Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's office issued the following:
The Build Local, Hire Local Act Would Require Any Future Federally-Funded Infrastructure Projects to Raise Wages and Labor Standards and Connect More Communities to Opportunity
October 10, 2019
Menands, NY – U.S.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today stood with union leaders and advocates
at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District
Council 9, Local 201 in Menands to announce her legislation, the Build Local, Hire Local Act. This
bill would make bold reforms to federal infrastructure that would
prioritize taxpayer dollars spending on projects that raise wages,
protect workers, and expand worker rights by giving preference to
companies that do not discourage union organizing. It would also help to
correct decades of failed federal policies that have isolated
communities of color and marginalized populations from economic
opportunity.
The Build Local, Hire Local Act would
create a comprehensive set of reforms, including creating new
requirements for hiring workers to ensure that local residents are the
first to benefit from new infrastructure projects in their community.
The legislation would also require that federally-funded projects
incorporate the community’s input to ensure investments benefit local
residents, and would promote the use of American-made products in
rebuilding our infrastructure.
“Unions and union members are the heart
of Albany, and I believe deeply in the responsibility of the federal
government to help give unions the power they need to effectively
advocate for the rights and needs of workers. It is why I am proud to
have introduced the Build Local, Hire Local Act,” said Senator Gillibrand. “My
bill would prioritize infrastructure projects in the communities that
need them the most, including low-income communities and communities of
color. These projects would help ensure higher quality job opportunities
and help strengthen unions, wage protections, labor standards, and
workers’ rights. I am committed to fighting for the people of the
Capital Region each day in the Senate, and I urge my colleagues to pass
the Build Local, Hire Local Act to help do just that.”
“Providing career pathways and investing in our vital infrastructure is critical to building strong communities,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan.
“Senator Gillibrand’s Build Local, Hire Local legislation will not only
create opportunity, but it will ensure that local residents benefit
from new infrastructure projects in their communities. I applaud the
Senator for her leadership on these important reforms and urge the
Congress to act on this legislation as soon as possible.”
"Throughout the country we see a
tremendous need for a skilled workforce. The Build Local, Hire Local act
will give us tremendous opportunity to do just that, DC9 is committed
to providing the most skilled workforce in the finishing industry; while
also providing career paths for communities in need for good jobs to
support their families. We commend Senator Gillibrand for her hard work
on tackling this issue, and we will work with her to make sure it
becomes law," said Joseph Azzopardi, Business Manager-Secretary Treasurer of International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 9.
In July, the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee passed a bipartisan transportation reauthorization bill
that included provisions based on Gillibrand’s legislation. This
included a new $120 million pilot program to provide funding for
removing bridge overpasses to create more connected communities, while
encouraging the creation of local construction jobs for people who need
them most and contracts for disadvantaged businesses. This pilot program
would also require that new projects receiving federal funding create a
community advisory board made up of residents from the communities
where new projects are taking place.
Specifically, the Build Local, Hire Local Act would do the following:
· Create
high-quality local construction jobs for people who need them most
through targeted hiring practices that use registered apprenticeships
and coordinate with state and local workforce development boards.
· Rebuild our infrastructure with new opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses.
· Encourage the
use of best-value contracting, registered apprenticeships, and
neutrality in union organizing to ensure projects place a premium not
just on the bottom line but also on the quality of jobs, safety, equity,
climate resiliency, and environmental justice.
· Dedicate
investment to struggling areas and connect communities to greater
opportunity through new performance measures and data on accessibility
to transportation and a new $25 billion Connect Communities Grant
Program to redevelop marginalized communities.
· Provide
pathways to careers in construction, specialty trades, and other
infrastructure jobs through a new $5 billion Building American
Infrastructure and Careers Program to support training partnerships led
by unions, community organizations, and education and training
providers.
· Improve labor
standards and working conditions and strengthen worker power by using
Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Act wage protections, exposing bad
actors in contract bids, requiring the use of workforce diversity
programs, creating transparency in pay, employment status, and wage
rates, ending forced arbitration, and ensuring that funds are not used
for union-busting.
· Protect and
expand domestic manufacturing by establishing a new Buy America Bureau
that would help build American supply chains and bring transparency and
coordination to the Buy America waiver process, and by encouraging the
use of U.S. Employment Plans that prioritize existing and new American
manufacturing and service jobs when building the nation’s
infrastructure.
· Ensure that
the communities where infrastructure projects are taking place are the
first to benefit from the job and training opportunities that those
projects provide.
Find detailed specifics about the legislation here.
