Kamala Harris, Tim Walz speak to UAW in Michigan: 'We are all in this together'
WAYNE, Mich. (FOX 2) - Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, stayed the night in Michigan to speak with the United Auto Workers on Thursday, after rallying at the Detroit Metro Airport the previous day.
The event took place at the UAW Local 900 in Wayne, which represents Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant.
"We are all in this together. You know why I fought my entire career for unions and labor? Because I understand the concept and the noble concept behind collective bargaining – and here it is: Fairness," Harris said.
The UAW endorsed Harris for president over a week ago, after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.
When Walz, who joined the ticket on Tuesday, took the stage, he kicked off his speech by thanking the UAW.
"The American worker has no greater friend than you and your members," he said. "Thank you for what you do every single day."
The stop occurred shortly after Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump held a press conference in Palm Beach, Florida.
Walz spoke about the state of the country under Trump, and the crowd began chanting, "we're not going back."
"He weakened our country to strengthen his own hand," Harris' running mate said. "He sows chaos and division. …He froze in the face of COVID and our neighbors died, and by doing nothing about COVID, he drove this economy into the ground."
Walz and Harris both stressed the role of unions in building the middle class and protecting workers' rights, while underscoring the need for fairness in negotiations.
"When you're talking about the individual and a big company, and you're requiring that one individual to negotiate against a big company – how's that outcome going to be fair?" Harris said. "So collective bargaining is about saying, ‘let the collective come together around a common experience,’ which at its core is about dignity and the dignity of labor."
The Democratic presidential nominee said the Harris-Walz ticket is about trusting and seeing the people.
"We want to recognize the right all people have to freedom and liberty to make choices, especially those that are about our heart and home, and not have their government telling them what to do," Harris said.
She also thanked the UAW for endorsing her, stating that she is a life-long supporter of organized labor.
Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaking to United Auto Workers in Wayne on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024.
Harris and Walz were joined by UAW President Shawn Fain on Thursday, who welcomed the candidates to "labor's house."
"What's at stake in this election? It's very simple. Everything is at stake," he said.
Fain rallied the union crowd by exclaiming: "Kamala Harris is one of us. Gov. Tim Walz is one of us," while praising their pro-labor records.
The members at Local 900 were the first Ford workers to strike in 2023 when the union’s contract with the company expired. Workers at the assembly plant went on strike Sept. 15 and remained on the picket lines until Oct. 25, when the union announced a tentative agreement with Ford.
When the UAW announced their endorsement of Harris in late July, they stated that one of the reasons was due to the Biden-Harris administration's history of supporting the UAW – including the 2023 strike.
"Years before the Stand Up Strike, Kamala Harris walked the picket line with striking autoworkers in 2019, has taken on corporate price-gouging and profiteering, and has spoken out and voted against unfair trade deals that hurt the American worker like NAFTA and NAFTA 2.0, the USMCA," according to the UAW's statement.
In total, the Harris-Walz ticket will travel through seven states this week. Michigan was the largest rally of the campaign, Walz said during the event on Wednesday.
Each of the states on the circuit may play defining roles in the 2024 general election, and likely won't be the last time Harris or Walz visit them.
The full UAW event can be watched on FOX 2's YouTube channel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kamala Harris, Tim Walz make campaign stop in Michigan Wednesday night
In total, the Harris-Walz ticket will travel through seven states this week. Michigan is the largest rally of the Harris-Walz presidential campaign.