Biden to sign order to prioritize federal grants for projects with higher worker wages and benefits

PITTSBURGH (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday plans to sign an executive order for federal grants that would prioritize projects with labor agreements, wage standards, and benefits such as access to child care and apprenticeship programs.

The Biden administration is trying to make the case that economic growth should flow out of better conditions for workers.

“A good job is a job with security and benefits, where workers have the right to join a union, advocate for better working conditions, come home safe and healthy, and retire with dignity,” said Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su.

Biden is going to a union training center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to announce the order as the administration has stressed the vital role that organized labor will likely play for Democrats in November’s election. In her matchup against Republican Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris is depending on backing from the AFL-CIO and other unions to help turn out voters in key states.

Trump has tried to make inroads with organized labor as well by having Teamsters President Sean O’Brien speak at the Republican National Convention. The Teamsters have yet to formally endorse any candidate, though Harris is expected to meet with them.

The order would establish a task force to coordinate policy development with the goal of ensuring more benefits for workers. The administration’s funding for infrastructure, computer chip manufacturing and the development of renewable energy sources has led to a wave of projects.

By the administration’s count, its incentives have prompted $900 billion worth of private-sector investments in renewable energy and manufacturing. Those commitments have yet to resonate much with voters who are more focused on the lingering damage caused by inflation spiking in 2022, but many projects will take several years to come to fruition.