[applause] good afternoon, everyone. I want to start the program with a warm welcome to the department of labor to witness our partnership across the federal government with the signing of two separate memorandums of understanding between the department of labor and department of interior and Environmental Protection agency. I am theresa acuna, Deputy Director of the Good Jobs Initiative here at d. O. L. The Good Jobs Initiative helps support collaborations between these agencies as we aim to realize the vision of President Biden. And through the leadership of our respective leaders. This work and today would not be possiblefit were not for the countless people in each of our agencies who believe we can act on Climate Solutions and create good and equitable union jobs for all. [applause] i want to give a special shout out to our colleague at interior and e. P. A. You know who you are. In the audience. For your partnership and trust as we work together. Today you will be hearing from our Agency Leaders on their vision for creating good jobs and a clean economy as well as a Panel Discussion with leaders making our goals real on the ground. Now its my pleasure to introduce our esteemed leader at the department of labor. Acting secretary julie su. Acting secretary su is a nationally recognized expert on workers rights and civil rights who has dedicated her legal career to advancing justice on behalf of poor and us enfranchised communities. She previously served as the d. O. L. Deputy secretary and secretary of the California Labor and Work Force Development agency. Every day, acting secretary su challenges us at the department to think of the best ways to unleash the full power of the department of labor and act on it. Shes a sincere thought partner and true collaborator and is the first to recognize that it will take our collective action to see this moment, making today that much more important to us. So with that, i welcome acting secretary su to the stage. [applause] julie thank you, theresa. Thank you so much. I want to echo her welcome to all of you for being here but also thank her for her incredible efforts and her leadership inside the department. Along with the rest of my team at d. O. L. , the department of interior, and the Environmental Protection agency. What we are talking about today is a Historic Collaboration between our departments. And how work is going to impact workers, our climate and tomorrows work force. That would not be possible without the incredible work represented by the people in this room. So our department of labor building is named for Francis Perkins who was the first woman cabinet secretary for any president. And by all accounts, the most consequential labor secretary in history. Thats why im particularly excited to welcome secretary deb haaland to our building todayer. The secretary of the interior. Who is also, shes the first native american to serve in any cabinet, under any president. Yes. You can give that a hand. [applause] she is a Laguna Pueblo citizen and was the first native American Woman to be elected to lead a state party in her home state of new mexico and one of the first native american women to serve in congress. So shes a living embodiment of something that i have seen throughout my career and my life and experienced in everywhere i go, which is that diversity and excellence go hand in hand. So thank you very much, secretary, for being here. And that idea that diversity and excellence go hand in hand is also fundamental to President Bidens vision for what a strong and resilient economy looks like. He talked about and challenges us all to build an economy from the middle out and the bottom up. And in order to do that, we have to be very cleareyed about who has for too long been at the bottom. Who are the communities, who are the individuals, who are the families where workers do not enjoy a just days pay for their hard days work . Where a worker gets up in the morning and isnt sure he or she is going to come home safely at the end of the day. Where whole communities have been shut out of opportunities in the past and today and shut out of the opportunities to get good jobs due to discrimination or occupational segregation or other forms of marginalization. It is also not an accident that those same communities who suffer from poor jobs also suffer the worst effects of our Climate Crisis. So, we are here today to talk about how we can address those harms together, because we cannot build the economy that President Biden envisions unless we fix those things. So we have a moment, we have a moment that were in now, with historic investments in our nations infrastructure, in our nations manufacturing, p in our nations clean energy, and by the president s vision in our nations workers. So investing in the investing in america agenda, the president and cabinet have been out across the country talking about what investing in america means. Were here to do that right here at the Francis Perkins building for the department of labor because we are trying to deliver on a once in a generation moment of solving a whole bunch of challenges in this country all at the same time, including the need for good jobs and the need to combat the Climate Crisis. We have prioritized federal infrastructure investment, Regional Economic development, swept innovative Work Force Development opportunities to answer this question, are we going to have the workers for all these good jobs that are being created . And key to all of this, as you hear the president say and i believe in strongly and everyone