Vice President Kamala Harris touts labor, jobs in visit to Durham Tech
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Vice President Kamala Harris came to Durham on Wednesday to visit an apprentice training program for union electrical workers in a decidedly non-union state..
Harris toured Durham Technical Community College. She was joined by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, one of several Cabinet officials who were traveling on Wednesday.
One day after President Joe Biden's first State of the Union, Harris spoke in Durham to tout the reeling administration's plans to create higher-paying jobs for Americans.
"Working people who are doing everything they can just to hold on, that are still feeling like they're falling behind," Harris said. "Our administration is so proud to be the most pro-labor administration in the history of this country."
WATCH: VP Kamala Harris talks State of the Union
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."
With soaring gas prices, historic inflation, supply chain shortages, a nation weary of the COVID-19 pandemic and now a war in Europe, Democrats are looking to right their ship ahead of this year's midterm elections. Most polls show they have a lot of work to do.
North Carolina is regarded as a swing state that remained out of reach for Democrats in the last election. Harris and other top Biden administration officials also fanned out across the country as part of the customary post-State of the Union blitz, with each calibrated for maximum political impact.
The Associated Press contributed.
