Biden Introduces $2 Trillion Infrastructure, Jobs Plan in Pittsburgh-area Visit

President Joe Biden unveiled a new $2 trillion infrastructure, environmental, and jobs plan during a March 31st visit to a carpenters’ training facility in Collier Township, outside Pittsburgh.

The projected price tag is much less than the $3 trillion or $4 trillion investment predicted in advance reporting of the announcement. Yet, the plan has already received heavy pushback from Congressional Republicans, reminiscent of their “Obama-era blockade that helped sour voters on the Democratic president more than a decade ago,” the AP reported.

The president touted the plan as a “‘once in a generation investment’ into the country’s crumbling infrastructure [that] relies on corporate tax reform and calls back to his campaign promise made two years ago in this city to ‘rebuild the backbone of America,’” the Post-Gazette reported.

As detailed in a White House fact sheet, the proposal seeks to fix highways, rebuild bridges, and upgrade ports, airports, and transit systems. It seeks to deliver clean drinking water, a renewed electric grid, and highspeed broadband to all Americans. Other target areas are residential and commercial construction, and renovations for schools, childcare facilities, veterans’ hospitals, and federal buildings.

It will focus on creating jobs; raising wages and benefits for essential workers; incentivizing manufacturing and domestic supply chains; and training Americans for jobs of the future. The plan prioritizes jobs that pay prevailing wages in safe, healthy workplaces while strengthening collective bargaining rights.

Politico reported that many labor organizations, notably those in the building trades, “fervently back the plan” while some have cautioned that new temporary construction jobs would cause loss of permanent jobs in fossil fuel-related industries.

“Here’s the truth: we all will do better when we all do well,” Biden said. “It’s time to build our economy from the bottom up and from the middle out, not the top down.”

Amazon Unionization Ballot Count Continues Under Watchful Eyes

Voting ended on March 29th in the closely watched unionization election at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, but the vote tabulation will soon be open to public scrutiny in real time.

AL.com reported that Amazon and the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union (RWDSU) each have observers watching the actual counting of ballots, and it is expected that the news media will be granted access this week.

“About 5,800 ballots were sent out in early February for the mail-in vote, encompassing both full-time and part-timers,” the website wrote. “… During the early portion of the count, representatives for the company and the union check the names of everyone who voted against the official employee roll. Either side can contest a person’s eligibility to vote. Those ballots are then set aside. The remaining ballots are then counted. The media will be able to observe this portion of the election, which will be decided by a simple majority.”

The National Labor Relations Board regional director will decide on the status of disputed ballots. Those determinations may be appealed to the national board.

On Monday, The New York Times reported that the NLRB recently dealt Amazon a setback in a labor dispute involving two employees who were fired after publicly calling on the company to reduce its negative impact on climate change and address concerns about poor work conditions in its warehouses.

The federal agency told Seattle-based Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa that it would accuse Amazon of unfair labor practices if the company did not settle their wrongful termination complaint.

“Claims of unfair labor practices at Amazon have been common enough that the labor agency may turn them into a national investigation,” the Times wrote, citing earlier reporting by NBC News.

The current composition of the NLRB includes three Republicans and one Democrat, while one seat is vacant. The Republican majority is a holdover from the prior presidential administration, but Democrat Lauren McFerran has become chair of the board under President Biden.

In addition, Biden has appointed Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr to oversee the board’s day-to-day operations, while the president’s nomination of longtime labor attorney Jennifer Abruzzo as general counsel awaits confirmation.

AL.com also reported that most American voters support unionization of the Bessemer facility. A survey released by the AFL-CIO found that 69% of likely voters nationwide support the union, while 16% oppose it. Support is 96% among Democrats, 79% among independents, and 55% among Republicans.

The Bessemer vote is closely watched as a harbinger of potential labor organizing elsewhere in the nation’s second-largest private-sector employer. It would be the first successful union organizing effort in the company’s history.

