Washington DC, June 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2021
Media Contact:
Sara Schuttloffel
(202) 375-9492
sschuttloffel@impact-net.org
The Iron Workers Union Applauds Bipartisan Senate Support for Prevailing Wage in CHIPS Act
The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers applauds the US Senate for affirming the strong labor standards in the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act. This important legislation would help rebuild the American semiconductor industry, bringing manufacturing jobs back from overseas. Fifty-eight senators voted to reject an amendment that would have stripped these labor standards from the bill. This was the first major floor vote on Davis Bacon in the US Senate in over a decade, and a resounding victory for American workers.
As a union representing 128,000 workers in construction and manufacturing, we recognize that semiconductors are a critical link in the supply chain supporting many industries. The labor standards, including Davis Bacon prevailing wage, that are attached to the bill would help ensure that the industry creates good, local construction jobs.
We thank the members and leadership of the Democratic Caucus for their stalwart support of labor standards. We applaud Republican Senators Roy Blunt, Steve Daines, John Kennedy, Shelly Moore Capito, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, Marco Rubio, and Dan Sullivan for their principled votes in favor of standards and in favor of workers. This expanded list of Republican Davis-Bacon supporters proves that bipartisan agreement is still possible on commonsense issues such as the quality jobs supported by prevailing wage.
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The Iron Workers (IW) represents 130,000 ironworkers in North America who work in construction on bridges; structural steel; ornamental, architectural, and miscellaneous metals; rebar; and in fabrication shops.