I wrote here two weeks ago about the steelworkers union’s unique form of political campaigning for the Biden-Harris ticket. It was a shocking display whereby the union leadership ran a so-called “batlight campaign” illuminating Pittsburgh landmarks with massive “Biden-Harris 2020” images, from Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning to other spots, including all of Mt. Washington.

These images were not authorized. “An outside party — acting without the University of Pittsburgh’s prior knowledge or permission — projected an image onto the Cathedral of Learning’s exterior,” Pitt officials said. “Pitt Police ordered that the image be removed.” The steelworkers union happily pled guilty.

In my column, I marveled at the sheer crassness of the display — that is, the blatant politicization of the city’s landmarks. I also asked Trib readers a question that genuinely puzzled me, namely: Why would the steelworkers union be aglow for Biden-Harris? I noted that regardless of how you feel about Donald Trump, there’s no denying the man’s remarkable outreach to unions. He has taken on China for tariffs, renegotiated NAFTA, fought for manufacturing and fracking, and battled the Green New Deal.

Well, readers responded. I received more email from that piece that any I’ve done for the Trib in a while. Many readers likewise are scratching their heads. The first email came from a reader reminding me of the praise Trump had received from USW President Leo Gerard (who, notably, retired in July 2019).

“Donald Trump was able to see the steelworker agenda,” Gerard told NBC in March 2018. “What he did is what we’ve been fighting for for more than 30 years. It’s going to make it very hard for our members to ignore what he just did, and what makes me sad is we’ve been trying to get Democrats to do this for more than 30 years.”

Gerard said Trump was finally helping steelworkers “get a level playing field” after decades of failed promises from both Democratic and Republican presidents. The rank-and-file were deeply appreciative.

So why in the world did their union turn against Trump?

As one Harrisburg source told me: “Not only does labor union leadership reflexively endorse Democrats, but Joe Biden in particular is an old-time labor union type pol and has 47 years of ties to organized labor.” He noted: “There is a disconnect between union leadership and union membership.”

Another source (from here in Western Pennsylvania, who insisted I not share his name) told me: “Union brass and rank-and-file often have a touchy relationship. And union leaders are absolute cannibals in their skimming of union funds. … Workers are afraid to speak up.”

Maybe the best explanation came from a Trib reader who highlighted Biden’s promises to expand big labor’s compulsory- unionism privileges to an unprecedented extent. Biden told Teamster bosses in Las Vegas: “We should change the federal law (so) that there is no Right to Work allowed anywhere in the country.”

That’s a remarkable overture that has union bosses salivating.

As noted by the National Right to Work Committee: “For the first time in decades, the Democrat presidential ticket is running unabashedly on a platform of barring Right to Work protections for employees in all 50 states.”

No question. It frustrates Trump that he went to bat for the steel industry only to see its union bosses back his opponent. But that’s exactly what has happened.

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