Harris and Biden hold Pennsylvania Campaign Event

Are there any workers in the house? Is labor in the house? Look, I’m so glad to be here with all of you, and I’m damn proud to stand here as the son of an ATU Union bus driver. I’ve seen firsthand what unions can do for a family. They allowed me to become a first-generation college graduate. Unions allowed me to become the first African-American to ever represent my state legislative district, and unions allowed me to become Pennsylvania’s first black lieutenant governor. I want to be clear, workers are the backbone of our economy. Workers, like you, drive our economy power, our commonwealth and our country. Labor has been on the front lines, through the COVID-19 pandemic, through repairing our infrastructure, educating our children, serving our communities with honor and dignity. You’ve had the backs of the people in times of crisis and you deserve leaders who have yours. As long as Josh Shapiro and I are your governor and lieutenant governor, we are always going to have your backs. Joe Biden has had the backs of workers throughout his entire career. Kamala Harris has stood up for workers as California’s attorney general, as a United States Senator, as our vice president, and she will do it as our president. Vice President Harris grew up in a middle-class household like mine. As a public servant, she’s always put working people first and held corporations accountable. She walked the picket line with striking autoworkers in 2019. She made cracking down on wage theft a priority as Attorney General. And she’s been a part of the most pro-union administration in our history.

(02:44)
She’s overseen the creation of good-paying union jobs, led the White House’s Labor Task Force, and she’s been dedicated to organizing and empowering workers and stood in solidarity with workers and calling for a long overdue pay raises and fair benefits. She supports the PRO Act and she has cast the deciding vote on legislation, saving hundreds of thousands of pensions here in America. Let’s be clear, folks, the contrast in this race could not be clearer. Donald Trump is one of the most anti-worker, anti-union presidents in our history. He hurt auto workers, shipped jobs overseas and lied in the pockets of the super wealthy and big corporations at the expense of the middle class and workers. We know who’s better for working families, and that’s Kamala Harris. I trust Kamala Harris with my daughter’s future, and I’m going to campaign my off ass all across Pennsylvania to make sure she’s our next president. We’ve got 64 days left. Let’s organize, let’s mobilize, and let’s elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House. Thank you.

Please welcome Senator Bob Casey.

Hello, Pittsburgh. First of all, happy Labor Day. What a great crowd here. I want to thank you all for being here on Labor Day, and I’m especially grateful to be with the men and women of organized labor. Please give yourselves and your unions and your families a hand. I got one question for you, are you ready to win an election day for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz? Now, you all know Kamala’s story as a prosecutor, putting away dangerous criminals, to her time in the Senate and as vice president, for fighting every day for women’s rights, workers’ rights and voting rights, right? You know of her service as vice president as she and President Biden and Democrats brought jobs and investments back to Pennsylvania. You know that record.

(05:47)
And we know that Vice President Kamala Harris has proven she is ready on day one to be our president and our commander in chief, and she’s ready in these next 60 plus days to take on Donald Trump and win. Yes, I don’t think I have to tell this crowd much about the story of labor in Western Pennsylvania. You helped build Pennsylvania, you helped build our nation. You did it. Just think about our history. Steel workers in Pennsylvania, here in Pittsburgh, built the tanks and the battleships during World War I and World War II. Our energy workers have powered the nation, powered homes and businesses all across America.

(06:55)
The people of Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania have never waited for the future. You invented your own future by your hard work and your innovation. So, I’m going to talk a little bit about what’s at stake in this race. This race is about a lot of things. This race is a battle for rights, workers’ rights, women’s rights and voting rights. There’s no question about that. It’s also a fight and a battle to lower costs, to fight the fentanyl crisis, to take care of our children, our seniors, our veterans, people with disabilities, people we’ve been fighting for for years. We’re going to continue to fight for them every day in this campaign.

(07:47)
Now, I’m going to tell you a little bit about my opponent, if you don’t know. He’s a former-

Boo.

That’s good. We didn’t even practice that, that’s good. But he’s a former hedge fund executive and he’s worth not millions, not tens of millions, he’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars, right? And there’s no question that when people started to examine what he has done with his life in the last couple of years, they realized, “Well, you know what? He’s not really living here.” He lied about living in Pennsylvania when he was living in a $16 million house in Connecticut.

Boo.

He also lied about how he grew up. He said one time when he was running two years ago, he said he came from nothing. It was like an Abe Lincoln story, but we know that’s not true. But in this race, this is going to be a battle for those issues, whether it’s rights or lowering costs or helping our families. And I think the difference between the two of us is pretty clear. I’ve been on the side of working families fighting with the men and women of labor against big corporations.

Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Bob.

Thank you.

Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Bob.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Bob. Thank you Bob. Thank you Bob. Thank you, Bob.

I’m going to give a prize to whoever started that back there. That was pretty good. Look, while I was here working for the people of Pennsylvania, my opponent was doing something else. He was running that big hedge fund and he was also at the time spending most of his time making investments in China and making investments for the government of China, for President Xi, while I was doing work here. I think we need a senator from Pennsylvania who’s going to represent and work for the people of our state not making huge investments in China. Now, he’s also criticized me because I had the audacity to take on big corporations, right? I said that when big corporations have jacked up the price of food, jacked up the price of household items. And I had the audacity to say, “That’s greed-flation,” he attacked me. But guess what? You know what? In this race and going forward, when a company is engaged in price gouging, we’re going to go after them. We’re going to hold them accountable and make sure people have some justice. Also, a big difference in this race, it’s a difference in the presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. It’s also a difference between me and my opponent when it comes to taxes. They want to double down on that obscene corporate tax break from 2017. They want to continue that, right?

