The Department of Transportation is aiming to reinstate a program the Trump administration scrapped that would allow local hiring requirements to be added to federally funded infrastructure projects.
In this op-ed, John Costa (ATU) and Sonal Jessel (WE ACT for Environmental Justice) draw on Jobs to Move America's research to show how electrifying our school buses can create good jobs, healthier communities, and advance equity.
"This fight is not over. The battle against Amazon has shifted the narrative for what's possible for workers here in Alabama and across the South," said the Alabama Coalition for Community Benefits.
As President Biden rolls out his infrastructure plan today, Jobs to Move America Executive Director Madeline Janis issued a statement urging the Biden administration to repeal the ban on local hire.
Iheme, the community organizer, said Amazon workers deserve to have enough energy to function outside of work. If warehouse employees aren't "exhausted when they get off work," or running off to a second job to make ends meet, they can be better parents. They might also get involved in the community and even take vacations to other parts of the state, she added, all of which would be good for Bessemer and the state's economy. "When you have that time to invest in your home," she said, "you have that time to invest in your community."
From the Amazon workers organizing a union in Bessemer to our coalition’s campaign for a Community Benefits Agreement with nearby bus manufacturer New Flyer, workers and communities are coming together to demand dignity and respect.
A survey of about 100 workers at the NFI plant by Emily Erickson, a professor at Alabama A&M University, found that white workers earned about $3 an hour more than Black workers on average.
The National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency that enforces labor laws in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices, has issued a complaint against Shepherdsville, Kentucky-based KMG Fabrication Inc., doing business as New Flyer of America.
The PRO Act would fix these problems in federal labor law by protecting workers’ right to collective action, holding employers accountable for breaking the law, ensuring free and fair union elections, and creating a fair process for a first union contract.
A research team at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville released a grim report on the experiences workers are facing at manufacturing plants in Anniston and Calhoun County.
