On September 30, experts in economics, sociology, and urban planning will convene a media telebriefing to discuss a new nationwide trend toward cities creating good manufacturing jobs through transportation spending. Since July, three major U.S. transit purchases by Amtrak, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Transit Authority, and the Maryland Transit Administration – collectively worth an estimated $4.4 billion – have included innovative U.S. jobs incentives. Los Angeles adopted similar job-creating policies in 2012 on two rail car and bus manufacturing contracts.
In the past, many U.S. transit agencies awarded multi-million dollar contracts to manufacture city buses and trains to the lowest-priced bidder among global corporations, without considering long-term economic impacts.
On the briefing, experts will analyze the new transit jobs incentives gaining momentum across the U.S., and look ahead to upcoming transit purchases affecting cities across the nation, such as Houston, New York, Las Vegas, Cleveland, Seattle, Baltimore, and more. As more public transportation agencies use their purchasing power to boost job creation, the Jobs to Move America coalition estimates they could support up to 53,000 good American jobs with decent wages and career pathways.
In conjunction with the telebriefing, the Jobs to Move America coalition will also release a new interactive online map detailing 34 current and upcoming purchases of buses and trains in 25 states, as well as locations of bus and train factories, a powerful research tool.
Who:
- Madeline Janis, Director, Jobs to Move America
- George Wentworth, Senior Staff Attorney, National Employment Law Project
- Jorge Ramirez, President, Chicago Federation of Labor
- Jacquelyne Grimshaw, Vice President, Center for Neighborhood Technology and Vice Chairman, Chicago Transit Authority Board
- Ed Wytkind, President, Transportation Trades Dept., AFL-CIO
- Dr. Manuel Pastor, Director, University of Southern California Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)
- Pastor Norma Patterson, UCC, Gamaliel Foundation