across the cabinet does too, the right to form or join a union in the workplace is fundamental to what it means to have a good job, Strong Community and a good life. [applause] so the work thats going to come out of the partnership were talking about here today are part of the proof that we do not have to choose between workers and our climate. We dont have to choose between good jobs and the environment. So. Weve seen this in some of the progress made under bindomics but theres a whole bunch more work to do and our partnership is going to continue to allow us to roll up our sleeves together and get that work done. We are going to do it with great intentionality to make sure the workers and communities left out in the past are not left out in the economy that we build going forward. The partnership has allowed us to will allow us to continue to embed job quality and equity criteria in the trillions of dollars of federal funding going out into communities. The m. O. U. s were going to sign today are going to allow us to focus resources and expertise of not just the leadership but our entire department to ensure we are taking all the correct actions to leverage the froths ability to move action the federal governments ability to move action on the ground, to what we say need to be done with federal dollar, but also to listen to and build on expertise of communities and work in communities on fielding equitable, strong economies and Work Force Development programs. So im just so excited ability this partnership with secretary haaland, with dan and the e. P. A. , all of you here. We know that this that successful Work Force Development happens with work rooted in community, going work to understand what the challenges and the abilities and talent that was been left out in their communities are. So with that, im going to actually ask our panelists to come up because were going to talk about some examples of people who are doing this work on the ground the right way in a way that really reflects the president s vision of how to build a strong economy. While they come up im going to tell you who they are. Thank you so much for being here. We are joined today by frank howard iii. [applause] and wayne. Go ahead, have a seat. Frank has been treasurer of howard pumping company inc. , a Family Company founded by his father. Since 2006. Hes been a fixture in the howard offices for his entire life. Howard pumping company inc. Is a Specialty Contractor with unique expertise in the drilling and grounding of abandoned coal mines to prevent ground substances, working with numerous abandoned mine programs throughout across the United States and howards work force includes Union Laborers including pile drivers. Thank you for modeling what it means to build the economy that President Biden envisions. Lee is the regional programming more for the labor climate project in ohio and she is a member of u. S. W. Local 1046 in louisville, ohio. A 24year maintenance employee with a bachelors degree from Kent State University which she completed while working full time in the shop. So [applause] her parents were steelworks and her grandparents were union members. Last but not least, commissioner richardson is the Strategic Partner for labors Eastern Region and the leader of path to membership, which provides a path out of poverty through union membership. Thank you all for joining us. I want each of you to do a quick lightning round, 90 seconds, of what you see as the opportunity now given your background in this space for beth addressing our Climate Crisis and our good jobs crisis in this country. Frank, ill start with you if thats ok. Frank i think the important thing is that we have a time and history in history where we can come together and meet and theres funding opportunity to do work that is very hard to do, that takes a lot of unique skillsets. And expertise. And that traditionally doesnt have funding. At the same time we can invest in work Forest Development which is from a business perspective very difficult to do. And there is a long tale to doing that. That is to stay the investments in work force dont pay off right away. So it has to be an ongoing investment. So i think the vision that we have here and the funding available is really a unique opportunity to get some of this work done and done well. Lee thanks, thank you all for this opportunity, super excited youre doing this. Im a boots on the ground gal. Blue Green Alliance is a coalition of labor and Environmental Partners who believe as you mentioned, secretary su that we do not have to choose between good jobs and a Clean Environment they go hand in hand. So weve been at this, b. G. A. Has been at this for 17 years. I for 10 in ohio. I started when i was 12. [laughter] and heres what i see from on the ground, is education, trust building, relationship building, making sure the right people are at the table, and this opportunity that youre doing today will only broaden the folks that we can bring in to the table and all speak from the same place. Wayne wayne richardson. Happy to be here. Thanks to all of you for coming. Thanks for putting this together. One of the things that i see that we need to do when we talk about infrastructure dollars and all of these things that are going to happen, going to be so wonderful. Weve got to make sure that the people who, secretary su mentioned who have been marginalized get a real opportunity. And ive been a part of these good job summits in the past and one of the things that ive said and i hold to that right now, those who control the money