Boo.

I’m going to join you in that boo. Boo is right. That tax cut, because they gave away the store to rich people and big corporations cost us more than $2 trillion. Now, they want to pass a tax bill in 2025 to continue to give those corporate tax breaks, continue to give away the store to rich people, that’ll cost us another $4 trillion in debt. We’re not doing that. We’re not going there. We’re not doing that. Look, we’ve got a lot at stake in this race. The choice has never been clearer between my opponent and me and between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

(11:43)
All that’s left is what you all are doing every day. You’re knocking on doors, you’re making phone calls, you’re making contributions, you’re going to events, you’re your engaging your neighbors to get the vote out. That’s all the work we have to do over these next 60 plus days to continue to fight for these values, to continue to make sure that people know that we’re on their side against these powerful forces and to work like hell to get the vote out. So, will you join me in working night and day for Kamala Harris? And please join me in working every day to get out the vote for our entire ticket. I need your help in this race. We’re going to win together. God bless you.

Please welcome Governor Josh Shapiro.

Hey, what’s up, Pittsburgh? All right. Y’all look so good out there. Here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, you represent one of 750,000 proud members of organized labor. And it’s not just the folks who are working every day in our unions. It’s the proud and rich tradition here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, that rich tradition where organized labor not only built this Commonwealth, but they built this country, they sure did. And we are blessed today to have a whole lot of labor leaders from all across this country. And you’re going to hear from many of them. But I got to give a shout-out to our local guy, the guy who opened the doors, the guy who keeps the power on, IBEW Local 5’s leader, Tommy McIntyre. Let’s hear it for Tommy.

(14:08)
That’s right. Tommy’s wife is here, so I’m glad she could hear that. And we’re thankful for Tommy. We’re thankful for the leader of organized labor here in Allegheny County, Darrin Kelly, thank you Darrin. Greg Bernarding, the leader of our building trades is in the house. And let me say thank you to Angela Ferritto, who leads the AFL-CIO all across Pennsylvania.

(14:44)
Listen, I could not be more proud to be your governor. I’m going to be your governor for a long, by the way. And you know here in Pennsylvania, we lead with three simple letters, GSD. We focus on getting shit done every single day, and you’ve been our partners in that. My first day in office we signed an executive order saying 92%, over 66,000 of our state government jobs, no longer require a college degree. I’m going to tell you why we did that. Because here in Pennsylvania we value skills, we value experience, and we value the know-how that you bring to work every single day. It’s about respect for our fellow Pennsylvanians. That’s why we’ve also invested tens of millions of dollars in vo-tech and pre-apprenticeship programs and apprenticeship programs to put people to work again. Because hear me on this, you want to be a laborer or a lawyer, we respect both pathways to opportunity here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(16:08)
And listen, we’ve been out there working with you as you have helped build our roads and bridges as our teachers have taught our children now, by the way, with a stipend in their pocket for our student teachers. We’ve made it clear that if you’re doing a big old project in Pennsylvania, you’re going to do it with a PLA now in our Commonwealth. You’re running our buses, you’re patrolling our streets, you’re helping keep people healthy, you, the people of organized labor, are making our Commonwealth move forward every day, and I’m so damn proud of you.

(16:52)
I’ll tell you what else you’re doing. Tell you what else you’re doing. You’re getting led out of the drinking lines in communities like Esplen, you’re making sure that our roads and our bridges get repaired, that our rural neighbors finally have access to high-speed internet to get healthcare and education and economic opportunity. And listen, none of those things are possible without the leadership of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. They are our true partners here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(17:38)
And hear me on this, the president and the vice president, they give a damn about us. They care about our future. Hell, I think Joe Biden has been in this house of labor like 300 times as president, and we are so psyched to have Vice President Kamala Harris here with us today. And they have been with us in times of tragedy and in times of triumph. When Fern Hollow Bridge went down, it was President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris who made sure, with the hands of labor, we got that rebuilt. And on the other side of the state, don’t worry, I’m not making an Eagles reference in this room, I’m not that stupid, but on the other side of the state, when I-95 collapsed, it was President Biden, it was Vice President Harris, and it was the hands of labor that rebuilt that road in just 12 days. They have been there for us.

(18:47)
And listen, you all know President Biden has delivered for us over and over and over again. And here’s what I want you to know about Vice President Harris, she don’t let anybody mess with workers here in Pennsylvania or anywhere in the country. She’s taken on those who would take advantage of workers. She’s put them behind bars. She stood up to the bullies and she has always won for us, that’s Vice President Kamala Harris.

(19:16)
And I want you to hear me on this. Under President Biden’s leadership, this nation is producing more energy than ever before and we are leading the nation when it comes to clean energy development and putting people to work in the energy sector here in the Commonwealth. Now, I need you to hear me on this. Vice President Harris will continue to make sure we are competitive on energy, put more people to work and help see through that. Pennsylvania is the leader on energy for decades to come. She’s got our back. President Biden and Vice President Harris have been there for us. They’ve literally put themselves out there for us.

