‘She Fought for Us.’
David McCall USW International President
Bill Baker and Maryanne Tracy realized that the deck was stacked heavily against them when a giant mortgage company illegally attempted to foreclose on them in the midst of the nation’s housing crisis more than a decade ago.
Fortunately, a powerful ally came to their aid—Kamala Harris, then the state’s attorney general. She held the bank accountable, saved their home and ended up the couple’s friend.
It’s exactly that kind of crusade for fair treatment of working people that’s fueling burgeoning support for Harris’ presidential bid. Growing numbers of Americans are realizing what Baker and Tracy learned years ago:
The vice president stands for an America that lifts everyone up and leaves no one behind on the march to a stronger, more prosperous future.
“This is personal to us,” Tracy said of herself and her husband, longtime activists with the United Steelworkers (USW). “She fought for us. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her.
“She’s for the working class 100 percent. She always has been. She’s always been for the underdog, you know?” explained Tracy, noting that her mortgage company was one of several collectively forced to pay billions to resolve Harris’ investigation into abusive foreclosure practices.
Tracy, who later worked in the Alameda County district attorney’s office, and Baker, a former mechanic in California’s trade show industry who served as secretary-treasurer of USW Local 1304, credit Harris with helping them through one of the darkest periods of their lives.
It’s a story they retell now to help others understand what’s at stake as Harris runs for the White House to continue the principled, pro-worker agenda she launched with Joe Biden.
The two point out that while Harris helps to safeguard the American dream, her opponent glories in his record as a convicted felon and wannabe dictator who attacked labor rights and stacked the courts and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against working people.
“He’s a criminal,” Baker, a former delegate to the Alameda County Labor Council, said of Donald Trump. “He supports criminals. He’s everything but law enforcement. There’s no comparison there.”
Even as she battled banks for preying on everyday homeowners, Harris stepped forward to protect other vulnerable groups, including exploited workers at California car washes.
Harris used the power of the attorney general’s office to secure $1 million in back pay and other protections for hundreds of the workers, whose unscrupulous employers stole wages, falsified records, withheld lunch breaks and subjected the workers to unsafe working conditions.
Many of these car wash workers also turned to USW Local 675 for help and ultimately joined the union to ensure fair treatment going forward.
“One thing I can tell you: She’s for real,” said Xochitl Cobarruvias, chief of staff for Local 675, who’s known Harris for years and attended Labor Day marches and other events with her. “She’s done it well, and she’ll continue to do it well.”
Harris spoke at the USW’s constitutional convention in Las Vegas in August 2022, not only praising union members’ work in growing the economy and middle class but vowing to support those efforts “every step of the way.”
And she has.
As vice president, Harris cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate that put responsible judges on federal courts, rebuilt the NLRB, and passed legislation that’s creating family-sustaining jobs in a revitalized manufacturing economy.
She also chairs the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, clearing away obstacles to unionizing and worker advancement. Just as she did with victims of predatory mortgage schemes years ago, she takes the time to meet with workers fighting for union representation and uses her voice to amplify others.’
“We cannot by any means allow the previous president to come again and destroy what has been built,” insisted Cobarruvias.
“I believe that we need a woman who is capable of bringing our country to another level—and our workers and our families,” she added. “She’s the one. I know that Kamala Harris will be that voice for us.”
Lynn Summers still recalls her surprise when Harris arranged to visit the Inland Empire region of Southern California during a campaign about 10 years ago.
At the time, few candidates from the northern part of the state paid much attention to her sprawling community in the shadow of Los Angeles, said Summers, a longtime member of USW Local 7600 and former emergency room technician with Kaiser Permanente.
But during a small group meeting, Summers quickly realized that reaching out and pushing forward are two of Harris’ greatest strengths.
“She’s one of those people who are like, we’re all in this together,” Summers said. “She thinks about everybody.”
Harris returned to the Inland Empire numerous times after that, including one visit to champion the benefits of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that she helped to push through Congress.
Among other projects, the law provides billions for the Inland Empire to prevent wildfires, safeguard water quality and grow the water supply. It also helps to fund a high-speed rail project crucial to the area’s economic future.
“We should be preparing for and thinking about the next seven generations,” observed Summers, noting that voters in November have the power to “focus on the future” by electing Harris or “lose everything” under her opponent.
Tracy considers Harris not only an effective leader but a role model.
“She’s a mentor to me,” Tracy said, citing Harris’ commitment to everyday Americans and the rule of law. “We’re going to back Kamala 100 percent and do everything we can to get her into office.”
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Photo 1: Vice President Kamala Harris at the United Steelworkers constitutional convention in 2022
Photo 2: Harris with Maryanne Tracy and Bill Baker
Photo 3: Harris and Xochitl Cobarruvias
