What About PLA’s, the PRO Act, Indiana’s Steel Industry?
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today asked Jennifer Ruth Green to clarify on the record about her support (or lack thereof) for project labor agreements (PLAs) and the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Green should also specify her stance on the Biden administration’s recent move to require steel made in America (prioritizing Indiana’s steel industry) for projects associated with The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (The Jobs Act).
The request comes as Green continues a Fox News media blitz that’s more about national partisanship and less about her plans for Indiana’s First Congressional District. So far, Green has failed to share her vision for organized labor.
“Jennifer-Ruth Green’s campaign seems to be taking cues from Washington D.C, because she’s failed to share her plans for one of Northwest Indiana’s most important communities: organized labor. It’s time for Green to specify if she supports project labor agreements, Indiana’s steel industry, and the PRO Act,” said Drew Anderson, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Hoosiers already have a champion representing them in Northwest Indiana: Frank Mrvan. The Co-Chair of the Congressional Steel Caucus has ensured union jobs are a priority. And thanks to the American Rescue Plan and The Jobs Act, Mrvan has secured a brighter future for workers in the district. Mrvan isn’t hiding his support for workers, and it’s time Green join the conversation or risk showing her campaign is nothing but extreme partisanship.”
Frank Mrvan is the champion for organized labor. Mrvan supported the American Rescue Plan and The Jobs Act, which delivered the union jobs that expanded broadband access, repaired roads and bridges, and revitalized the state’s water infrastructure systems. The Congressman also worked with President Biden to secure future economic opportunity for Indiana’s steel industry. And finally, Mrvan voted “YES” on the PRO-Act.
Democrats continue to deliver for Hoosier workers and make kitchen table issues like unionization top priority. The Indiana GOP: no plans – just partisanship.
NWI Times: WATCH NOW: USW, Mrvan Hail Protecting Right to Organize Act as Good for Unions
Mrvan: “We must do all we can to strengthen the ability of all workers to form unions.”
Associated Press: Biden to require US-made steel, iron for infrastructure
The Biden administration is taking a key step toward ensuring that federal dollars will support U.S. manufacturing — issuing requirements for how projects funded by the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package source their construction material. […]
President Joe Biden hopes to create more jobs, ease supply chain strains and reduce the reliance on China and other nations with interests that diverge from America’s. With inflation at a 40-year high ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, he’s betting that more domestic production will ultimately reduce price pressures to blunt Republican attacks that his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package initially triggered higher prices.
Tucked into the bipartisan infrastructure package that became law last November was a requirement that starting on May 14 “none of the funds” allocated to federal agencies for projects may be spent “unless all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project are produced in the United States.” That’s according to Monday’s 17-page guidance. […]
Getting more industrial jobs will likely mean adding more factories and assembly lines — as manufacturers are operating at a 78.7% capacity, which the Federal Reserve notes is above the historical average.
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