As President Biden rolls out his infrastructure plan today, Jobs to Move America Executive Director Madeline Janis issued the following statement urging the Biden administration to repeal the ban on local hire:
“A significant part of rebuilding our economy will be major infrastructure projects, from high-speed trains to a stronger electric grid, and gearing up for the renewable economy. To make sure that infrastructure also means equitable job creation that puts workers first, we are calling on President Biden to remove the prohibition on local hire for federally-funded contracts. This would be a powerful first step toward strengthening our infrastructure and putting workers—especially Black and Brown workers who for too long have been left out of these public projects—on pathways to meaningful careers and healthy lives. We are eager to work with President Biden to lift the burden of this one-size-fits-all regulation and empower states, counties, and cities to put local folks to work. Our coalition of mayors, community, and social justice groups believe that removing the prohibition on local hire will:
- make it easier for local officials to create jobs in their communities;
- support public officials to act smartly with public money, creating good-paying jobs and strengthening the local tax base to ensure we’re reinvesting in our communities;
- have the potential to create thousands if not millions of jobs around the country;
- and is a common-sense solution the administration can take to support communities devastated by the pandemic.