An IBEW Shoutout

Building America Back Better

President Biden's Agenda is Working for the IBEW

How President Biden’s actions benefit working families and IBEW members

It would be the first time President Biden addressed a joint session of Congress – and the vision he laid out for the future was bold: ending the coronavirus pandemic, rebuilding the country’s neglected infrastructure, restarting the covid-ravaged economy.

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He also made clear to 27 million at-home viewers on April 28 what he’s been saying all along: unions hold the keys to the nation’s recovery.

“The American Jobs Plan will put engineers and construction workers to work building more energy efficient buildings and homes,” President Biden said. “Electrical workers – IBEW members – installing 500,000 charging stations along our highways.”

Even without the IBEW namecheck, it was one of the most pro-worker, pro-union speeches in presidential history. President Biden called for passage of the PRO Act, bringing offshored manufacturing home to the United States and boosting taxes on corporations and the wealthy to fund his plans.

In the address, President Biden also introduced the American Families Plan, which will provide investments in education from early childhood to post-secondary level and tax cuts and direct support for children and families.

“The American Families Plan is a vital investment in working families and the middle class,” said IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson. “This plan provides needed relief to working people and their children.”

The American Jobs Plan, an eight-year, $2 trillion proposed investment in the country’s infrastructure and transportation systems, will put hundreds of thousands of Americans to work, many in the IBEW’s core sectors. The IBEW is calling on labor protections like prevailing wages, requiring the use of project labor agreements, an ABC test for independent contractors and requiring contractors to be neutral for purposes of organizing, to be included with the American Jobs Plan.