Currently, all rail cars and buses purchased with Federal Transit Administration cash must be assembled in the U.S., while only 60 percent of the components must be American-made.
Federal transportation funding is so skimpy that Congress acts like Ebenezer Scrooge when it comes to helping pay for the nation’s roads, subways, buses and other transportation, the AFL-CIO’s top transportation official says.
That’s why our nation’s holiday wish list for 2014 must include a comprehensive vision — and adequate resources — for strengthening the country’s transportation systems, which are the lifeblood of a growing 21st century economy.
Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are legally enforceable agreements between private companies and coalitions of community and labor groups that are used to secure a wide range of job standards and equity measures.
This research brief finds that when manufacturers raise the domestic content of their products, they create at least 26% more jobs than manufacturers that only meet the 60 percent Buy America requirement.
Hardcore capitalists will argue that transportation authorities should worry about their bottom dollar, especially when it comes to taxpayer money. But hiring and buying local is a sound way to create jobs and leverage public dollars for the best use.
With unemployment rates at 7 percent statewide and much higher in Baltimore, it's clear we need to be innovative and think about how we can grow the manufacturing industry by creating jobs across all communities, particularly those that are low-income.
Turning federally funded transit projects into a vehicle for job creation that also boosts America’s manufacturing sector is an overdue step.
No matter the intended beneficiary, LAANE has prevailed with the same underlying argument: that the investment of public funds should yield public benefits.
Chicago labor groups are pissed. And they have a right to be. The Montreal-based company Bombardier Transportation was awarded a $1.14 billion contract to build more than 700 train cars for the Chicago Transit Authority, and the local workforce has been left out.
