Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh toured Durham Technical Community College to highlight the Biden-Harris administration’s work to create good-paying jobs, including touting their support for union jobs, in North Carolina and across the country.
The Biden-Harris administration has created 6.6 million jobs and lowered unemployment to 4%. In 2021, our country saw its fastest economic growth since 1984 and the most jobs created in one year ever.
What North Carolinians are reading about Vice President Harris and Secretary Walsh’s visit to Durham:
WRAL: VP Kamala Harris gives nod to union workers, working class in speech at Durham Tech
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Durham on Wednesday to discuss the Biden administration’s initiative to strengthen the economy and raise quality of life for working-class Americans. U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh joined Harris to discuss the administration’s investments in union jobs.
On Wednesday morning, Harris toured the IBEW local 553 apprentice program at Durham Technical Community College, stopping to visit with instructor Brian Wesley, who told the vice president he lived in a home where money was tight. He credits the union he joined with changing that for him and his family.
Following the tour, Harris spoke about the Biden administration’s “historic investment” into American workers. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper was also present. Harris also addressed the Ukraine situation, noting that “the brave people of Ukraine are fighting to defend their freedom and integrity” and that Americans stand with them.
The News and Observer: In Durham, VP Kamala Harris heralds union jobs as future of US economic recovery
The American economy is emerging strong from nearly two years of pandemic-induced disruptions and losses, and the best way forward is to create more jobs that allow workers to organize for better wages and save more money, Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday. In her third trip to North Carolina since taking office, Harris came to Durham, having most recently visited the Triangle while campaigning in 2020. For this visit, she was joined locally by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal along with Democratic state lawmakers and members of Congress at Durham Technical Community College, where she gave her speech. She spoke about the Biden administration’s efforts to create more “good-paying, union jobs” throughout the country and promote collective bargaining in both the public and private sectors. Accompanying her from Washington was U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, as well as U.S. Reps. David Price and G.K. Butterfield.
“As a nation we have made real progress in our fight to end this pandemic, and get our economy back to normal. And with more than 215 million people vaccinated, our communities are more protected from this virus than they’ve ever been before,” Harris said to a small crowd of invited guests at Durham Tech. “And that said, the president and I know the fight is not yet won.”
WBTW: VP Kamala Harris visits Durham Tech with Gov. Cooper
Harris came to Durham Technical Community College to tour the IBEW Local 553 apprentice training program. U.S. Labor Sec. Marty Walsh joined her along with Gov. Roy Cooper (D), and Democratic U.S. Reps. David Price and G.K. Butterfield. […]
Harris also discussed efforts by the administration to make it easier for workers to unionize, saying North Carolina is among states that has “work to do.” The state has blocked public sector workers from bargaining collectively for decades.
“There are still powerful forces that are hard at work trying to build barriers to stop workers from organizing,” said Harris.
ABC 11: Vice President Kamala Harris touts, labor, jobs in visit to Durham Tech
Harris toured Durham Technical Community College. She was joined by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, one of several Cabinet officials who were traveling on Wednesday. […]
Last year, Biden tapped Harris and Walsh to lead a task force on labor. Earlier this year, the taskforce submitted a report listing 70 policy proposals. Those proposals, according to Walsh, would help strengthen workers’ rights across the country.
“We see the potential for growth in terms of the diversity, in terms of the inclusion, in terms of America’s workforce and our future,” Harris said. “And I met some of those great stars and leaders today who I believe are all part of a new era of the American labor movement. A movement that you all helped build right here. Which is why we are visiting with you this morning. A movement big enough to lift up every age, every walk of life, every race, every gender. After all, every person should be able to benefit from the power of solidarity.”
Daily Tar Heel: ‘Future we are fighting for’: Kamala Harris discusses workers’ rights at Durham Tech
Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh visited Durham Technical Community College Wednesday to discuss jobs and workers unions.
At the event, Harris said she met with many Durham Tech students and apprentices to hear their perspectives.
Harris said that over the course of the year, she has visited many union apprenticeship facilities where she has met a diverse, creative and determined workforce.
“I have met workers of all ages and from all places,” Harris said. “They have many traits in common. Among them, tenacity, creativity, brilliant minds and a relentless determination to get the job done right.”
Duke Chronicle: Vice President Kamala Harris visits Durham to speak on Ukraine, labor
Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by Durham to speak to a crowd at Durham Technical Community College on Wednesday. During her 12-minute address, Harris pledged solidarity to Ukraine and spoke on the Biden-Harris Administration’s plans to create higher paying jobs for Americans.
“The eyes of the world are on the brave people of Ukraine,” Harris said. “They are fighting, not just to defend their homes and their families, but to defend their democracy, their freedom, their sovereignty and their territorial integrity. We stand with the people of Ukraine in this fight.”unions
Turning to the subject of labor, Harris praised North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and U.S. Reps. David Price and George Butterfield, both D-N.C., for their work defending labor unions.
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