Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on Thursday stepped up their efforts to shore up support among rank-and-file union workers with a rally at a Detroit-area union hall.
Ms. Harris’ mission was to keep union workers in the Democratic fold. Former President Donald Trump is seeking to rebuild the gains he made with blue-collar workers in 2016.
“You know why I fought my entire career for unions and labor? Because I understand the concept and the noble concept behind collective bargaining, fairness,” Ms. Harris said at a United Auto Workers Union hall. “I mean, who could disagree with that? The outcome should be fair.”
Organized labor leaders have quickly rallied around Ms. Harris after President Biden ended his reelection bid last month. She has picked up endorsements from the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers.
But support for Ms. Harris among rank-and-file union workers appears to be soft. At the time Mr. Biden dropped out of the race, he was tied with Mr. Trump, the GOP nominee, at 47% each among union households.
UAW President Shawn Fain joined Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz at the Detroit stop, urging members to back the Democratic ticket. He warned autoworkers that Mr. Trump wants to ship their jobs overseas, but Ms. Harris, through her work in the Biden administration, has expanded union jobs.
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“This is not a time to sit back and hope for the best,” Mr. Fain said. “This is our generation’s defining moment. Everything is at stake. Future generations are at stake here.”
At an earlier campaign event with the Democratic ticket, Mr. Fain mocked the GOP nominee for promising to bring back the auto industry.
“Let me tell you something, Donald Trump doesn’t know sh— about the auto industry,” he said.
Ms. Harris is betting that Mr. Walz can boost her appeal among rank-and-file union workers. The Midwest governor is a favorite of progressives and union workers and may be able to win over blue-collar workers.
“We know the unions built the middle class. You know who doesn’t believe that? Donald Trump. He sees the world entirely differently,” Mr. Walz told the crowd.
In 2016, Mr. Trump’s support of blue-collar workers paid off allowing him to flip Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In 2020, those workers returned to the Democratic Party as Mr. Biden won 56% of union households, according to AP VoteCast.
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The stop was the second of two events in Michigan this week as part of a five-state blitz of swing states that kicked off Tuesday with a rally in Philadelphia, where Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz appeared on stage together for the first time as running mates.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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