DETORIT (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris wants to use the joint campaign appearance with President Joe Biden on Monday in the industrial city of Pittsburgh to advocate that US Steel should remain under domestic ownership – at the same time as the White House’s previous opposition to the planned sale of the company to the Japanese company Nippon Steel.

Harris “is expected to say that U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned and operated and emphasize her commitment to always standing by American steelworkers,” her campaign team said.

This is similar to Biden, who has said that he is against the planned sale of US Steel to Japan to “better preserve strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers.” But it’s still an important policy position for the vice president, who has offered relatively few of them since Biden abandoned his re-election bid and endorsed Harris in July.

Harris was careful to portray herself as “a new way forward,” but at the same time remained loyal to Biden and the Guidelines he has pushed. Their approach is very different – and in some cases they are pushing to move faster than Biden’s administration – but the overall goal of expanding government programs to support the middle class is the same.

The vice president began Labor Day with a rally in a Detroit high school gymnasium, where hundreds of spectators wore bright yellow union shirts and held signs reading “Union Strong.” She noted that one of the nation’s first Labor Day parades took place in Detroit some 140 years ago and that “every person in our country has benefited from the work of unions.”

“Wherever I go, I tell people, ‘Look, you may not be a union member, but you better thank a union member,'” Harris said, noting that union bargaining has helped push through the five-day work week, sick pay and other key benefits, and created safer working conditions.

“When unions are strong, America is strong,” she said.

Harris was later scheduled to attend the Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh, the first time she and Biden would speak together at a campaign event since the surprise election upset that gave Democrats new enthusiasm for the 2024 election.

Biden, 81, has spent most of his long political career building close ties with unions, but the White House said the president had asked to introduce Harris at the joint appearance – rather than the usual way around – to highlight her achievements on behalf of union members at one of the country’s largest Labor Day gatherings.

In addition to the resistance to the sale of Nippon Steel, Biden supports the expansion of tariffs on imported Chinese steel – a rare case of political overlap with the former Republican president Donald Trumpwhich has cheered higher foreign tariffs on many imports. Still, U.S. Steel said in a statement Monday that it “remains committed to the transaction with Nippon Steel, which is the best deal for our employees, shareholders, communities and customers.”

“Partnering with Nippon Steel, a long-time investor in the United States from our close ally Japan, will strengthen the American steel industry, American jobs and American supply chains, and improve the competitiveness and resilience of the U.S. steel industry vis-à-vis China,” the company said, noting that it employs nearly 4,000 people in Pennsylvania alone.

David B. Burritt, president and CEO of US Steel, said Nippon Steel announced plans to “invest approximately $1.3 billion in union-represented US Steel operations, in addition to the $1.4 billion capital commitment previously announced.”

Referring to Trump, Harris said during her speech in Detroit that some have argued: “The strength of a leader is measured by who he puts down, not by what we know. The true strength of a leader is measured by who he supports.”

Harris, 59, is trying to appeal to voters by positioning herself as a departure from Trump’s caustic rhetoric while attempting to put the Biden era behind her.

Harris’ events are very different from Biden’s, which typically have drawn a small crowd. But the vice president’s agenda is packed with the same issues he himself has championed: capping prescription drug costs, defending the Affordable Care Act, economic growth, helping families pay for child care – and now her position on the sale of U.S. Steel.

“We are fighting for a future where we build what I call an opportunity economy, so that every American has the opportunity to own a home, start a business, and build wealth and generational prosperity,” Harris said at a recent rally, echoing Biden’s call to grow the economy “from the bottom out and the middle up.”

Harris has promised to push for lower food prices to combat inflation. In some cases, she has also moved more quickly than Biden, calling for tax cuts and incentives to encourage homeownership and eliminating the federal tax on tips for service sector workers. But she has also offered relatively few details on major policies, instead continuing to side with Biden on key issues.

The vice president briefly appeared onstage with Biden after he delivered his speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention last month, but the two have not shared a microphone at a political event since Biden’s candidacy against Trump. At the time, the campaign used Harris primarily as their lead spokesperson on abortion rights, an issue they believe can help them win in November as restrictions increase and Healthcare worsens for women after Case of Roe v. Wade.

Since the ticket exchange, both have appeared at official events and met together at the White House.

For more than three and a half years, Harris has been one of Biden’s most important supporters. Now the tables have turned: Harris wants to help Biden – who hails from Scranton, Pennsylvania – win the potentially decisive state.

Although the vice president spoke more forcefully about the plight of civilians in Gaza – as Israel’s war against Hamas there has now lasted for 11 months – he also supported Biden’s efforts to arm Israel and broker a hostage-taking deal and ceasefire.

Israel announced on Sunday that it had the bodies of six hostages recovered captured during the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The revelation prompted Thousands of Israelis demonstrate in the streetsand called for a ceasefire.

Before their joint appearance in Pittsburgh, Harris met with Biden in the White House Situation Room with the U.S. hostage negotiating team and discussed further efforts to reach an agreement that would ensure the release of the remaining hostages.

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Weissert reported from Washington.