make the rules. So youve got to make sure the rules are in place that will connect the jobs and all of the things that President Biden is attempting to do in Holding People accountable, the folks who are going to receive the money. So its not just putting the money out there. And we have to train the work force which is one of the things that the laborers are doing now with our pathway to apprenticeship. Mike sure they have a real opportunity to get into the trades, get into the union. And thats one of the things that were doing thats going to be essential. Were going to need the work force. Going to be a lot of money but we have to be ready and trained when that money hits the ground. Julie thank you so much for that. Lee, im going to ask you a question based on what you said about the need to put all the pieces together. Can you say a little bit more about why its so important to bring climate, environmental folks together with labor as we implement the funding . Lee yes. So, you know, it takes a long time to build trust between different organizations, right . And what this historic legislation has given us the opportunity to do on speed is to bring those folks together and explain to them that we have to work together. And we have to trust one another. And i think, you know, throughout the country, this is going on. But i know for sure its going on in the state of ohio. Our abandoned land mine work, we have the lay borers at the table, we have the operate the laborers at the table, the operators at the table. Ohio valley river organizations at the table. Our youll utility scale solar work. We have developers, i. B. W. At the table. All talking to one another. Singing from the same himmal. Its been an amazing thing to see. And youre right, the Apprenticeship Program, the folks that have been left out, we need to double down our efforts and bring them along as well. Julie i love that. The way you put it, when there are rules in place for how people are supposed to operate, we have a fair game. And you know, just to follow up, because your work on abandoned land mines, theres such an overlap between what the department of superiors funding opportunity of interiors funding opportunities create and what youve been doing what does a partnership between the department of labor and department of interior mean for you . How does it affect your work when there are standards in funding at the front end . Lee can i call out a couple of people from d. O. L. And d. O. I. Who have been instrumental in this . Wendy in the front row, ruku, there she is back there julie can you stand up when she says your names, please . [applause] lee these gals, these gals have joined an over other week call with 20, 25, 30 folks from respective states, mostly in appalachia, had the patience to explain this program, encourage us to bring folks along to this program, it has obviously not been codified until today but it has been such a pleasure working with them, and they have theyve made friends. Our labor in kentucky, lonnie, likes to call out winnie and say, winnie, what do you think about this . These folks are just salt of the earth folks that are that are going to bring these folks along in. August in ohio were having a round table, webinar discussion, with signatory contractorsed on how to bid this work. This is historic. Theyve never they dont know this program. Theyve never been made aware of this program. And here we are going to tell them that this funding is going to come for at least the next 10 years. And its going to be your work. Its really something to be part of. Julie thank you, lee. What youre saying is when there are criteria, conditions at the beginning, it creates opportunities for the work to be done the right way and to make sure that workers can do that work. Come out of programs. Lee and the right people are at the table. Weve all heard, if youre not on not at the table youre on the menu . Weve got them at the table. Julie frank, to that point, i often say theres vast Common Ground between whats good for employers and whats good for workers. And you and the company that has been in your family for generations is a very good example of that. You use union labor. You talked about the Business Case for Work Force Development. Can you tell us why your business sees value in Union Partnership and the value in respecting your workers rights to join a union . Frank sure. I think its two very important elements. Clearly, it is about providing quality Career Opportunities for individuals. I mean, the union work force, its good wages. Its healthy benefits. Its robust retirement. So its training opportunities. Its an opportunity to better yourself. Its an opportunity to make a good life without necessarily having to need a college education. So thats point one about the Union Tradesmen and the union work force. From a Business Owners perspective, i think its important to call out, especially in the construction rem, and im generalizing a little bit but if youre looking at Union Tradesmen versus nonUnion Tradesmen youre getting a more professional result by going with the Union Tradesmen. Were talking about safety. Awareness of safety. More safety training. So thats good for everybody. Were talking about Quality Control and quality assurance, so the projects are built faster and at a better quality. And then finally, its what were all talking about, its about Work Force Development. And really unions are set up to do that very well, where especially with doctorrors that are contractors that are smaller or mediumsized its difficult to d