Less than a week after President Joe Biden said it was “vital” for U.S. Steel to remain an American company amid its planned sale to a Japanese company, the United Steelworkers union backed his reelection campaign, giving the incumbent Democrat another union endorsement as he seeks a second White House term.

“President Biden proved time and again during his first term that he stands with working families,” USW International President David McCall said in a statement. “His vision and leadership allowed our nation to strengthen workers’ access to collective bargaining, grow the middle class, and embark on a path to widespread prosperity.”

The union, which represents 850,000 workers in numerous fields, endorsed Biden in 2020 and was widely expected to do so again. McCall told Fox News earlier this week that they were “clearly leaning towards” backing Biden, saying that “a Trump presidency didn't work so well for us last time.”

“He put a lot of anti-union people in the administration who were not helpful to us,” McCall said in the interview, adding that Trump “hasn’t asked to meet with us” and did not respond to the union’s survey.

Biden last week announced he opposes the sale of U.S. Steel, the second-largest domestic steel producer, to Nippon Steel of Japan, saying "it is important that we maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers."

"I told our steel workers I have their backs, and I meant it," Biden said. "U.S. Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.”

The proposed sale is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), which could block the deal from going through. 

United Steelworkers has opposed the deal, expressing concerns about the possibility of layoffs and plant closures.

"To say we’re disappointed in the announced deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon is an understatement," McCall said when the deal was announced in December of last year. "It demonstrates the same greedy, shortsighted attitude that has guided U.S. Steel for far too long ... “Our union intends to exercise the full measure of our contract to ensure that whatever happens next with U.S. Steel, we protect the good, family-sustaining jobs we bargained. We also will urge government regulators to carefully scrutinize this acquisition.”

Nippon last week said that the deal would "advance American priorities by driving greater quality and competitiveness for customers in the critical industries that rely on American steel while strengthening American supply chains and economic defenses against China," while also pledging "no layoffs or plant closures as a result of the transaction."

"No other U.S. steel company on its own can meet this challenge while also meeting antitrust requirements," the company said in a statement. "Our aim is to bolster and grow U.S. Steel in the U.S. market in a way that prioritizes its talented employees, and we have provided significant commitments to the USW in our continued efforts to reach a mutually agreeable resolution."

Biden, who has touted himself as the "most pro-union president" in history, has won the endorsement of several labor unions, including the United Auto Workers, and is courting the endorsement of the Teamsters Union.