March 2021 National Jobs Update

The seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate fell to 6.0% in March 2021, down 0.2% over the month. The rate has declined every month since April 2020 except December 2020, when it remained unchanged. Since hitting 14.8% in April 2020, its highest level in the history of the seasonally adjusted series (dating back to 1948; prior to this time, unemployment was estimated to have hit roughly 25% during the Great Depression of the 1930s), the rate has declined 8.8%. Between February and April 2020, the national unemployment rate rose 11.3% (from 3.5% to 14.8%).

This and the other changes to data noted in this update reflect the evolution of the national employment situation through the coronavirus pandemic. Unemployment rolls fell by 262,000 individuals in March 2021 to 9.710 million people. In comparison to April 2020, when total unemployment hit a series record high of 23.109 million (after growth of 17.392 million between February and April 2020), total unemployment was down by 13.399 million in March 2021. As has been the case during the pandemic, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has indicated that unemployment figures would have been higher for March if survey respondents on temporary layoff had been properly classified as unemployed.

As of March 2021, the national unemployment rate stood 2.5% higher than its level of 3.5% in February 2020 (which matched the nearly 50 year low seen in 2019) with total unemployment standing 3.993 million higher than the February 2020 level of 5.717 million individuals. National unemployment statistics for the month are as follows:

• Total Unemployment – 9,710,000
• Change Over Month –    DOWN   262,000
• Change Over Year –   UP    2,525,000
• Change Over 13 Months –     UP   3,993,000
• Rate Change Over Month –   DOWN    0.2%
• Rate Change Over Year –    UP   1.6%
• Rate Change over 13 Months –    UP    2.5%
• Rate Change Over Biden Term –   DOWN    0.3%
• Rate Change Over Trump Term –    UP   1.6%
• Rate Change Over Obama 2nd Term –    DOWN   3.3%

As indicated above, total unemployment’s rounded percentage of the labor force, or unemployment rate, fell over the month (rate = unemployment / labor force). The labor force is the total number of employed individuals combined with the total number of unemployed individuals actively searching for work. Growth in the labor force can be a sign of a strengthening economy from more people working and/or more individuals searching for jobs. The national labor force grew for a second consecutive month in March 2021, rising by 347,000 individuals, a combination of total employment* up by 609,000 and total unemployment down by 262,000 individuals as noted above, raising its total to 160,558,000.

As of March 2021, the labor force stood 4.080 million individuals (unemployment -13,399,000 & employment +17,478,000) above its pandemic period low of 156,478,000 in April 2020, after falling by 7.970 million between February and April 2020. However, the March 2021 labor force was 3.890 million individuals (unemployment +3,993,000 & employment -7,884,000) lower than its level of 164,448,000 in February 2020 (near the record high of 164,579,000 in December 2019). National labor force statistics for the month are as follows:

• Total Labor Force – 160,558,000
• Change Over Month –    UP   347,000
• Change Over Year -   DOWN    2,163,000
• Change Over 13 Months –    DOWN   3,890,000
• Change Over Biden Term –    UP   397,000
• Change Over Trump Term –   UP    545,000
• Change Over Obama 2nd Term –    UP   3,853,000

Non-farm* jobs grew by 916,000 in March 2021 over the previous month, with total employment rising to 144.120 million. Non-farm jobs have grown in every month since April 2020 except December 2020. Since hitting a pandemic period low of 130.161 million in April 2020 (following a loss of 22.362 million between February and April 2020), non-farm employment is up by 13.959 million.

As of March 2021, total non-farm employment stood 8.403 million less than its record high level of 152.523 million in February 2020. National non-farm employment statistics for the month are as follows:

• Total Non-Farm Employment – 144,120,000
• Change Over Month –    UP   916,000
• Change Over Year –   DOWN    6,720,000
• Change Over 13 Months –    DOWN   8,403,000
• Change Over Biden Term –    UP   1,384,000
• Change Over Trump Term –    DOWN   2,876,000
• Change Over Obama 2nd Term –    UP   10,349,000

*Total employment for labor force provided by U.S. Census Household survey. The separate BLS Establishment survey measures non-farm jobs only.

February 2021 State Unemployment Rates

(Seasonally adjusted; Source: U.S. BLS; National Rate: 6.2%)