Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, 412-562-2444, jkamm@usw.org
(Pittsburgh) – United Steelworkers (USW) International President Tom Conway released the following statement today in response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address:
“Tonight, President Joe Biden articulated a vision for the United States that puts working families at the forefront of our nation’s economic future.
“After two years of a global pandemic and economic crisis in which we have seen the rich get richer and too many workers continue to fall behind, the USW supports President Biden’s agenda and looks forward to working with him and others in Washington to put pro-worker, pro-family policies into action.
“The president’s first year in office has already resulted in major victories, including the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the creation of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. These initiatives will help ensure good-paying union jobs for millions of American workers in the years to come.
“While the recent events in Ukraine clearly highlight our need to focus on foreign as well as domestic priorities, we must remember that to be strong around the world, we must first be strong at home. That means bolstering domestic supply chains for vital goods, providing education and job training to ensure that manufacturers have the skilled workers they need, building up our health care system, passing labor protections like the PRO Act and extending benefits like paid family and medical leave to all workers.
“The president today laid out an ambitious agenda that will make our nation more secure, provide good-paying jobs to millions of workers, support struggling families, keep rising prices under control and ensure that communities will continue to thrive for generations to come. We are eager to do everything we can to help him achieve these goals.”
The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.
###