BlueGreen Alliance Priorities for Economic Recovery
As we make investments to get the economy back on track, everything we do must be aimed at building a stronger, fairer, and cleaner economy that creates and sustains the good, high-paying jobs of the future and makes our communities and workers more resilient to crises.
January 29, 2021
We call upon Congress to enact these recommendations.
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.