United States President-elect Joe Biden hosted a joint meeting yesterday with labour union leaders and the chief executives of major tech, retail and auto companies, which was also attended by Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris.
The business leaders at the virtual meeting were General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Microsoft president and CEO Satya Nadella, Target chairman and chief executive Brian Cornell and Sonia Syngal, CEO of GAP.
Biden said later that he told the CEOs, “I want you to know I’m a union guy,” adding “that’s not anti-business.”
The president-elect and vice president-elect discussed the economic recovery and building back better in the long term, the transition team said. The event marked the first time that Biden as president-elect has formally convened business and labour leaders to discuss his economic recovery agenda.
Labour leaders present for the meeting were AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka; Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union; Rory Gamble, president of the United Auto Workers; Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
The meeting was the latest example of Biden forging ahead with the traditional schedule of events for a president-elect, despite the fact that President Donald Trump has refused to concede the race.