(20:17)
And so, I’m here today to ask you, as your governor, as a fellow proud Pennsylvanian here in this house of labor, do we have it in us to do what we need to do to be for them over these next 65 days? Can we do that together? We got to do the work. We got to do the work. We’re in the red zone. We got a couple yards to go, and this is when it gets tough. This is when it gets hard. This is when you labor leaders, y’all got to go knock on your colleagues’ door, you got to text them, you got to call them and you got to say, “I know Joe Biden. I know Kamala Harris. I trust our governor. I’m going to be there for them and we’re going to make sure they

… they get elected and they can lead us forward and help make Pennsylvania even stronger. Now, the President and the Vice President will tell you this. This is a team sport and we only get there if we return our senior senator, Bob Casey of the US Senate to keep fighting for them.

(21:25)
Now listen, a whole lot of folks come walk into a Labor hall like this, they enjoy seeing you when you’re at home. And then they get into all those fancy-schmancy halls in the Capitol in DC, and they forget where they came from. They forget their values. Bob Casey never forgets where he comes from. He never forgets these houses of Labor that send him to Washington. Let’s send Bob Casey back to lead us. He’s one of us.

(21:56)
And when he’s there, he’s going to need a Democratic US house. Let’s re-elect Chris Deluzio and make sure we’ve got a Democratic house. And I’m just going to say, here’s what I need from you. Y’all were so good to me a year and a half ago. I need you to help keep Joanna McClinton and Matt Bradford and the majority in the State House of Representatives.

(22:28)
And then I want all of you in January to come with me when we swear in Jay Costa as the leader of the state Senate, the next president pro tem. We can do this together. Gang, we know how to win when it’s on the line. We know what is at stake. It’s your jobs, it’s your livelihoods, it’s food on the table. It’s that hunting and fishing trip with your families and the people who can lead us forward. The folks who need our help right now, the people who are going to be there for us are the next President and Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Are you with me? Pennsylvania, we got work to do. Let’s do it. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [inaudible 00:23:36].

… holding you tight.

(24:19)
Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live.

(24:19)
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in.

(24:19)
Show me how big your brave is.

(24:19)
Say what you want to say.

(24:19)
And let the words fall out.

(24:19)
Honestly, I want to see you be brave.

(24:19)
With what you want to say.

(24:19)
And let the words fall out.

(24:19)
Honestly, I want to see you be brave.

(24:19)
Innocence, your history of silence.

(24:19)
Won’t do you any good.

(24:19)
Did you think it would?

(24:19)
Let your words be anything but empty.

(24:19)
Why don’t you tell them the truth?

(24:19)
Say what you wanna say.

(24:19)
And let the words fall out.

(24:19)
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave.

(24:19)
With what you want to say.

(24:19)
And let the words fall out.

(24:19)
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I wanna see you be brave.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
See you be brave.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

(24:19)
I just wanna see you.

Please welcome SEIU President, April Verrett, AFSCME president, Lee Saunders, Iron Workers president, Eric Dean, IUPAT president, Jimmy Williams, Bricklayers president, Tim Driscoll, SMART President Mike Coleman and Steelworkers president, Dave McCall.

Hush now child.

(26:17)
And don’t you cry.

(26:18)
Your folks might understand you.

(26:25)
By and by.

(26:28)
Just move on up. Towards your destination.

(26:37)
Though you may find, from time to time.

(26:37)
Complication.

Please welcome AFL-CIO president, Liz Shuler and IBEW president, Kenny Cooper.

Every day, taking care of business. Every way we be taking care of business.

(27:03)
It’s all right.

(27:03)
Taking care of business.

Is Labor in the house?

Yeah.

Is Labor in the house?

Yeah.

I like that. I like that. Good afternoon and happy Labor Day. It is so great to be here. I’m an IBEW member, so I want to just say thank you to Local 5 for hosting us, Tommy McIntyre. And I’m so honored to be here with President Biden and Vice President Harris. Yes. And my brother Kenny Cooper from the IBEW and all of these hardworking Labor leaders and activists and all of you. Thank you so much. Let’s hear it for y’all. I want to shout out our Western Pennsylvania Labor movement. Thank you so much. We had a great parade today, didn’t we?

(28:14)
And as I travel this country and every state, I just see hundreds of allies and canvases and supporters and actions that are happening all across this country everywhere I travel. And the Labor movement is the backbone of this campaign. We are 20% in those blue wall states. Think about that. And we are putting the Labor back in Labor Day.

(28:49)
Look, every worker in this country should think about the two futures that we have in front of us. One future where too many of us are still living on the edge, where it feels impossible for young folks to buy a home or that we’re one bad break from everything going south. Where we don’t have freedom or opportunity on the job and we have no way to fight back because Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have gutted the right to form a union. Do we want that future?

Boo.

That’s what I thought. Because there is a better future on the horizon, right? It’s a better future. And it’s on display right here in this hall. A future where every worker has freedom and opportunity and dignity. That’s right. A future where there’s no such thing as a man’s job or a woman’s job or a Black job, Donald Trump. Just good union jobs. A future where they don’t call us working women childless cat ladies. They call us Madam President. And where every worker in this country can stand up and say from experience that it’s better in a union.

