It’s time for local policymakers to cement the Biden administration’s workforce gains

Worker on California High Speed Rail's Hanford Viaduct on Jan. 29, 2024. At nearly 6,330 feet, the Hanford Viaduct is the largest high-speed rail structure in the Central Valley.

Worker on California High Speed Rail's Hanford Viaduct on Jan. 29, 2024. At nearly 6,330 feet, the Hanford Viaduct is the largest high-speed rail structure in the Central Valley. Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

COMMENTARY | By adopting strong job quality standards for government spending, state and local policymakers can improve residents’ quality of life and support a strong, stable workforce for generations to come.

Three years into the Biden administration, communities ranging from Jacksonville, Florida, to the state of Maryland are helping a new generation of Americans access middle-class careers in construction and manufacturing. This work has only been made possible thanks to the administration’s historic federal investments to strengthen the nation’s physical, digital and clean energy infrastructure and to create good jobs while doing so. Now it’s time for cities and states to extend the impact of these investments to their own publicly supported jobs by strengthening quality standards. 

At the heart of the Biden administration’s economic strategy lies a commitment to high-quality jobs and workplace equity, with standards and incentives baked into competitive grants and spending programs. While the federal government has long attached job standards related to wages, benefits and protections to some types of spending, the Biden administration’s policies go further by raising baseline standards higher, attaching them to more types of spending, and rewarding funding applicants that commit to going above minimum standards to create stable, well-paying jobs for workers from all walks of life. Communities enjoy a competitive advantage in winning more federal funds when they adopt project labor agreements, expand equitable access to good jobs through apprenticeships, and partner with local organizations and unions to ensure monitoring and enforcement of higher job standards. 

The federal government is still refining its review and monitoring processes to make sure job quality standards are upheld for communities committing to programs using federal funding. At the same time, communities with few job quality standards in place for their own spending are gaining experience with these practices as they compete to win federal funds.  

For example, in order to compete for a $23.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help develop zero-emissions electric port infrastructure, the Jacksonville Port Authority committed to making sure all on-site workers can organize and join unions “without interference.” The port authority also committed to signing a project labor agreement, expanding internship and apprenticeship opportunities and creating a diversity, equity and inclusion plan to help expand access to opportunities. 

In addition to improving standards for federally supported jobs, state and local jurisdictions are also enacting policies to support workforce stability and improve access to high wage jobs funded with their own spending. Last fall, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an order to encourage the growth of apprenticeship training programs and expand the use of project labor agreements on large infrastructure projects, citing the measures’ ability to support “timely and efficient” completion of project by maintaining a skilled workforce. Similarly, lawmakers in Michigan and the Arizona cities of Phoenix and Tucson recently adopted prevailing wage laws that ensure construction workers on publicly supported projects are paid market wages and benefits. Meanwhile, policymakers in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Rochester, Minnesota, are initiating partnerships with employers and worker representatives to increase registered apprenticeships and support the hiring of women, workers of color, young workers and low-income residents in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

To this end, the Center for American Progress published a playbook to inform policymakers and advocates about job quality standards for government-supported work. Research suggests that these standards produce a multitude of benefits—from raising the earnings of working families, to closing racial and gender pay gaps, to boosting worker productivity and supporting on-time, on-budget project completion. As many existing workers in these target industries near retirement, these quality standards will help employers successfully recruit, train and retain the next generation of skilled workers. By adopting strong job quality standards for government spending, state and local policymakers can improve residents’ quality of life and support a strong, stable workforce for generations to come. 

Karla Walter is a senior fellow for inclusive economy at the Center for American Progress.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.