The Inflation Reduction Act has helped create good union jobs in the clean energy sector. Republicans want to derail this progress to pay for tax cuts for the rich. The building trades are starting to fight back, and environmentalists should join
Construction work on several major tech company expansion projects, including those by Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Facebook, slowed to a crawl today as the region largest carpenters’ union halted work over a wage dispute.
With no firm national standards about shutting down construction projects as the coronavirus stalks the nation, building trade unions and their members are facing a grim multidimensional crisis.
State-wide prevailing wage legislation, modeled after the federal Bacon-Davis Act, has served to protect the wages and safety of construction workers. Now these laws are under attack with Michigan becoming the third state to pass a repeal.
After national leaders of the Building Trades unions met with President Donald Trump January 25 and heaped praise on him, two Labor Notes readers sent in their thoughts. One is a local assistant business manager, the other a retired communications staffer for the Electrical Workers (IBEW). Here are excerpts from both.
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