. We can’t keep living under this weak and failed ‘Leadership.’”
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), U.S. Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D., Lansing) and Debbie Dingell (D., Dearborn), and Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer all joined Ms. Harris in Detroit to celebrate union workers.
Labor unions have historically supported Democratic candidates, and most national labor unions have endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket. However, International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien drew attention when he took the stage at the Republican National Convention but was not invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention.
Teamsters endorsed Mr. Biden in 2020 and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. However, the union is still holding out its endorsement. On Sunday, Mr. O’Brien said on CBS’ Face the Nation that he has not endorsed the ticket yet because he has not met with Ms. Harris.
Labor Day typically signals when most Americans start tuning into the election, but Frank Rivers, a member of Laborers' Local Union 1191, said he thinks most voters are already paying attention.
“I think most people want something better than what’s going on right now,” Mr. Rivers said. “We want a change.”
Even though Ms. Harris is currently in office, he said he wasn’t sure how much she can do in her current role to help Americans. He is still undecided on which candidate he will vote for in November, but his union presented the opportunity to hear from Ms. Harris, so he was interested. As Election Day gets closer, he said he will be paying attention to how both candidates plan to help the economy to lower inflation and create jobs.
Daniel Springer, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 58, has no hesitations about who he is voting for in November. As a former Republican, Mr. Springer said the party is unrecognizable, moving away from its traditional values.
“I kept trying to defend it … and we need a two-party system,” Mr. Springer said. “But we need my generation to die off because [Republicans] won’t change.”
Mr. Springer said he believes the party will continue to move away from what he remembers it being because some of its most loyal politicians will always support Trump’s policies and the Make America Great Again movement, which he thinks are extreme.
He is interested in hearing more about Ms. Harris’ affordable housing policies and her approach to healthcare and Social Security. Regardless of the specifics though, Mr. Springer said he will be voting for Ms. Harris.
“She was a district attorney in California; she comes from humble beginnings,” he said. “She’s like Obama. He worked his way up. I love people like that. That’s what I like to see in office.”
Absentee voting starts Sept. 26 in Michigan, and the deadline to register to vote is Oct. 21. In Ohio, absentee voting doesn’t start until Oct. 8, with a registration deadline of Oct. 7.
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