CWA Represents at the White House

Protecting American Workers from Unfair Trade Practices

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced increased tariffs to protect American competitiveness abroad, American jobs here at home, and slow the influx of cheap goods that drive down prices for similar products made domestically. Representatives from several labor unions, including CWA President Claude Cummings Jr., CWA Chief of Staff Sylvia J. Ramos, and CWA Local 2236 members Brandon Horn and Lawrence Bryant, gathered at the White House for the announcement. President Biden opened his remarks by thanking the labor unions present, mentioning CWA by name.

Among the products targeted for protection by the tariffs were raw steel and aluminum, electric vehicles, and semiconductors. Members of IUE-CWA, who manufacture both semiconductors and electric buses, should benefit from less undercutting by Chinese competitors.

“I’m determined that the future of electric vehicles will be made in America by union workers. Period,” President Biden said at the event.

To watch the event, click here.

 
CWA Local 2236 member Brandon Horn (left) joined President Joe Biden at the White House as he signed a memorandum leveling trade tariffs on strategic Chinese goods to help protect American manufacturing.

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Rural Communities in Action Summit

CWA also participated in the White House Rural Communities in Action Summit, which took place the same day. CWA Local 3611’s Keith Busby, a Broadband Brigade member from North Carolina, joined Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and others to discuss the importance of high-speed internet access in rural communities and the benefits of building out broadband using union labor. You can watch the event here.

 
CWA Local 3611 Broadband Brigade member Keith Busby participated in a White House panel discussion on the need for broadband expansion in rural communities and why union labor is more cost-effective and safer for workers creating that infrastructure.