(30:38)
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were walking our picket lines when Donald Trump was crossing them.

Yes. Boo.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have led the most pro-union White House in American history. And you remember that Kamala Harris cast those deciding votes in the Senate to save millions of workers pensions and lower costs for seniors on their prescription drugs and make the biggest investment in modern history to rebuild this country. And now Kamala Harris and our union brother, Tim Walz, yes, they are ready to go even further because they believe in that future that we all want to see.

(31:38)
Now the road to the White House goes right through our union halls. That’s right. One in five voters right here in Pennsylvania is a union voter. We are the difference maker. We have the people, we have the trust, we know how to organize. And we are ready to send Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House. Are we ready? All right. I got to hear you. Are you going to get your friends registered to vote?

Yes.

Are you going to knock on doors?

Yes.

Are you going to fight every day until November 5th?

Yes.

That’s what I thought. Because when we fight.

We win.

When we fight.

We win.

Yes. Thank you. Now I have the great pleasure of introducing my friend, my brother, one of the great Labor leaders in this country, IBEW international president, Kenny Cooper. Let’s go, Coop.

Awesome. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. Good afternoon. Thank you, brothers and sisters, thank you, guests. And most of all, thank you, family, for being here on Labor Day. It’s a great honor to be in Pittsburgh, a good union town, but for me, it’s really an honor to be in the house of Labor. IBEW Local 5, thank you so much for everything you do. As Liz said, I’m the international president of the IBW, the oldest and largest electrical union in the entire world. Yeah. And on behalf of 840,000 members of the IBEW, it is my true honor to get the introduced tonight, the strongest, most pro-union administration ever in the history of the United States, President Biden and Vice President Harris.

(34:16)
Joe Biden made a lot of promises when he run for president in 2022 or 2020. He promised to save Americans pension system that was a serious risk for us. He promised to help American workers that were depending on him to help save that pension. Workers who went to work every day, lived by the rules, who deferred their own wages so they could retire one day with dignity and respect.

(34:48)
He passed the Butch Lewis Act, saving the Americans multi-employer pension plan. When the Senate was all tied up, let’s think about this a minute, on the rescue of America’s pension plans, they were only tied up for one reason. We couldn’t find a Republican senator that would vote for American workers.

Boo.

Not one. The Vice President Harris showed us her real colors. She stepped to the plate, cast a deciding vote to save our pension plans across America, showing working families that Biden and Harris administration has our backs. Promises made, promises kept.

Exactly.

He pledged to rebuild our country’s infrastructure. The only way it makes sense was good union jobs that pays well and has healthcare for them and their families. Once again, promises made, promises kept.

Promises kept.

They worked together to pass the CHIPS and Science Act, bringing back manufacturing jobs to communities that really need them the most. Promises made, promises kept.

Promises kept.

They pledge to be true friends of Labor because they understand the necessity of unions to the American worker and to the middle class. Well, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris kept every single one of those promises. Pension plan relief, the Butch Lewis Act went above and beyond their expectations. His infrastructure bills are bringing good union jobs back. Much needed infrastructure across our nation in every quarter of our nation. And he’s never been afraid to say the word union. Joe Biden is more than just a pro-union, the most pro-union president in our entire history. When he passed the torch to Kamala Harris, he ensured his pro-union, pro-Labor legacy would continue with the next administration. Kamala Harris understands just as Joe did, and Joe does now the only way to meet the future of this great nation is by giving workers a real voice at every table. Especially the most important table to every worker in every worker’s family, the kitchen table. Yeah. Brothers and sisters, please join me to welcome our true friends, the President and Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

We take care of our own.

(37:57)
Wherever this flag’s flown.

(37:57)
We take care of our own.

Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe.

Hello. Hello. Hello, Pittsburgh.

Joe, Joe, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.

I’ve celebrated many Labor days in Pittsburgh and it’s always good to be back with so many great friends, many of whom flew with me on Air Force One today, represent the union’s been with me since the beginning of my career. They’re not that old, but since I was a 29-year-old kid.

(39:47)
I want to thank Liz Shuler of AFL-CIO, and Kenny at the IBEW for that strong endorsement. By the way, we have an expression in Delaware. IBEW when I ran for president, they’re the ones that brought me to the dance starting off. Not a joke. And Dave McCall, the Steelworkers. Dave in 1972, Steelworkers were the first union to endorse a 29-year-old kid named Joe Biden who wanted to be Senator when he got elected. It mattered.

(40:27)
A guy named Huey Carcella was a district president because we used to have one of the largest Labor forces in Claymont Delaware in North, over 4,000 workers. And it was, anyway, it all went south. But Huey, Huey went to the National President I.W Abel, and he said he wanted me to get endorsed. Everybody thought it was crazy. I literally wasn’t old enough to be sworn in the day I got elected. But guess what? President Abel stuck with me.

That’s right.

And they got stuck with me for the rest of my career. Eric Dean and the Ironworkers, Tim Driscoll of Bricklayer. April Verrett of the SEIU. Lee Saunders of AFSCME and a great friend. Where are you, Lee? And Jimmy Williams and the Painters and Allied Trades and his dad. His dad is a really good man. Mike Coleman, the sheet metal worker.

