In a recent visit to Ann Arbor, President Joe Biden signed an executive order designed to enhance labor standards for federal investments in infrastructure and manufacturing. The order, known as the "Good Jobs" executive order, encourages agencies to prioritize high-wage jobs, benefits such as child care, and fair hiring and management practices, as reported by FOX 2 Detroit.
The event in Michigan, a state with deep union roots, also had Biden emphasizing his administration's pro-labor stance. According to a summary provided by a White House news release and detailed in a Detroit Free Press article, the executive order directs agencies overseeing federal investments to adopt new labor standards. Among them, is a call to secure commitments to voluntarily recognize unions and to consider projects that provide workers with additional benefits.
Biden's address at the UA Local 190's Job Training Center underscored his vision of growing the economy "from the middle out and bottom up instead of the top down," while he cast a critical eye toward his predecessor's record on labor, claiming that former President Donald Trump appointed "union busters" and did not fulfill infrastructure promises. Amid the backdrop of Biden's visit and Vice President Kamala Harris's ongoing presidential campaign, labor and economic policy have become focal points of national attention.
Further context to Biden's executive order was provided by The Detroit News, where Biden, during his speech, asserted the difficulty for any successor to reverse such a labor-centric directive. "And I want to see them try to do it", he stated, laying down a challenge. The order aims to incentivize pro-labor union policies in federal project funding decisions and sets a precedent for high-wage standards in manufacturing grants.
An immediate reaction to Biden's visit came from Team Trump Michigan Communications Director Victoria LaCivita, who used the opportunity to criticize the current administration's economic policies, suggesting that they lead to "historic inflation, high prices, and lost jobs to electric vehicles". This comment comes amidst a competitive presidential race where, as a Detroit Free Press poll suggests, Michigan could play a key role.
