New Biden order benefits building trades
President Joe Biden speaks at the UA Local 190 Training Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. to announce his Investing in America and Investing in Americans Executive Order.
President Joe Biden recently signed an Executive Order that will directly benefit building trades union members.
On Sept. 6, Biden signed his “Good Jobs” Executive Order at the UA Local 190 Training Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Officially called the Investing in America and Investing in Americans Executive Order, it will drive more federal dollars toward good-paying, safe jobs that offer the right to organize and provide critical benefits like childcare, health insurance, paid leave and retirement benefits.
The Executive Order directs all federal agencies to adhere to a list of labor standards when awarding money for government-funded projects, including prioritizing the use of Project Labor Agreements, Community Benefits Agreements, voluntary union recognition and neutrality with respect to union organizing.
It will direct federal agencies to look favorably upon projects that offer Prevailing Wage standards and other equitable compensation practices such as prioritizing equal pay and pay transparency.
The order calls for the use of registered apprenticeship programs, apprenticeship readiness programs, labor-management partnerships and partnerships with training organizations including community colleges, public workforce boards and the American Climate Corps.
It also supports workplace safety by prioritizing reporting structures that help ensure compliance with all workplace health and safety laws.
For the signing, the President was joined onstage by Department of Labor Acting Secretary Julie Su, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), North America’s Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey, LiUNA General President Brent Booker, IBEW International President Kenneth W. Cooper and United Association General President Mark McManus.
In a prepared statement, Booker, said Biden’s executive order firmly solidifies the president’s legacy as the most pro-union President ever.
“His Good Jobs Executive Order will improve the lives of working men and women, while ensuring that taxpayers get their money’s worth,” said Booker. “The order reflects the President’s steadfast belief in the value of unions and their skilled, efficient workforce, and it underscores his faith in union construction and manufacturing jobs as a key pathway to the middle class.”
According to White House transcripts, Biden stated that for the first time in the country’s history, the official policy of a Presidential administration would specify a clear list of higher labor standards for jobs created through federal funding, specifically Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
“My executive order goes on to call on federal agencies to include high labor standards in grants that we give, prioritizing projects that pay wages you can raise a family on and provide benefits like childcare,” said Biden.
The IBEW’s Cooper expressed confidence the Executive Order will create good-paying, family-sustaining union jobs for years to come.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris understand that our nation’s strength is tied directly to the well-being of its working people, and the Good Jobs Executive Order will ensure that the federal government continues to raise the bar by centering workers and high-quality jobs — opening pathways to the middle class for millions of working Americans,” Cooper said in a prepared statement.
According to a White House Fact Sheet, the Executive Order also creates a new Investing in Good Jobs Task Force in the Executive Office that will oversee how agencies implement the labor standards. The task force, which will be chaired by Su and White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard, will craft a long-term blueprint for federal investments that make good jobs a priority.
“A good job is a job with security and benefits, where workers have the right to join a union, advocate for better working conditions, come home safe and healthy and retire with dignity,” said Su. “This Executive Order again shows how the Biden-Harris administration is growing our economy by creating jobs that help all workers to get ahead, not just get by.”
By building off the pro-union legislation passed over his term, Biden is strengthening labor standards and raising the bar for all.
“The President’s action today sets a new standard for all administrations going forward — one in which government infrastructure investment prioritizes good, union job creation. American workers have earned nothing less,” said Booker.