February 2022

Modernizing the electric grid. Decarbonizing transportation. Investing in the future. Good job opportunities for Americans. All are moving forward with the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the largest infrastructure law in generations – and with it jobs for IBEW members in nearly every branch.

 

Just in time for the flow of resources to fulfill the promises of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed on Nov. 15, the White House is amplifying how to capitalize on the historic funding opportunities.

 

Each project in the largest ever investment in transit,broadband rail and clean energy will come through state, local and tribal governments.

On the campaign trail and throughout his presidency, Joe Biden has promised to be the most pro-union, pro-worker president in history. As President Biden celebrates his first year in office, his actions are matching his words.

 

“President Biden has taken significant and historic steps to promote, protect, and enhance the rights of working people,including IBEW members,”President Stephenson said in a statement citing a long list of first-year accomplishments:

In guidance released on Feb. 10, the Federal Highway Administration suggested the use of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) in its implementation of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure build out.

 

President Biden on Feb. 4 issued an Executive Order requiring project labor agreements (PLAs) on large-scale federal construction projects.

 

“When big construction projects are completed efficiently and with the highest degree of professionalism, it’s good for the American taxpayer,”

President Biden was already slated to visit Pittsburgh on Jan. 28, when a 50-year-old bridge near the speech venue picked that day to give way, collapsing under its weight and injuring several people on it at the time.

 

Luckily none of the injuries were serious and no one was killed. But the tragedy horrifically

emphasized the message of the day: the urgency of accomplishing all of those long-deferred infrastructure projects.

 

A task force created by President Biden in the early days of his administration to promote worker organizing and collective bargaining has produced a report with nearly 70 recommendations.

“The Biden-Harris Administration believes that increasing worker organizing and empowerment is critical to growing the middle class, building an economy that puts workers first, and strengthening our democracy,” the report says.

 

National Labor Relations Board general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced an effort to pursue employers in court for engaging in illegal anti-union retaliation.

 

The memorandum released on Feb. 1 seeks injunctions to stop coercion in its tracks – before ongoing employer harassment has the potential to intimidate the entire workforce and stop a nascent organizing effort.