IFPTE Welcomes Biden-Harris Administration’s Announcement to Invest in Critical Semiconductor Manufacturing in New York and Vermont
Commerce Department’s Preliminary Agreement to Award GlobalFoundries $1.5 Billion for Domestic Semiconductors is a “Tremendous Opportunity for Industry to Partner with Labor” and “Build STEM Talent Pipelines and Create Pathways to Good Union Manufacturing Jobs”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The executive officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), a labor union representing upwards of 90,000 professionals in highly skilled occupations across several industries and sectors – from aerospace and defense to energy, to engineering services and civil engineering – commends President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on the announcement of the preliminary memorandum of terms for GlobalFoundries to build new facilities and expand existing facilities for semiconductor fabrication. IFPTE’s participation in today’s announcement marks its ongoing support for President Biden’s historic commitment to growing the labor movement, as well as the union’s partnership with the administration in realizing the vision of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. The proposed projects for GlobalFoundries will support thousands of jobs over the next decade and include dedicated workforce development funding. IFPTE executive officers made the following statements.
IFPTE President Matthew Biggs:
“With the announcement of the Commerce Department’s preliminary agreement to direct $1.5 billion to GlobalFoundries, IFPTE applauds the Biden-Harris Administration and Secretary Raimondo for implementing the CHIPS and Science Act’s federal investments and opening the door to forging partnerships across federal and local governments, industry, and labor. These investments are not only about creating good jobs in New York and Vermont, they’re about making sure our supply chains for defense, aerospace, energy, and other critical sectors of the economy are resilient and the work is done by our nation’s skilled workforce. This high-road strategic industrial policy approach can only succeed if labor unions are partners in supporting STEM workforce development, good wages and working conditions, and protections that allow workers to form unions and build high-performance workplaces through labor-management partnerships. We are very encouraged at these initial steps and look forward to doing our part to help this industry and these investments deliver on their promise.”
IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson:
“As a union of STEM professionals, we have long advocated for a coordinated and strategic approach to rebuilding American manufacturing and reshoring supply chains. We are very encouraged to see the Biden-Harris Administration make good on its commitment to direct federal dollars toward creating good jobs in the semiconductor industry and make sure Americans are offered opportunities to learn skills and work in this critically important part of our economy. We look forward to engaging with industry, the Commerce Department, and the dedicated staff at Commerce’s CHIPS for America office to make sure public investments build our semiconductor industry with union jobs, labor-industry partnerships, and collaborative worker-centered workforce development.”
Across the United States and Canada, IFPTE represents 90,000 highly skilled workers in the federal, public, and private sectors. IFPTE is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO and the CLC. More information can be found at www.IFPTE.org.
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