Touting ‘Build Back Better,’ Biden Tours Cincinnati Training Center
President Joe Biden took his pitch for a massive investment in infrastructure and American labor directly to the workers July 21, touring the IBEW-NECA Electrical Training Center in Cincinnati to learn about what IBEW electricians do every day on the job.
America’s rundown infrastructure is heading for a makeover following the passage in the Senate of the sweeping historic legislation in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Aug. 9. Together with the budget bill under consideration in the House of Representatives, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created as the Biden Build Back Better agenda comes to fruition.
Celebrating Labor Day with IBEW Members
President Biden spent the day dedicated to workers with members of the IBEW. Along with IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson, President Biden delivered sandwiches to members of Wilmington, Del. Local 313 on Labor Day, Sept. 6. He played cornhole and chatted with about 35 members of the local union. An article about the event described a moment when “the president began talking into an iPhone to a union member’s mom, telling her that he’d been with the union since he was first elected to public office in the early 1970s.”
Finally, we can have a normal General Union Meeting again without having to wear masks.
BY JOHN GUADAGNO
With this edition of the Conduit, we are in the throes of the summer season. The Fourth of July has passed with the only summer holiday remaining being Labor Day. I hope you and your family are enjoying the season, even though it has been an unusually hot one. As of my last writing, we have had several heatwaves and it is only mid-July. Make sure to stay cool when you can and remember that when on the job sites, keep hydrated to prevent heat exhaustion and other heat-related illnesses.
Brothers and Sisters,
The new C.O.P.E. pins have been mailed out to the Brothers and Sisters who have contributed to the C.O.P.E. fund. The pin is a show of appreciation for your dedication and commitment to the C.O.P.E. cause. C.O.P.E. pins are mailed out based on a list of names of contributors.
If you have contributed and did not receive a C.O.P.E. pin, please call the President’s office at 1-631- 273-4567 ext. 241.
BY JOHN GUADAGNO
As we enter the months of July and August, I hope all are having a great summer with your families. On the Union front, we have reached book 2 on our referral for the fifth year in a row and work continues to be strong the rest of the year. Business Manager Kevin Casey and the Business Office are all doing a great job in keeping our Local moving forward.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh traveled to Pittsburgh in late June for the first meeting of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment.
IBEW was front and center in a June 4 conversation with White House officials, industry leaders and agency procurement officials about transitioning the entire federal vehicle fleet from gas-powered
Key to this plan are 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations and the standardization of the buildout of the nation’s EV infrastructure. The IBEW is pressing lawmakers to ensure that the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) is included in any legislation. The EVITP program has been developed through collaboration among the IBEW, automobile and energy storage device manufacturers, utilities, electrical contractors, state and local electrical inspectors and the national fire protection agency.