President Biden traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan for an important announcement. With labor leaders including IBEW President Kenneth Cooper by his side, President Biden signed another pro-labor executive order. This one solidifies his administration’s “Good Jobs” agenda by promoting strong labor standards like family-sustaining wages and recognizing an employee’s right to join a union.
“With this executive order, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris continue to cement their legacy as the most pro-worker administration ever,” said President Cooper to the crowd at the signing in September. “The order helps ensure their Investing in America agenda will create more good-paying, family-sustaining union jobs for years to come.”
The order builds on policies already signed into law by Biden by strengthening the labor standards federal agencies are encouraged to use when hiring companies for public projects. Contractors who offer good wages and benefits, recognize the right to join a union, and support apprenticeships, are prioritized over those that don’t. The order also calls on agencies to prioritize other labor standards such as project labor agreements, voluntary union recognition, and company neutrality during organizing campaigns.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s infrastructure laws already include some of the strongest federal labor standards ever seen,” said President Cooper. “This order continues to prove Joe Biden and Kamala Harris understand our nation’s strength is tied to the well-being of working people.”
The order impacts more than just union workers. The National Electrical Contractors Association, the IBEW’s longtime national management partner also benefits, as do other partners that employ IBEW members in manufacturing, broadcasting, utilities, telecommunications and railroads.
