ANN ARBOR, MI — On September 6th, President Joe Biden visited the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 190’s Jobs Training Center in Ann Arbor to sign the “Good Jobs EO,” an executive order designed to promote strong labor standards including family-sustaining wages, workplace safety, and the free and fair opportunity to join a union.
With this Executive Order, the Biden-Harris Administration will specify a clear list of labor standards that all Federal agencies should look to prioritize.
The event is part of a broader tour to profile the workers and communities across America who have benefitted from the Administration’s Investing in America agenda, an agenda which includes such high-profile legislation as the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Good Jobs EO
The Good Jobs EO calls on agencies to adopt the following labor standards:
- Promoting worker voice, through Project Labor Agreements (PLAs), Community Benefits Agreements, voluntary union recognition, and neutrality with respect to union organizing.
- Providing tools to promote high-wage jobs, through prevailing wage standards and other equitable compensation practices, such as prioritizing equal pay and pay transparency.
- Promoting worker economic security, by directing agencies to consider prioritizing projects that supply the benefits that workers need—including child and dependent care to health insurance, paid leave, and retirement benefits.
- Supporting workforce development through registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, labor-management partnerships, and partnerships with training organizations including community colleges, public workforce boards, and the American Climate Corps.
- Leveling the playing field, by encouraging grantees to develop equitable workforce plans and offering project supports that promote fair hiring and management practices as the projects develop.
- Supporting workplace safety by encouraging agencies to prioritize reporting structures that help ensure compliance with all workplace health and safety laws.
To oversee agencies in their implementation of these labor standards, the Good Jobs EO creates a new Investing in Good Jobs Task Force (Task Force) in the Executive Office of the President. The Task Force will coordinate policy development that drives the creation of high-quality jobs and ensures project delivery. The Task Force will be co-chaired by the Secretary of Labor and the Director of the National Economic Council and include Seniors Advisors to the President and members of the President’s Cabinet.
In addition, the Good Jobs EO outlines strategies for agencies—consistent with applicable law—to enact these standards across their grant programs, including collecting data on job quality, issuing guidance or best practices, and conducting pre-award negotiations for key programs and projects as appropriate.
Union Reaction
United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) General President Mark McManus praised the Executive Order, saying:
“President Joe Biden is the most pro-worker and pro-union president America has ever seen—and today’s Executive Order reaffirms his commitment to protecting the future for all American workers. With incentives to strengthen our gold-standard registered apprenticeship programs, to guarantee the rights of all workers to collectively bargain for a better future, and to expand family-sustaining wages for all, this Executive Order will help ensure all Americans have a fair shot at success.
“President Biden took action to expand the use of project labor agreements on federal projects and to expand Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws for the first time in generations. More importantly, President Biden kept his promise to the working men and women who build our great nation. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Biden-Harris administration to give all workers the chance to succeed, to provide for their families, and to one day retire with the dignity they’ve earned.”
Merit Shop Reaction
Just prior to the signing, Associated Builders and Contractors released the following statement from ABC Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs, Ben Brubeck:
“This gift to unions is discouraging for the overwhelming majority of the US construction industry workforce—nearly 90%—that works for nonunion employers. It also will hurt taxpayers and the overall construction industry, as both benefit from inclusive, win-win policies that welcome all contractors and workers to rebuild America, even if they decide not to affiliate with labor unions.
“The executive order will undermine the efficient and economical delivery of taxpayer-funded infrastructure, clean energy and manufacturing projects and is consistent with the Biden-Harris administration’s politically motivated policy schemes. These policies steer taxpayer-funded infrastructure contracts to unionized businesses and create jobs exclusively for union members at the expense of everyone else and the rule of law. ABC looks forward to reviewing the text of the order when it is made public to determine if it is legal, in contrast to numerous onerous regulations and National Labor Relation Board rulings that pander to unions, which ABC and the business community have successfully challenged in the courts over the last four years.”