For Immediate Release
April 27, 2022
Media Contact: Carlos Hernandez
Email: chernandez@nvaflcio.com
Cell: (702) 670-1899
Building & Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada Applauds Passage of Labor Standards Resolution at 2022 Nevada State AFL-CIO COPE Conference
Sparks, NV - The Building & Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada applauds the passage of a labor standards resolution this morning at the 2022 Nevada State AFL-CIO COPE Conference. The resolution was brought to the body by the Building & Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada. It passed unanimously.
The resolution states that all federal funds received by the State of Nevada through the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act must follow strong labor standards, include PLAs wherever applicable, and offer wages at or above prevailing wage to help support and create good-paying, family-sustaining union jobs for Nevadans.
“Our congressional delegation could not have been clearer,” said BCTNN Secretary-Treasurer Rob Benner. “Labor standards like PLAs, prevailing wage, and local hire should be part of all ARPA and Infrastructure Bill dollars allocated to projects in our state.”
“Now Nevada’s workers have spoken, too,” said Nevada State AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Susie Martinez. “Federal dollars allocated to Nevada should stay in Nevada to create good-paying, high-quality jobs in our communities.”
A copy of the resolution as passed is attached below.
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Resolution Presented to the Nevada State AFL-CIO 2022 Annual COPE Conference
Whereas the federal government allocated $2.7 billion to the state of Nevada in American Rescue Plan Act State Fiscal Recovery Funds and over $4 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds; and
Whereas the Nevada State Legislature and the Governor’s Office are tasked with allocating and determining the use of those funds in our state; and
Whereas Treasury guidance strongly encourages recipients of ARPA funds to ensure that “projects use strong labor standards, including project labor agreements and community benefits agreements that offer wages at or above the prevailing rate and include local hire provisions, not only to promote effective and efficient delivery of high-quality infrastructure projects, but also to support the economic recovery through strong employment opportunities for workers;” and
Whereas President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14063 requiring Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on federal construction projects over $35 million on February 4, 2022; and
Whereas PLAs are effective mechanisms for controlling construction costs, ensuring efficient completion of projects, establishing fair wages and benefits for all workers, ensuring worker health and safety protections, and providing a unique opportunity for workforce development; and
Whereas the Biden administration and federal government has been consistently and aggressively pro-union; and
Whereas our State’s congressional delegation fought to ensure that these labor standards were present in the guidance for these federal funds and those funds were intended to promote good-paying union jobs in Nevada, as per Senator Jacky Rosen, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, and Congressman Steven Horsford; and
Whereas the ARPA funds affect a wide range of industries including broadband, public education, health care, public safety, job training, and more that will affect every one of the AFL-CIO’s affiliates;
Therefore be it resolved that the Northern and Southern Nevada Building Trades and the Nevada AFL-CIO Executive Board hold that all federal recovery funds should go to eligible uses and that the way in which funding is spent also follows the relevant federal guidelines;
Therefore be it further resolved that all federal funds received by the State of Nevada through the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act must follow strong labor standards, include PLAs wherever applicable, and offer wages at or above prevailing wage to help support and create good-paying, family-sustaining union jobs for Nevadans.
Submitted By: Building & Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada
April 27, 2022