“Not one to rest on his laurels … reflects his steadfast belief in the value of unions”

Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Sept. 6, 2024) — Brent Booker, General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) made the following statement after his appearance with President Joe Biden at a United Association union hall in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the President announced his Good Jobs Executive Order:

President Biden is not one to rest on his laurels. His Good Jobs Executive Order will improve the lives of working men and women, while ensuring that taxpayers get their money’s worth.

 

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. 

 

The order firmly solidifies his legacy as the most pro-union President ever. 

 

Under the order, states, localities, and other organizations that receive federal grants will be required to abide by labor standards to receive and use those grants. The order prioritizes requests for grant funds that include the use of project labor agreements, a tried-and-true method of getting projects done on time and on budget. And the order will help ensure that workers who build billions of dollars in federally-funded transportation infrastructure and federally-incentivized clean energy resources and manufacturing plants, will receive pay and benefits consistent with local labor markets. 

 

The order will help build a stronger middle class and open the doors to opportunity by encouraging apprenticeships and equity in hiring, and will help prevent abuses, such as wage theft and unsafe jobsites.

 

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.

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The more than a half-million members of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – are on the forefront of the construction industry, a powerhouse of workers who are proud to build the United States and Canada.