Labor-friendly provisions include Davis-Bacon protections, TAA improvements
THE AMERICAN RECOVERY and Reinvestment Act of 2009, President Obama’s $790 billon economic stimulus package, will include $3.6 billion for fossil energy programs — especially carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. With an estimated 200 years of coal reserves in the United States, CCS could pave the way for the continued use of coal-fired power plants with a major reduction in greenhouse gases.
Power plant construction, maintenance, and environmental retrofit account for a substantial part of Boilermaker construction work, and more than 50 percent of electricity generated in the United States comes from coal.
The stimulus package will make large investments in other energy-related areas as well, including renewable energy, grid modernization, and energy efficiency and weatherization.
In signing the stimulus package into law, Obama seeks to make good on several campaign promises: bringing the economy back from its deep recession and promoting green technologies to reduce both our reliance on foreign oil and our greenhouse gas emissions.
Several parts of the stimulus package are especially helpful to workers and unions. All money allocated for infrastructure improvements (except for a program involving Native American health facilities) are covered under the Davis-Bacon Act. That means contractors will be required to pay prevailing wages and benefits on federally-funded infrastructure projects.
In addition, the Trade Adjustment Assistance program has been expanded and improved. TAA is designed to provide training and in some cases financial assistance to workers who lose their jobs as a result of trade with other countries. For the first time, a worker who loses a job to a country that does not have a trade agreement with the United States (for example, China) could still qualify for benefits.
