Kamala Harris to tour I-95 construction site, meet with union leaders on third Philly visit this summer
The vice president will announce plan to increase wage increases for construction workers before heading to the I-95 reconstruction site for a briefing.
Vice President Kamala Harris will arrive in Philadelphia today for the third time this summer — and she might want to bring a hard hat.
Harris — alongside Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su — is set to announce plans to gradually raise wage standards for more than a million construction workers across the United States.
Harris will unveil the policy at the Finishing Trades Institute in Bustleton just before 12:30 p.m, when she will meet with “rank-and-file union construction workers,” as well as local and national union leaders, according to White House official.
After her speech, Harris is scheduled to visit the I-95 construction site just after 2 p.m. to receive a briefing on the status of the Betsy White off-ramp.
She will depart from Philly an hour later.
The highway, which re-opened just 12 days after a fiery, fatal crash caused a portion to collapse, is shaping up to be a significant part of President Joe Biden’s campaign messaging ahead of the 2024 election. He toured the construction zone during a June visit to Philly and called fixing I-95 “the most important project in the country” after allocating the immediate release of $3 million in federal funding for the project.
» READ MORE: Here are all the times Biden has come to Philly since taking office.
Biden himself has made six visits to Philly since the start of 2023. On his most recent trip, the president coined the phrase “Bidenomics” while touring a shipyard. The term has come to represent a suite of economic policies Biden hopes will elevate the middle class, including, of course, big-swinging infrastructure spending.
» READ MORE: President Biden talked ‘Bidenomics’ at the Philly Shipyard. Here’s what it means.
Kamala also visited Philly twice this summer. The first was for a June panel hosted by Service Employees International Union at the Center City Sheraton, where the vice president touted a proposal that would increase wages for personal care workers.
The second trip was in July, when Harris joined Governor Josh Shapiro on North Broad Street to push for the protection of voting and abortion rights.
» READ MORE: Vice President Kamala Harris visits Philly to push for protection of abortion and voting rights