SYRACUSE — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) has proposed the Build Local, Hire Local bill and made a recent stop in Syracuse to promote it. If it became law, the legislation would create new requirements for hiring workers to ensure that local residents are the first to benefit from new infrastructure projects in their community, […]
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SYRACUSE — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) has proposed the Build Local, Hire Local bill and made a recent stop in Syracuse to promote it.
If it became law, the legislation would create new requirements for hiring workers to ensure that local residents are the first to benefit from new infrastructure projects in their community, the senator says. The bill would also require that federal projects incorporate the community’s input and give contracting opportunities to small businesses and minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses, among other “disadvantaged entrepreneurs.”
Gillibrand contends the bill would make “bold reforms” to federal infrastructure investments, “helping to correct decades of failed federal policies that have isolated communities of color.”
The proposal would also invest in infrastructure projects like the community grid alternative to replace Interstate 81.
Gillibrand discussed the proposal during an Oct. 9 visit to JHP Industrial Supply Company in Syracuse, standing with community leaders, business owners, and advocates as she made her announcement. Gillibrand and U.S. Representative Karen Bass of California (D–Los Angeles) introduced the bill in July. The bill is in the first step of the legislative process, according to Congress.gov.
“Infrastructure across New York is crumbling, and we must do something about it. But when we do, it is vital that we do it thoughtfully and purposefully — in a way that rebuilds the communities that have been left behind by failed federal policies, and in a way that connects more Americans to economic opportunity,” Gillibrand said in a release. “My bill, the Build Local, Hire Local Act, would help to do just that. It was inspired by the legacy of [Interstate-81] in Syracuse. The highway cut off whole neighborhoods from the broader community and from economic opportunity. My bill would make sure that when we invest in our infrastructure, we help undo injustices caused by decades of disinvestment and exclusionary federal policies. I urge my colleagues to pass the Build Local, Hire Local [bill].”
Gillibrand’s approach was endorsed by the leader of the business she visited in the Salt City.
“I think Build Local, Hire Local would be fantastic for the Syracuse area. The bill would give businesses here the opportunity to use their workforce, instead of having other contractors bring in a workforce from other areas. It would give workers in this underdeveloped city the opportunity to be involved in projects in their own community,” Emanuel Henderson, III, president of JHP Industrial Supply Company, said in the Gillibrand release. JHP is a wholesale distributor for the plumbing, heating, and industrial industry.
Proposal details
Specifically, the proposed Build Local, Hire Local bill would seek to create local construction jobs for people “who need them most through targeted hiring practices” that use registered apprenticeships and coordinate with state and local workforce-development boards.
It would also rebuild infrastructure with “new opportunities” for small and disadvantaged businesses, per Gillibrand’s release.
The legislation would also encourage the use of “best-value” contracting, registered apprenticeships, and neutrality in union organizing to ensure projects “place a premium not just on the bottom line” but also on the quality of jobs, safety, equity, climate resiliency, and environmental justice, Gillibrand contends.
In addition, the legislation would “dedicate” investment to struggling areas and connect communities to greater opportunity through new performance measures and data on accessibility to transportation and a new $25 billion connect communities grant program to redevelop “marginalized” communities.
The Build Local, Hire Local bill would also provide “pathways to careers” in construction, specialty trades, and other infrastructure jobs through a new $5 billion “Building American Infrastructure and Careers Program” to support training partnerships led by unions, community organizations, and education and training providers.
Gillibrand contends the legislation would also improve labor standards and working conditions and strengthen worker power by using Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Act wage protections; exposing bad actors in contract bids; requiring the use of workforce-diversity programs; creating transparency in pay, employment status, and wage rates; ending forced arbitration; and ensuring that funds are not used for “union-busting.”
It would also “protect and expand” domestic manufacturing by establishing a new Buy America Bureau that would help build American supply chains and bring transparency and coordination to the Buy America waiver process; and by encouraging the use of U.S. employment plans that prioritize existing and new American manufacturing and service jobs when building the nation’s infrastructure.
