AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: “America can only build back better if unions are doing the building.”
Today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and leaders from construction and manufacturing unions met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss actions the administration can take to create good-paying union jobs, highlighting the need to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, COVID-19 relief and an infrastructure package. After the meeting, Trumka and Shuler released the following statements:
“For working people, this was the most productive Oval Office meeting in years. The president and vice president share our belief that rebuilding our infrastructure is critical to our communities,” said Trumka. “President Biden ran on a promise to build back better. As we made clear today, America can only build back better if unions are doing the building. If we make key structural changes to our economy, we can create a new generation of good-paying union jobs. That means delivering long-overdue COVID-19 relief to working families. It means passing urgently needed infrastructure spending. And, it means strengthening working people’s freedom to organize a union by passing the PRO Act. President Biden understands how urgent this is, and we’re looking forward to getting it done as quickly as possible.”
“For nearly a year, women and people of color have borne the brunt of this pandemic,” said Shuler. “Any just recovery will build a pathway to economic security and workplace dignity for the millions of working people who have already sacrificed too much. As I told President Biden, that path runs directly through the labor movement. A union card is the single best tool we have to advance racial justice and gender equity on the job. And passing the PRO Act is a critical step in ensuring we rebuild our economy fairly.”
Contact: John Weber (202) 637-5018