IBEW News

Pres. Lonnie Stephenson on COVID-19 and Racial Justice

IBEW International President Lonnie R. Stephenson issued the following statement in reaction to the death of George Floyd: “The men and women of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers stand with the millions of Americans demanding a full investigation into the death of George Floyd, an African-American pinned down by a white Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck as Floyd pleaded, ‘I can’t breathe.'"

IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson on VP Biden’s Clean-Energy Plan

IBEW International President Lonnie R. Stephenson issued the following statement regarding Joe Biden’s clean-energy plan:

“Vice President Joe Biden’s clean energy plan is more than just an ambitious and comprehensive blueprint to combat climate change and put our country on the path to a sustainable future. It is a massive investment in millions of American jobs, doing everything from rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure to retrofitting tens of thousands of homes and offices.

President Signs the Butch Lewis Act: A Key IBEW Victory

President Biden has signed the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act, one of the IBEW’s biggest legislative priorities.

 

With Biden’s signature, help is on the way for troubled pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The new law also provides temporary relief for single and multiemployer plans in good standing, including IBEW plans like the National Electrical Benefit Fund. It accomplishes this with no reductions in benefits for participants.

 

Fulfilling a Critical Campaign Promise on Infrastructure

President Biden promised to put America back to work. On March 31, he shared his plan to deliver, with a historic $2 trillion package to rebuild a diminished infrastructure, battle climate change and take on global competitors.

 

The eight-year proposal will put the United States on the path to a revitalized domestic infrastructure while creating tens of thousands of jobs in several of the IBEW’s core sectors. Biden’s plan will:

 

Helping America Dig out from Under the Pandemic: ‘Shots in Arms, Money in Pockets’

President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on March 12, sending more stimulus checks, helping vaccine distribution and re-opening schools. (The plan also included a fix for multiemployer pension plans, which you can read more about below.) These measures have helped individuals, states and communities recover from the year- long pandemic.

 

A New Era at the Department of Labor

Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was sworn in as U.S. labor secretary on March 23, the first union member in 45 years to lead the Department of Labor.

Eighteen Republican senators joined all Democrats to support Walsh’s nomination, voting 68-29 to confirm him.

"I spent my entire career fighting for working people, and I'm eager to continue that fight in Washington,” Walsh said.

Achieve Clean Energy Goals, Maintain the Nation’s Nuclear Fleet

Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm reiterated the administration’s commitment to nuclear power at a recent House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee hearing. In response to a question from Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, Granholm said the country’s 93 nuclear reactors account for 52 percent of carbon-free electricity generation.

Greenlighting Large-Scale Offshore Wind Project

The country’s first large-scale offshore wind project is moving forward, the Biden administration announced with its approval on May 11. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo were joined at the announcement event by labor leaders who have been working to ensure that the project is built and maintained by union labor.

Supporting Infrastructure To Shore Up America

America’s rundown infrastructure is heading for a makeover following the passage in the Senate of the sweeping historic legislation in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Aug. 9. Together with the budget bill under consideration in the House of Representatives, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created as the Biden Build Back Better agenda comes to fruition.