PENNSYLVANIA — Today, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO president Rick Bloomingdale penned an op-ed for the Beaver County Times advocating for Congress to pass President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure proposal. If Pennsylvania manufacturing is going to thrive and continue to compete as a global economy for decades to come, it’s imperative that we rebuild and repair our roads, bridges and transit systems. President Biden’s plan would be an investment not just in American infrastructure, but the entire American economy — empowering workers, creating good jobs and protecting workers in the workplace.
Beaver County Times: Rick Bloomingdale: Washington must pass President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure deal
As America continues to recover from the pandemic thanks to the leadership of President Joe Biden, Pennsylvania’s economy is poised for a worker-fueled boom that will create good jobs, raise wages and improve towns and cities across our state. But when I talk to members of our unions, we worry about one thing that continues to hold us back: Far too many of us drive across crumbling bridges to make goods that are carried across decrepit highways to second-class airports and rail yards, delayed at every step of the way.
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For far too long, politicians have talked about repairing America’s crumbling roads, bridges, ports and transit systems. But as any union worker can tell you, until now, both parties have been heavier on talk than on action. Hardworking union men and women from the AFL-CIO spend their days working in every part of this supply chain, and we know firsthand that our transportation infrastructure has been neglected for too long.
Finally, though, spurred on by President Biden, Washington seems poised to take action to meet the scale of the problem we face. This framework is the largest investment in our infrastructure in a century: the largest investment in rail since the creation of Amtrak, the largest investment in public transit in American history, the largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history, and the largest investment in clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. This plan offers a broad vision for putting the nation’s economy on a 21st century path towards better paying jobs that lift up U.S. workers.
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President Biden and his allies in congress negotiating this bill believe that we must invest in our country and in our people by creating good-paying union jobs, tackling the climate crisis, and growing the economy sustainably and equitably for decades to come. This plan will will level the playing field for middle class workers who have been fighting for their right to join a union free from employer intimidation. It also contains the largest investment in addressing legacy pollution in American history, a cleanup effort that will create good-paying union jobs and advance environmental justice.
It will put Americans to work replacing our nation’s lead water pipes, so that every single American child, at home or in school, can turn on the faucet and drink clean water without worrying about the threat of lead contamination. We’ll repair the up to 10 million homes and 400,000 schools and child care centers right here in the U.S. that get their water from lead pipes and service lines.
As the president has said, “We’ve spent too much time competing with one another, and not nearly enough competing with the rest of the world to win the 21st century.” This deal shows that democracy can deliver results.
This is a deal American workers can be proud of. President Biden came into office promising to find common ground to improve the lives of everyday hardworking Americans, and he’s delivering on that promise. This bipartisan infrastructure deal represents a massive step forward to that goal. Now, it is time for both sides of the aisle to get behind this plan and move America forward.
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