FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ryan Kekeris, 410-564-5884, rkekeris@iupat.org
STATEMENT: Build Back Better and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
HANOVER, MD – Following the announcement of the Build Back Better legislative framework today, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) President Jimmy Williams, Jr. released the following statement:
“The Build Back Better legislative framework announced today represents historic investment in workers, our communities, and the future. The IUPAT supported President Biden because of his promises to support and grow the working class through real investments in physical and economic infrastructure. This framework builds on those promises and will have positive impacts for years to come.
We applaud Speaker Pelosi for bringing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act up for a vote and we urge Congress to send both the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better agenda to the President’s desk. In addition to the investments, for the first time in nearly a generation we would see federal labor law expanded with some provisions from the PRO Act included, like finally ensuring that there are significant financial consequences for labor law violations and anti-union practices. While we continue to push for the entire PRO Act, we will work to ensure these provisions are enforced.
Together, these bills will help leverage the economic power of the United States to create quality, good paying jobs across sectors and will provide the necessary investments in housing, schools, and child care to allow our communities to grow and thrive. Now the time has come for Congress to act.”
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THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES (IUPAT)
Represents a growing community of over 140,000 active and retired craftspeople in the United States and Canada. The IUPAT membership extends far beyond the workplace. Recognized as one of the most active unions in the labor movement, IUPAT members help shape their communities in many ways: through an abiding commitment to service, by fighting passionately for workers’ rights that benefit all working families, and through effective worker education and mobilization.
Visit www.iupat.org to learn more.