(41:40)
We also got some of the best elected officials of America. Governor Josh Shapiro is doing an incredible job. The great Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis. And one of America’s

Best words to Ed Gainey. Ed, you’re doing a hell of a job. Inserting the motto, county executive I think is the hardest job in American politics. Everybody knows where you live and they think you can solve all the problems, you don’t have enough money. Well, I tell you one thing, I’m the first President ever. I used to be a county official when I was 26 years old and always bothered me. The federal government would send money to the state to be distributed to the county. What the hell the state going to send to the county for? All the state reps need the money. But guess what? Under my administration to go straight to the county. My name’s Joe Biden, I’m from Scranton, Pennsylvania.

(42:59)
Bobby Casey has been a great friend. His dad was a great friend as well. And by the way, we grew up three blocks from one another. Three blocks. And they still worry about us by showing up. I was on North Washington Avenue, he was on Adams. Guess what? They’ve renamed North Washington Avenue down where I live, Biden Way. Worth the effort. Bob will make sure you get re-elected again, and while he couldn’t be here, I want to thank his partner in the Senate, John Fetterman. If you’re in a foxhole, you want Fetterman in there with you. He couldn’t be here today, but guess what? He sent the best part of the family, Giselle. She’s here. Let me just say, it means so much to be with a true friend, a true friend, the vice president and the next great President of the United States America, Kamala Harris.

(44:06)
Look folks, I come from two neighborhoods where it’s not hard to say the word union, but you know what? The fact of the matter is, an awful lot of politicians have a trouble saying union, they call them working people.

That’s right.

Guess what? I’m not one of them, neither is Kamala. We know the simple truth. Wall Street did not build America, the middle class built America and unions built the middle class. That’s a fact. By the way, that is not a slogan, that’s a fact. I asked the Treasury Department to do a study, and it shows that when unions do well, all workers in America do better. That’s a fact. That’s a fact.

(45:08)
It’s the biggest reason why our economy is the strongest economy in the world today without question, because of unions. My dad, like many of his generation going into World War II, wasn’t able to go to college. My dad was a really well-read guy and he was always engaged, and he’d come home from work before he’d go back and close up the shop for dinner, and the dinner is a place where we had discussions and incidentally ate. My dad taught me, my dad would say this all the time, “Remember Joey,” and I give you my word to this, “A job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about the community. It’s about your place in the community, and it’s about being able to look at your kid in the eye and say, honey, it’s going to be okay and mean it.” That’s why Kamala and I are so proud. So proud of the greatest job-creation record of any President in a single term in American history. 16 million new jobs so far. 800,000 manufacturing jobs. Eight years ago, how many times you hear about we can no longer be the manufacturing capital? Where the hell was that written?

Right.

We are the greatest manufacturing county in the world, state in the world, city in the world. We’re going to remain that way. I’ll tell you something, Kamala and I are proud that we’ve protected the pensions of over one million workers and retirees. Remember all those years of promise, we’re going to do something about it? Well, damn it, we finally did with the Butch Lewis Act. Over 52,000 workers and retirees across Pennsylvania loaned or benefited from that.

(47:33)
Not only did we restore the full amount, we got them their back pay as well. We made them whole again. Now as everyone said to Barack, that’s a big deal.

That’s right.

Yeah, long story. Yes, sir, Liz and Kenny describe another big deal. Union workers rebuilding American infrastructure and building new factories here in America. They told me we couldn’t get anything done in infrastructure. A trillion $200 billion we got done. Remember Trump for four years, promised every month infrastructure week. For four years he promised that. He didn’t build a damn thing. Nothing. I mean, not nothing. So thanks to our Infrastructure Law, Pennsylvania so far has received $17 billion. $17 billion. Over 2000 projects, from clean water to affordable high-speed internet for every Pennsylvanian.

Thank you.

The projects that include $858 million to expand the Montgomery Lock to accommodate bigger barges, to get millions of tons of goods to shelves faster and more reliable, and create thousands of union jobs.

Thank you.

I was working on the Great Lakes and I got a call from Bob, from Senator Casey. There’s been no bigger champion than Casey. You know what I call him? I call him the Casey Locks. Not Goldilocks, the Casey Locks.

(49:34)
Bobby’s also a champion of Pennsylvania’s energy communities. We passed what’s called the Casey Credit available of 45 Pennsylvania counties where energy jobs such as where coal mining had been before and disappeared before we came to office. The Casey Credit provides major incentives for companies to build new battery factories, wind turbines and more, to create high paying jobs in those coal and natural gas communities. And on top of that, there’s over $4 billion and private companies have committed to invest in clean energy advanced manufacturing here in Pennsylvania. $4 billion. And guess what? For your support, I signed an executive order to make sure large federal construction projects all use project labor agreements. The folks at home who may be watching this and tell them you know what a project labor agreement is? It’s when contractors, subcontractors, and unions put in place before the construction begins, what the rules are. Before it begins. These agreements make sure construction is top-notch, on time, on task, and by the way, on budget. There’s another big deal. By American, that’s been the law since 1930. I got to admit, I’ve been around… I’m only 40, but I’ve been around a long time. But I, quite frankly, until 10 years ago, wasn’t aware. Back in the thirties when they were trying to make sure unions could organize and business couldn’t interfere, that a law was passed that said, “Every penny the President gets from the Senate, the House and Congress to spend on a project, he should hire an American worker and use an American product. But pass administration.”

