USW Legislative Director Roy Houseman appeared on the Leslie Marshall Show last week to discuss legislation that would bring back investment in U.S. manufacturing, repair critical supply chains and protect the nation against reliance on foreign goods.
Two important bills going to conference soon – the Senate’s United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) and the House’s America COMPETES Act (COMPETES) – make important investments in technology, but the House bill includes more comprehensive benefits for manufacturing workers and their employers.
Houseman said members of Congress are currently working to take pieces of each bill and make it into one innovative bill that would include the comprehensive gains for workers.
“It's a situation where we know if these bills are done right, they will provide billions of dollars for manufacturers and workers to improve their workplaces and actually compete globally,” Houseman said.
Houseman said the USW has been hard at work ensuring the new bill would also include critical protections for workers: the Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0, which would make the U.S. more efficient at stopping illegally dumped and subsidized foreign goods; the Supply Chain Resiliency Act, which contains labor peace language to ensure federal investments do not hinder workers’ rights; and funding for Trade Adjustment Assistance that helps workers displaced by bad trade get retraining.
“When our country dropped manufacturing investment, it was pretty staggering,” said Houseman. “Today China accounts for 51.3 percent of global steel production and 57 percent of global aluminum production.”
“For our members, who are a good portion in manufacturing, this will benefit them and will benefit the American public, because good union workers with good union wages help support their communities.”
Click below to listen to the full interview with Roy Houseman and Leslie Marshall about maintaining and strengthening U.S. manufacturing competitiveness: