Throughout the 2016 presidential race, President-elect Donald Trump made repairing America's infrastructure a central plank of his campaign. He spoke of rebuilding the nation's roads, bridges, airports, as well as schools, hospitals, pipelines, water treatment plants and the electrical grid.
However, since the election he has tempered his promises, as have Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Chief of Staff-designate Reince Preibus. The president-elect himself said that the infrastructure plan won't be a core part of the first few years of his administration.
It's a significant retreat, considering Trump had promised to commit between $500 billion to $1 trillion toward the project.
Trade associations have expressed their concerns. Brian Turmail of the Associated General Contractors of America said it was difficult to tell if Trump's advisers don't know what the plan is, or simply don't want a plan at all, stating simply, "We're worried."
Others have begun organizing lobbying efforts to remind Trump and his transition team of the vital need for the infrastructure program, and the candidate's promises. The American Road and Transportation Builders Assocation prompted its members to send letters to their representatives, to hold their feet to the fire regarding the promises made by the Trump campaign.
The promise was that tens of thousands of jobs would be created by the infrastructure plan, and the building trades stand ready to tackle those jobs and complete the ambitious agenda set forth by Mr. Trump. Now is certainly not the time to back down, and we stand with our fellow unions in urging the new administration to make rebuilding our nation's infrastructure a top priority, and not allowing it to be reduced to an afterthought.
One of the issues that has taken center stage, both during the presidential campaign and since the election, is the rebuilding of the nation's infrastructure.
As a recent editorial in the Youngstown Vindicator stated, "what is not in doubt is the urgent need to fix the nation’s roads, bridges, public transit, railroads, energy system, schools, public parks, ports, airports, waste systems, levees, dams, drinking water facilities and hazardous-waste installations...."
We couldn't agree more, and President-elect Trump's plan to spend $1 trillion over 10 years to address the problem holds tremendous promise. (We hope his unusual approach to funding his plan holds up.) Of particular interest, from a labor perspective, is the fact that tens of thousands of jobs will be created, particularly in many of the nation's older -- and in some cases, crumbling -- inner cities.
Henry Cisneros, who served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton, pointed out in a recent article on The Hill website that 14.5 million Americans work in infrastructure-related jobs, a number that should increase under Trump's initiative.
More important, as Cisneros said, "these are jobs that cannot be outsourced...jobs that will put money in the pockets of people who will spend it in our communities, causing a positive multiplier effect."
At the same time, the National Association of Home Builders estimates there are about 200,000 unfilled construction jobs in the U.S., an 81 percent increase over the past two years. The effects of the recession in 2008 and 2009 caused many workers to go back to school, join the military or take lower-paying jobs in retail and other fields.
As a result, training will be essential if Mr. Trump's plan is to work. We offer apprenticeship training as a way to learn on the job and build a more secure, high-paying career. Visit our website at www.eastcentralohiobuildingtrades.com to learn more.
We joined the national Building Trades council in congratulating Mr. Trump for his election victory in November, but we also pledged to hold him accountable for his promises and his actions in office. We hope that his plan to rebuild America's infrastructure comes to fruition and creates jobs that will help propel our economy forward.
Here's a roundup of labor news of recent note:
Automotive News ran an article, "Tesla case puts plant labor in spotlight," in which it was reported that labor researchers say that weaker union representation in auto plants, projects and expansions raised the likelihood of labor standards going unchecked.
Citylab, published by The Atlantic magazine, ran a story titled, "America's Road to Economic Opportunity Is Paved with Infrastructure Jobs." It cited a report from the Brookings Institution that revealed how, as poverty and income inequality continue to rise, there's an opportunity in infrastructure, with 3 million jobs opening up in the U.S. in the next decade.
Business Journal Daily, in a story headlined "AFL-CIO Posts Top CEO Pay for Public Companies," reported the union's findings that "the average pay for a CEO in an S&P 500 company was $12.4 million in 2015--335 times more than the average rank-and-file worker was paid."
In "A Win for Project Labor Agreements," ACT Ohio reported on the Ohio Senate's rejection of a proposed ban on PLS, legislation that would have banned state and local governments from requiring use of project labor agreements on state-funded construction projects.
Dissent Magazine ran a powerful piece titled "Right to Work (For Less): By the Numbers." The article provides ample evidence of the significant disadvantages for workers in RTW states, from lower unionization rates to lesser bargaining power to lower wages.
The Boston Globe carried an excellent article, "Moms are making their way into the construction industry," which highlighted the increasing opportunities for women in the construction field. Eight tradeswomen, all of them mothers, shared their stories. An insightful article!
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