IBEW members scored high-level attention at the State of the Union on March 7th. Not only did several IBEW members attend the high-profile event, President Biden gave the IBEW a shoutout during his televised speech.
The State of the Union is a once a year opportunity for the president to share his plans and accomplishments in front of Congress. A high point was when President Biden discussed how his energy agenda was turning the economy around.
“I am cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030, creating tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs, like the IBEW workers building and installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations,” said Biden as the crowd applauded.
Philadelphia Local 98 member Teila Allmond got to hear the shoutout live in the US Capitol. She was invited by Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) to highlight Allmond’s work with Local 98’s pre-apprenticeship program, Rosie’s Girls. The program expands opportunities for women in the building and construction trades.
“Rosie the Riveter reminds us of when women were at the forefront of ‘male-dominant fields,’” said Allmond. “I am proud to be a part of a program that would have helped younger me enter the industry with more confidence.”
Las Vegas Local 357 member Melenie Zavala also attended the State of the Union as a guest of Sen. Kathleeen Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).
“[Biden]’s pushed more for labor than any other president,” Zavala said in the Las Vegas Sun. “He’s been true to his word from the start.”
Boston Local 103 Business Manager Lou Antonellis shared his experience on the social media platform X. “Such an honor and a privilege to represent the hard-working members of IBEW 103 in Boston to the President’s State of the Union in Washington, D.C.” Antonellis was invited by Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey (D).
AFL-CIO President and IBEW Local 125 member Liz Shuler went to the speech with Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.). In a video, she said when President Biden came into office in 2021, the economy was in shambles. Nearly 3 million jobs had been lost and American manufacturing was in a decades-long slump.
“Joe Biden has delivered for working people,” said Shuler. “Thanks to this president, the pensions of more than a million workers have been protected.”
In his statement about the speech, IBEW International President Kenneth W. Cooper noted how the Biden-Harris administration is committed to building an economy that works for everyone.
“America is on the right track, and as president of the largest electrical workers union in North America, I am proud to partner with President Biden and Vice President Harris. President Biden has made it clear many times that it was unions that built the middle class, and he has backed up those words with a proven record of fighting to strengthen labor laws and protecting workers’ rights,” Cooper said.
