Kamala Harris uses Houston speech to pledge stronger labor protections, attack Donald Trump

From Houston Public Media:

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke today before the American Federation of Teachers’ (AFT) annual convention in Houston. It was Harris’ third campaign stop since Sunday, when President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential contest and endorsed Harris for the Democratic nomination.

Harris opened her speech by paying tribute to Biden and to the AFT, which became the first union to endorse her for the 2024 presidential election on Monday.

Harris then began contrasting her and President Biden’s record in office with that of former President Trump, as well as what the organization known as Project 2025 has proposed for a second Trump term.

“Today, we face a choice between two very different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, and the other focused on the past,” Harris said. “And we are fighting for the future.”

Vice President Harris highlighted her and President Biden’s work forgiving federal student loan debt, especially for teachers, before pivoting to the attack.

“There are those who are really trying to take us backward,” Harris said. “Donald Trump and his extreme allies want to take us back to failed trickle-down economic policies, back to union busting, back to tax breaks for billionaires. Donald Trump and his allies want to cut Medicare and Social Security, to stop student-loan forgiveness for teachers and other public servants, and I say to AFT, they even want to eliminate the Department of Education and end Head Start, which of course would take away preschool from hundreds of thousands of our children.”

Harris then spoke of her work spearheading the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen the rights of labor to organize and collectively bargain.

“As head of the White House Labor Task Force, I have led our work to eliminate barriers to organizing in both public and private sectors, including for teachers,” Harris said. “But there is more that we must do.”

Harris then said she would carry through on President Biden’s pledge to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act into law if she’s elected president. She pledged to do the same for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, an assault weapons ban, and a restoration of abortion rights. All these measures remain stalled in a divided Congress.

“In this moment, we are in a fight for our most fundamental freedoms, and to this room of leaders, I say, ‘Bring it on,'” Harris said.

Juanita Darkis, a third-grade teacher from Sugar Land, praised Harris after the speech. “She really spoke power into her words. I really felt what she was saying,” Darkis said. “She is on it. I’m for her.”

HISD Stakeholder Sarah Terrell said Harris aligns with her views on protecting public education.

“I feel positive about that, and I know that her visit was scheduled before she was the candidate, but we need a super strong focus on public education in Texas especially in Houston with this takeover, which I oppose,” Terrell said.

Erica Smith contributed to this report.

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