Vice President Kamala Harris, in her crunch-time campaign efforts, has decisively returned to Michigan, a pivotal battleground with an eye on shoring up the working-class vote—a demographic both parties are vying for. On Friday, amid the final stretch before the election, Harris leveled a salvo at former President Donald Trump, branding him a "union buster" and pointing to his perceived failures to support organized labor. This visit marks her intensified engagement with Michigan's electorate, with stops in Redford and Flint aimed squarely at cementing labor support, according to CBS News Detroit report.
During her Redford Township event, Harris vocally supported collective bargaining, highlighting the tentative dockworker agreement as testimony to its effectiveness, as reported by CBS News Detroit. She was quoted saying, "We know, when union wages go up, all wages go up." Yet despite her appeal, Harris has encountered a mixed response from unions—an entity once a reliable bastion for Democratic allegiance. The International Association of Fire Fighters and the Teamsters have refrained from endorsing any candidate this year, marking a notable shift from their support for Biden in the previous election cycle.
Simultaneously, Harris took aim at Trump for his approach to the auto industry, specifically pointing out J.D. Vance's refusal to commit federal support for the GM plant in Lansing, during an event later held in Flint. Her remarks iterated the campaign's commitment to community investment and job creation that doesn't require a college degree, as FOX 2 Detroit covered. "Flint, which helped build the auto industry and the UAW," she told her Flint audience. "We will retool existing factories, hire locally and work with unions to create good paying jobs."
Trump, for his part, has not just decisively touted himself as the alternative for the "American worker," aiming to bridge the gap with non-college educated voters—a demographic he won the majority of in 2020 amongst whites, according to CBS News Detroit. Some union members, such as Justin Pomerville from UA Local 85, have noted the resonance of Trump's "anti-establishment message," pointing out the need for workers to understand the direct impact of Democratic-led initiatives such as the CHIPS Act on their livelihoods.
The Michigan push follows Harris's campaign trek across Wisconsin and precedes an upcoming visit to North Carolina, as reported by Midland Daily News. Endorsements have come in various forms, with celebrities like Bruce Springsteen publicly backing Harris and highlighting her contrast with Trump's track record and rhetoric. In his recent Instagram endorsement, Springsteen stated, "I’m supporting Kamala Harris for president," underscoring his belief in the virtues that define America, which he feels Trump lacks.
