Washington, DC — Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues this statement on the historic infrastructure agreement between President Biden and a bipartisan group of US Senators:
“Transportation labor proudly supported Joe Biden for president because we knew his commitment to investing in infrastructure, reviving our economy, and supporting working families was more than just an empty campaign pledge. By negotiating the single largest investment in infrastructure in American history, President Biden has taken a significant step towards fulfilling his promise to the American people.
“Included in this historic proposal is $550 billion in new spending that will transform and modernize America’s transportation infrastructure, create millions of good jobs, and power our economy for generations to come. Transportation labor is especially pleased that this package advances a long-term reauthorization of our surface transportation programs, including an additional $100 billion for highways and $39 billion for transit, and directs $17 billion for ports and waterways, $25 billion for airports, and $66 billion for rail infrastructure.
“TTD has long called for the kind of unprecedented funding in our crumbling infrastructure that will transform how Americans live, work, and travel; create new pathways to the middle class for millions of working families; and secure our country’s future in an increasingly competitive global economy. Today’s historic agreement brings us one step closer to meeting these goals. At the same time, we must point out that key priorities for transportation workers remain unfinished in this legislation. To that end, we must be clear that TTD will never relent in our pursuit of the strongest federal labor and safety standards possible that protect both the workers and users in our multi-modal transportation system.
“We look forward to our continued work with Congress and the administration to help achieve President Biden’s commitment to expand and modernize and infrastructure and build back better.”