That’s right.

Seriously. Pass administration. Including my predecessor, failed to buy America. They shipped jobs overseas where labor was cheaper and brought home the product that was more expensive. But not anymore. Federal projects build American roads, bridges, highways, and to be made with American products by American workers. That’s why we’re creating all these.

(52:13)
I’m serious. It’s simple and basic. That’s why we’re creating so many good-paying jobs. In fact, we’re requiring those kinds of projects to pay Davis-Bacon prevailing wages, so their jobs they can raise a family on it.

That’s right.

Many of those jobs don’t require a college degree. In fact, we expanded registered apprenticeships. Remember all the hell I got for doing that? We got for doing that? Well, guess what? Resulted in hiring over one million apprentices since we came to office. And lots of folks don’t realize, getting an apprenticeship is like getting a college degree. Why? You have to train for four or five years to get that, and some of the best workers in the world arrived where we are.

(53:03)
When you’re in Pittsburgh, you’re standing with steel workers. Let’s be clear, I believe in American steel companies. American owned and operated steel companies. A simple reason, it’s not hyperbole, American steel workers are the best steel workers in the world. And I made it clear last time I was in Pittsburgh, United States Steel, an iconic American company for more than a century is going to remain an American company. Remember, as a young senator, why the National Labor Relations Board was sometimes so anti-labor, it was set up to help labor, to be pro-labor. Well, guess what? That’s why one of the most significant things we’ve done, Kamala and I, is appointing a National Labor Relations Board that actually believes in unions and believes in recognition.

Thank you.

It’s a big deal. It’s a big deal. Remember, we have short memories. I’m all for forgiveness, I’m not for this. Trump appointed union busters on that board.

Boo.

No, that’s a fact. But it’s real. It affects people’s lives.

That’s right.

We’re going to let that son of a gun do that again?

No.

Folks, made a lot of progress, and Kamala and I are going to build on that progress and she’s going to build on it. I’ll be on the sidelines, but I’ll do everything I can to help. But look, I’m not joking when I say, this is not a joke, when I said this when I was running in 2020, a lot of people didn’t believe me, you did, but a lot didn’t believe me. It’s all at risk because of Donald Trump. Literally.

That’s right. Yes.

With a stroke of the pen he can get rid of a lot of this. And do you think this guy gives a damn about your pensions?

No.

No, I’m serious. Do you think he loses even an instant of sleep over it?

Not at all.

Do you think he cares about all the work you do every day and how hard it is?

No.

He cares about good paying jobs for hardworking people who built this economy?

No.

Hell. He regards picket lines. He’d rather cross one than walk one. But I have no problem walking the picket line. Never have, nor does Kamala. We’ll always walk alongside you. Union workers built this country. And again, that’s not hyperbole, that’s a fact. These are facts. These are not campaign slogans.

That’s right.

Let me close with this. Five years ago, I began my campaign for President right here in Pittsburgh. I said one of the reasons I was running was to rebuild the backbone and spine of America, the middle class and working class folks. Not a joke. Think about it. Think about it. Well, five years later, we’ve done just that. I’m back in Pittsburgh on Labor Day again with a simple message as we look at this election. I spent my whole career believing in unions. I’m not joking when I say that. I’m honored to be considered the most pro-union President ever.

Yup.

And by the way, remember all the talk, Biden got elected and he’s going to do a planned economy. We’re going to collapse and there’s going to be all this caving in? Interest rates are going to go through the ceiling. Come on, man. I’m here to tell you it’s about increasing the strength of your unions this is all about. If you care about hardworking people, just give them a fair shot. Everyone in America deserves a fair shot. A fair shot. If you care about the dignity of work, and I mean it, it matters the dignity of work, the way you’re treated, the decency.

Yes.

I remember when my great-grandfather was only the second Catholic elected statewide to the state senate here in Pennsylvania. And I remember they talked about when they were running against him in 1906, they said, guess what? They said, he’s a Molly Maguire. You know what a Molly Maguire was?

Yeah.

Well, those of you don’t, a Molly Maguire, back in the old days when the Irish and the Catholics came, and then the Poles and others that were Catholic, when they came to the United States America at late 1840s, they made their way down into Pennsylvania, a lot oft them, and there’s a tear in the coal mines. Those guys who got their last ended up being the last people in the coal mines. But a lot of the English owned the coal mines. And what they did was they’d really beat the hell out of the mostly Catholic population that was in the mines. Not a joke. Not a joke. But there was a group that called the Molly Maguires. And the Molly Maguires, if they find out the foreman who was taking advantage of an individual and they’d literally kill him. Not a joke. And they’d bring him body up and put him on the doorstep of his family.

Oh, wow.

Kind of crude.

Very.

But I got to admit, they accused my great-grandfather of being a Molly, but he wasn’t. But we were so damn disappointed. That’s a joke. That’s a joke. Look, it’s about the dignity of work. It’s about how you’re treated. And when I met with the IBW, when I started off this last campaign, first, I said, “There’s two things you’re asking of me,” and I said, “Two things I’m asking of you. One, you’ve got to open up your unions to more women.” Not a joke. “And two, to more minorities.” You’ve done both that. And guess what, instead of having support of 30% of the American leaders, now were 65% of the American leaders support the American Union Movement. It really is all about the dignity of work. Then there’s only, if you care about the dignity of work, there’s only one person you have a rational choice with this time, and that’s Kamala Harris.

