BlueGreen Alliance Legislative Priorities for COVID-19 Federal Response and Economic Stimulus
It is critical we ensure the safety of workers on the job in the face of COVID-19, whether they are nurses on the frontlines, workers in warehouses, utility workers keeping the lights on across the country, or manufacturing workers building essential products. Congress has taken significant steps to protect workers, and must continue to prioritize the most vulnerable; safeguard working peoples’ jobs, homes, and livelihoods; shore up essential public services; and protect the health and safety of frontline workers.
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We urge Congress to immediately pass a robust set of stimulus packages that meet the following standards, principles, and conditions, and incorporate the policy priorities outlined in the document below.
Overarching Standards/Principles:
- Ensure all projects built with public resources are subject to Buy America standards that maximize the return to taxpayers and the American economy;
- Enforce Davis-Bacon provisions that ensure workers are paid prevailing wages;
- Utilize project labor agreements (PLA), community benefit agreements (CBA), local hire, and other provisions and practices;
- Drive forward-looking planning and investments that meet environmental standards and build resilient infrastructure systems and communities;
- Ensure we “Buy Clean” to prioritize use of the most efficient, resilient, and cleanest materials and products with the lowest carbon and toxicity footprints and “Buy Fair” to enhance labor standards, workers’ rights, career pathways, equity and community benefits;
- Enhance and enforce hiring and procurement policies that benefit low-income communities, people of color, and women;
- Prioritize investments in those communities most in need;
- Workers and families must receive the majority of the benefits of any federal aid package and aid will be clawed back if workers don’t benefit; and
- Ensure adequate enforcement, including an outside oversight board with the authority to periodically review recipient compliance and adequate funding for state and local enforcement to ensure construction projects truly meet PLAs, CBAs and other workforce provision requirements.
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