A knot formed in Sam Phillips’ stomach a few months ago when he learned that corroded titanium—sold with faked documents—somehow made it into doors and other components on civilian airliners.

It was exactly the kind of nightmare scenario that Phillips and other members of the United Steelworkers (USW) warned of while trying to save the nation’s last titanium sponge plant, located in Henderson, Nev.

TIMET closed the plant anyway in 2020, not only leaving America dependent on foreign supplies of a crucial industrial material but putting the nation’s security at risk.

Only domestic ownership of manufacturing supply chains—from the sourcing of raw materials like titanium sponge to production of goods like airplane components—will keep the nation strong.

Fortunately, the Biden-Harris administration grasps what’s at stake and delivered historic legislation like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to revitalize the nation’s manufacturing economy and preserve America’s freedom.

It’s essential for Americans to own supply chains across all industries, Phillips said, noting foreign companies can cut off shipments of goods at any time and for any reason.

Even manufacturers in ostensibly friendly countries like Japan can encounter production delays or shift operations, affecting U.S. access to needed goods. Just as worrisome, as the airliner titanium scare shows, the long decline of domestic manufacturing capacity even left Americans at the mercy of rogue, corner-cutting producers operating in the shadows thousands of miles away.

“How did it get manufactured and actually put in a plane?” asked Phillips, former president of USW Local 4856.

“It doesn’t make me want to get on airplanes anytime soon,” added Phillips, who learned about the debacle while reading a New York Times article in June. “They should have U.S. titanium in them.”

Many of Cliff Tobey’s friends and neighbors struggled over the years to get their children to doctor’s appointments or pick them up when schools closed early during Minnesota’s brutal winters.

Lacking paid sick and family time, the United Steelworkers (USW) activist recalled, they used vacation days to cover family emergencies even if that meant working themselves to the bone the rest of the year without a real break.

That all changed this year because of Gov. Tim Walz. He signed a paid family leave act and other legislation that’s not only making Minnesota the “best state for workers”—as his administration declares—but showing working people across the country the kind of ally he’d be if elected vice president in November.

“What you see is what you get,” Tobey, the joint efforts and benefits coordinator for USW Locals 1938 and 2660, said of Walz, whose everyman sensibilities continue to fuel growing voter support for his campaign with presidential candidate Kamala Harris. “He’s just a regular guy.”

Walz’s grasp of the challenges facing working families led directly to Minnesota’s groundbreaking “sick and safe time” law, which took effect Jan. 1.

It enables workers to accumulate at least 48 hours a year to use for doctor’s appointments or to pick children up at school, attend a funeral or meet other obligations. Workers also may use the time because of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

“This is amazing,” stressed Tobey, one of many taconite miners on Minnesota’s Iron Range who have worked with Walz for years, noting it especially helps families without the benefits and protections of a union contract. “You’ve probably never seen in your life a law written to the worker’s advantage like this one is.”

But Walz went even further to promote work-life balance, healthy families and workers’ well-being.

The same legislation that enacted sick and safe time also created a separate family and medical leave law, to take effect in 2026, providing extended and paid time off to workers facing a serious medical condition, a relative’s long-term illness, a loved one’s military deployment or other pressing needs.

Anthony Vergara took a job at the Gallo Glass plant in Modesto, Calif., years ago because it offered good wages, family-sustaining benefits and the support of co-workers as committed as he was to building a stronger community.

Together, they’ve bounced back from a series of fires, weathered global competition and triumphed over other challenges to keep America’s largest glass container factory operating around the clock.

But while they take pride in driving Modesto’s present prosperity, Vergara said he and 700 other members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 17M realize that only a transformational “reset” will ensure the factory’s long-term survival in a highly competitive, ever-changing worldwide industry.

Fortunately, they’re now able to forge that path forward because of cutting-edge technology funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate two years ago to pass the IRA and unlock billions for an advanced manufacturing economy.

Not a single Republican in either chamber of Congress voted for this historic legislation, which is revolutionizing the cement, chemical, glass and steel sectors along with other traditional core industries.

IRA-funded projects are increasing efficiency, reducing costs and shoring up supply chains, better positioning the nation to manufacture the goods needed both for domestic consumption and to trade with the world.

JD Vance, the Republicans’ vice presidential candidate, made statements on the campaign trail showing he neither understands the IRA nor knows what it does.

But America’s working people get it.

The IRA created more than 170,000 jobs at home so far. And it’s projected to create at least 1.5 million more in coming years, including dozens of new positions at the Gallo plant under a Department of Energy (DOE) demonstration grant program also funded partly by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

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.