Kamala. Kamala. Kamala. Kamala. Kamala.

Let me tell you this lady.

Kamala. Kamala. Kamala. Kamala.

I know her. I trust her. Not a joke. I trust her. Number two, the first decision I made to nominate as nominee in 2020 was selecting her as my vice president. And by the way, it was a single best decision I made as President of the United States of America. I was watching something sent to me when they asked Barack, they said Barack picked me as vice president because he knew I could be president. Well I know she’ll be a good President. I know. I watched it when all the experts, foreign and domestic policy, would give us advice, then we’d sit alone in a room and she has a backbone like a ram rod. She has the moral compass of a saint. This woman knows what she’s doing. Folks, I promise you, if you elect Kamala Harris as President, will be the best as you will have ever made. Kamala, leads as I do. The unions are the spine of this economy.

That’s right.

Should be historic pro-union President.

Yeah.

So folks, we got one more job to do together. Let me ask you, are you ready to fight?

Yeah.

Are ready to win?

Yeah.

Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris as our next President of the United States of America?

Yeah.

And inn the process, are you ready to make Donald Trump a loser again?

Yeah.

I’ve never been more optimistic about America. We have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. There’s nothing. Nothing. I mean this in the bottom of my heart, there’s nothing beyond our capacity. Nothing. When we do it together. And that means elect my friend, our great vice president of President of the United States, Kamala, Harris.

Good afternoon, Pittsburgh. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.

It is good to be in the house of labor. [inaudible 01:03:54]. And it is good to be back at IBEW Local 5. And can we please give it up again for our president, Joe Biden? Now, I don’t have to tell the brothers and sisters of labor that you really get to know somebody when you’re in the middle of a fight, when times are hard, when the forces are mighty, when people don’t believe something can get done and they have a thousand excuses for why it can’t get done. And I have spent more time with this extraordinary human being, when the cameras were not in the room, when the stakes were high, when the heat was intense. And Joe Biden has always stood with the workers of america and labor unions of America, always, always.

(01:04:53)
I’ve been with him when he’ll bring folks into the Oval Office. And you know how Joe can get sometimes. He doesn’t spare words. It’s good that sometimes the cameras are not in the room when he has those conversations. Because the thing about the Joe Biden I know, and I know you know, because he has been a friend of labor for so long for his whole life, Joe Biden can be quite impatient. And that’s a good thing for that kind of leader. Quite impatient. And I say to all of the friends here, the press that’s in the room, history will show what we here know. Joe Biden has been one of the most transformative presidents in the United States that we have ever witnessed, and it comes from his heart.

(01:06:05)
And you know, Joe and I talk a lot about the fact that we are so proud to be the most pro-Union administration in America’s history. [inaudible 01:06:22]. And as we know, Joe’s still got a lot of work to do, so let’s also understand that.

(01:06:31)
So I want to thank all the incredible leaders who are here today, including the Governor Shapiro, Lieutenant Governor Davis, Senator Casey, who we will re-elect this November. Mayor Gainey, President Schuler, President Cooper, all the leaders of labor who are here, all the union members who are here. So I’ll just get right to a few points.

(01:06:55)
I love Labor Day. I love celebrating Labor Day. And Pittsburgh, of course, is a cradle of the American labor movement. It is the birthplace of the AFL, headquarters of the Steelworkers, home to Firefighters Local 1, and of course the historic IBEW Local 5. For more than 150 years, the brothers and sisters of labor have helped lead the fight for fair pay, better benefits and safe working conditions. And every person in our nation has benefited from that work. Everywhere I go, I tell people, “You may not be a union member, but you better thank unions for that five-day work week. Thank unions for sick leave. Thank unions for paid family leave. Thank unions for your vacation time.” Because when union wages go up, everybody’s wages go up. When union workplaces are safer, all workplaces are safer. When unions are strong, America is strong.

(01:08:29)
And we are clear. Not only has Pittsburgh shaped the history of America’s labor movement, today, you are also shaping its future. In 2021 with my dear friend the secretary, Marty Walsh, who the president appointed to be Secretary of Labor. He and I hosted a meeting right here in this local, and it was part of the White House labor task force that I lead. That day, we met with a group of computer programmers who were working to form a union. One month later, they signed their contract and became one of the first technology unions in our nation, standing on the shoulder of all those who have been here and fought the good fight. So Pittsburgh, I remind us of that to say together, we are fighting to build an economy that works for all working people. And that has always been the vision of the labor movement, and that is the vision of our campaign.

(01:09:38)
In this election, there are two very different visions for our nation, one, ours focused on the future, the other focused on the past. We fight for the future. We fight for a future of dignity, respect, and opportunity for all people. We fight knowing it’s some backward thinking for those folks who have been suggesting for years that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down. That’s the stuff they’re pushing, that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down. When we know the true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up, who you lift up. Do you fight for workers? Do you fight for families? Do you fight for those who must be seen and heard and deserve the dignity that comes with hard work? That’s what we fight for. And when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for.

