WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — After spending his Labor Day with members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, President Joe Biden will address the importance of unions and the role they play in his $3.5 trillion spending plan.
Biden, a long-time supporter of unions, has called them “the people that built the middle class.”
“When unions win, workers across the board win. That’s a fact. Families win. Communities win. America wins. We grow,” Biden said during his remarks.
Biden also paid tribute to essential workers and union members who died while working during the pandemic.
“I’d like to pause for a moment of silence to honor the hundreds of union workers and essential workers who have died from COVID-19,” Biden said.
On Labor Day, he delivered deli sandwiches to members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 313 in New Castle, Delaware. The organization was one of many unions that endorsed Biden for president in 2020.
While union membership had been declining over the last few decades, there has been a surge of interest in unionizing newer industries over the last two years.
The well-publicized unionization drive at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama drew attention nationwide, including from Biden.
At the time he said, “This is vitally important — a vitally important choice, as America grapples with the deadly pandemic, the economic crisis and the reckoning on race — what it reveals is the deep disparities that still exist in our country.”
That effort did not result in the formation of a union, but organizers have vowed to continue efforts to organize Amazon workers.
Biden has also supported the proposed PRO Act, which would reform labor laws to give workers more organization power and penalize companies that attempt to interfere or retaliate.
The PRO Act is among the proposals Biden is expected to address in Wednesday’s speech on labor, along with how his “Build Back Better” $3.5 trillion spending plan will help those in unions.
Biden’s cabinet members have also been openly pro-union, with his Labor Secretary Marty Walsh telling NewsNationNow.com that it is possible to balance the interests of labor and business.
“In my time here as Secretary of Labor, I’ve reached out to labor. I’ve reached out to business. I’ve had conversations,” Walsh stated. “Without having businesses, you can’t have labor. Without having labor, you don’t have businesses. So we should be working together.”
Biden echoed that sentiment saying he has an iron-clad commitment to labor
“In my White House, you will always be welcome. Labor will always be welcome. You’ve heard me say many times, I intend to be the most pro-union president, the most pro-union administration in American history,” Biden said.
