Over the last 10 months, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have been slowly working on bills to better compete against China and greedy multi-national corporations who seek out low wage and illegal subsidies in foreign countries.
The Senate bill is known as the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) (S.1260) and the House bill is named the America COMPETES Act (H.R.4521).
Although both bills improve the U.S. government’s response to China’s aggressive policies, only one has meaningful changes for workers and manufacturing employers – The America COMPETES Act.
The USW did not take a stance on USICA when it passed in the Senate because of bad trade provisions added last minute and the lack of worker rights protections.
The House, however, agreed that changes needed to be made and included them in the America COMPETES Act, which we did support.
The America Competes Act:
- Provides Security for U.S. Workers – Two programs that assist workers who have lost their jobs due to trade, Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC), must be protected on a yearly basis. This bill would make them permanent.
- Improves Our Trade Policy – The bill includes the Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0. This is an update of our anti-dumping/countervailing duty (AD/CVD) trade enforcement laws to stop China’s destructive trade agenda. Every one of the manufacturing sectors our members are working in has been hit hard by bad trade policies for decades.
- Strengthens Supply Chains – This bill would establish a Manufacturing Supply Chain Resilience Program which would fund close to $50 billion in spending to rebuild manufacturing supply chains. This is something critically needed for economic recovery.
- Protects Workers’ Rights – The bill contains provisions such as good faith certifications that companies will remain neutral in organizing and certain obligations to bargain in good faith upon a showing of interest of fifty-percent of workers.
- Establishes Accountability for Corporations – This provision includes guardrails to prevent abuse of funds and encourage domestic investment are also included in the bill.
- Invests in Our Future – Also included is investment in semi-conductor manufacturing to maintain U.S. leadership in this vital technology.
The passage of the House bill has set up a “conference” between the House and Senate to merge the two bills.
The USW and labor movement are fighting to keep the gains made in the House bill, but anti-union forces like the National Right to Work Committee are now trying to kill our efforts.
Just recently, they sent an email to every member of Congress trying to undermine the bill claiming “big labor” is sneaking “anti-worker provisions” into the bill.