(01:11:07)
So we’re 64 days out from this election. Ballots in Pennsylvania will start dropping in 14 days, 14 days. And this election is as much as anything else, a fight for the promise of America, for the promise of America. We love our country. We love our country, and we know it is one of the highest forms of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country, and that’s what this election is about, and about the promise of America. And I don’t need to tell unions what the promise looks like. It’s what you do every day.

(01:11:56)
But as we fight to move forward, Donald Trump is trying to pull us backward, including back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize.

He’s going to jail.

We’re not going back. We’re not going back.

Well, the courts will handle that and we will handle November. How about that? We’ll handle November. Let the courts handle that other thing. But we’re not going back.

We’re not going back. We’re not going back. We’re not going back.

We’re not going back.

We’re not going back. We’re not going back. We’re not going back.

And one of the ways we’re going to guarantee we don’t go back is that we remember, right? It is important to remember what that was and what it is. Remember, as President, Donald Trump blocked overtime benefits from millions of workers. He opposed efforts to raise the minimum wage. As the President said, he appointed union busters to the National Labor Relations Board. And don’t forget, he supported so-called right-to-work laws. And if Donald Trump were to be reelected, he intends to give more tax cuts to billionaires in big corporations. He intends to cut Social security and Medicare. He wants to impose what in effect would be a national sales tax, I call it the Trump’s national sales tax, on everyday products and basic necessities that would cost a typical American family, the economists have said this, almost $4,000 a year. He intends to repeal the Affordable Care Act. And take us back to what we remember, because it wasn’t that long ago, was a time when insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions. Do you remember what that was? Children with asthma, breast cancer survivors, grandparents with diabetes.

[inaudible 01:14:13].

Well, look, America has tried those failed policies before and we are not going back. We are not going back.

We’re not going back. We’re not going back.

Not going back.

We’re not going back. We’re not going back. We’re not going back.

And instead, we fight for a future where no person has to go broke just because they get sick. And so building on the work of President Joe Biden and I, and the work we have done in the White House, we will continue to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and make prescription drugs affordable for all Americans. We, we, we fight for a future where every worker has the freedom to organize and we will pass the PRO Act and end union-busting once and for all. And Bob Casey will help us do that.

(01:15:29)
We, we see and know and fight for a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead. And so we will continue to build what I call an opportunity economy so that every American has an opportunity to buy a home or start a business or build intergenerational wealth and have a future that matches their dreams and ambitions and aspirations.

(01:16:05)
Because of course, that’s the nature of who we are as Americans. We have dreams. We can see what is possible, unburdened by what has been. We have aspirations, we have ambitions. And the system that is a good system is one that supports that and allows people the opportunity to go where they can see and imagine themselves to be. That’s what I’m talking about when I talk about an opportunity economy. We fight for a future where every senior can retire with dignity. And so we will continue to defend Social Security and Medicare and pensions and pensions and pensions.

(01:16:46)
And we will continue to strengthen America’s manufacturing sector. And on that point, the president mentioned it, US Steel is an historic American company and it is vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies. And I couldn’t agree more with President Biden. US Steel should remain American-owned and American-operated. And I will always have the back of America’s steel workers and all of America’s workers. So friends, 64 days until the most election of our lives and probably one of the most important in the life of our nation, truly. And we know this is going to be a tight race to the very end. It’s going to be a tight race to the very end. So let’s not pay too much attention to those polls because as unions and labor knows best, we know what it’s like to be the underdog and we are the underdog in this race, and we have some hard work then ahead of us.

(01:18:17)
Well, here’s the beauty of us in this room. We like hard work. Hard work is good work, hard work is joyful work. And so in this fight, I will continue to count on the strength, the determination, and the hard work of the leaders in this room to knock on doors, to get folks to the polls and bluntly put, because the people in here do it, to help us win Pennsylvania.

(01:18:52)
So today I ask, are you ready to make your voices heard?

Yeah.

Do we believe in freedom?

Yeah.

Do we believe in opportunity?

Yeah.

Do we believe in the promise of America?

Yeah.

And are ready to fight for it?

Yeah.

And when we fight, we win. God bless you. God bless America.

I’ve been knocking on the door that holds the throne. I’ve been looking for the map that leads me home. I’ve been stumbling on good hearts during the storm, full of good intentions has gone dry as a bone. We take of our own. We take care of our own. Wherever this flag’s flown, we take care of our own. The shotgun shack to the Superdome. [inaudible 01:20:46] Hill, the Calvary State home, there ain’t no one hearing the bugle blown. We take care of our own. We take care of our own. Wherever this flag’s flown, we take care of our own.

(01:20:22)
We’re the eyes, the eyes with the will to see, we’re the hearts that run over with mercy. Where’s the love? Let us not forsaken me. Where’s the work that’ll set my hands, my soul free? Where’s the spirit that’ll reign, reign over me? Where’s the promise from sea to shining sea? Where’s the promise from sea to shining sea? Wherever this flag is flown, wherever this flag is flown, wherever this flag is flown, we take care of our own. We take care of our own. Wherever this flag’s flown, we take care of our own. We take care of our own. We take care of our own. Wherever this flag’s flown, we take care of our own.