Understanding with interior secretary trent eight Environmental Protection agency chief of staff dan utech at the Labor Department in washington d. C. The agreements focus on creating union jobs and Clean Energy Economy. Well also have a panel of Committee Stakeholders on their experiences in advancing these goals. [background noises] [background noises] [background noises] [background noises] [cheering] [applause] good afternoon everyone. I want to start the program with a warm welcome to the department of labor to in this our partnership across the federal government the signing of two separate memorandums of understanding between the department of labor and the department of the interior Environmental Protection agency. I am to recent Deputy Director of the jobs a initiative here at dol. Good Jobs Initiative help support theti collaboration between these agencies as we aim to realize the vision are President Biden. Under the leadership of our respective leaders. This work and today it would noe possible if it were not for the people and each of our agencies who believe that we can act on Climate Solutions create good equitable union jobs. [applause] i want to give a special shout out to our colleague at interior and epa, you know who you are in and the audience for your partnership and trust as we work together. Today youll be hearing from her Agency Leaders on their vision for creating good jobs with clean economy as well as a Panel Discussion making our goals real on the ground. Now its my pleasure to introduce our esteemed leader at the department of later acting secretary julie su. She is a nationally it records t on workers rights and civil rights who dedicate her legal career to denting justice on behalf of poor and disenfranchised communities. She previously served as dol deputy secretary and secretary of the california agency. Every day acting secretary challenges us at the department to think of the best way to unleash the full power of the department of labor and act on it. She is aa sincere thought partr and true collaborator is the first to recognize it will take our collective action to see this a momentuc making today tht much more important. So with that i welcome acting secretary julie su to the stage. Thank you teresa. 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 leadership inside the department along with the rest of my team, the department of interior the Environmental Protection agency. What we are talking about today is a Historic Collaboration between our departments and how our work is going to infect workers, our climate, and tomorrows workforce. That would not be possible without the incredible work representative by the people in this room. So our department of labor building his name for Frances Perkins who was the first woman cabinet secretary or any president. And by all accounts the most consequential labor secretary in history. That is why i am particularly excited to welcome secretary trent eight to our building today secretary of interior who is also the first native american to serve in any cabinet under any president. Yes lets give her a hand. She is a citizen also the first native American Woman to be elected to lead a state party in her home state of new mexico and or the first native american women to serve in congress. She is a living embodiment of something i have seen throughout my career and my life and experienced everywhere i go which is diversity and excellence go handinhand. So thank you very much secretary for being here. I bet i did that diversity goes handinhand is fundamental to President Bidens vision for what a strong and resilient economy looks like. It talks about in challenges us all to build an economy from the middle out in the bottom up. And it orderve to do that we hae to be very clear id about who has for too long at the bottom. Who are the communities, who are the individuals who are the w families where workers do not wear a worker gets up in the morning and is notrn sure he or she is going to come home safely at the ende 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, segregation or other forms of marginalization. It is also not an accident those same communities who suffer fror poor jobs also sever the worst effects of our Climate Crisis. So, we are here today to talk about how we can address those harms together because we cannoo build the economy President Biden envisions unless we fix those things. So, we have a moments, a moment we are in now with historic investments in our nations infrastructure, and our nations manufacturing, and our nations nationsclean energy and by the president vision in our nations workers. So investing in an America America agendathe president andt have been out across the country talk about what investing in america it means we are here to do that right here at 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. S including good jobs and the nd t to combat the Climate Crisis. We have prioritize federal infrastructure investments, Economic Development as well as innovative opportunities to answer this question, are we going to have that workers for all the goodat jobs are being created . From a key to all of this you heard the president say and i believe the right to 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 this going to come of the partnerships we are talking about here today are part of the proof that we do not have to choose between workers and our climate we do not have to choose between good jobs andr the environment. So we have seen this in some already made under bidenomics theres a whole bunch more work to do in our partnership is going to allow us to continue to roll up her sleeves together and get that work done. We are going to with great intentionality to make sure the workers and communities have been left outle in the past are not left out in the economy that we build going forward. The partnership has allowed us to and will allow us to continue to embed job quality and equity criteria in the trillions of dollars of federal funding going out into communities. Mo use we are going to sign todaygo are going to allow us to focus resources and expertise of not just the leadership at our entire department to ensure we are taking all the correct actions to leverage the federal governments ability to move action on the ground to always say what needs to be done with federal dollars but also to listen to and build on the expertise of communities work in communities on building equitable strong economies at workforce develop programs. I am so excited about this P Partnership with secretary holland, with dan and the epa and with all of you here. We know successful Workforce Development happens to work thats rooted in communities, doing work to understand the challenges and the abilities and talents that event left out in the communities are. So, with that im going to actually asked our panelist to come up we are going to talk about somemp 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 building a Strong Economy when they come up at psycho they are thank you so much for being here. Were joined today by frank howard the third. [applause] and Wayne Richardson. Ahead and have a seat. Frank has been treasurer of Howard Concrete Pumping Company inc. A Family Business founded by his father since 2006 hes been a fixture in the howard offices for his entire life. Howard concrete pumping company inc. Is a Specialty Contractor thheadquartered in pittsburgh wh expertise in the drilling and grouting of abandoned coal mines to prevent ground subsidence. Working with numerous and banded abandonedmind lands programs ace United States howards workforce consists of unions, tradesmen, including operating engineers, laborers and pile drivers. So thank you for modeling what it means to build the economy that President Biden envisions bit. Ly as a Regional Program manager for the labor climate claimantproject in ohio per shea member usw local10 46 in louisville, ohio 24 year maintenance employee with a bachelors degree from Kent State University which she completed but working fulltime in the shop. [applause] is doing the work but also models the opportunities we create we do things correctly her parents were still workers and her grandparents were also union members. And last but not least commissioner president Wayne Richardson is the manager of Strategic Partnerships for the labor Eastern Region as well as executive director pathways to apprenticeship the 28 new Jersey Program creates a pathway out of poverty by providing opportunities for training and Union Membership so thank you all so much for joining us. [applause] im going to start out with a very quick lightning around 90 seconds of what you see as the opportunity now given your background in the space of addressing our Climate Crisis in this country. Frank i will start with you if thats okay. Tayes. I think the important thing is that we have a time in history where we can come together andy meet. There is a funding opportunity to do work that is very hard to do that takes a lot of unique skill sets and expertise. And that traditionally does not have the funding. And at the same time we can invest in Workforce Development which is from a business perspective very hard to do and there is a long tail to doing that. That is to say the investments in workforce do not pay off right away. So it has to be ongoing investment. I think the vision we have here and the funding available is really a unique opportunity to get some of the work done. Thanks. Thank you all for this opportunity im super excited youre doing this. Boots on the ground go, Blue Green Alliance is a coalition of labor and Environmental Partners who believe exactly as you mentioned that we do not have to choose between good jobs and a clean environment. They go handinhand. We have been at this for 17 years. I have for 10te in ohio i startd when i was 12. [laughter] and here is what i see from on the ground. Hi education, trust building, relationship building, making sure the right people are at the table and this opportunity you are doing today will only broaden the folks that we can bring into the table and all speak from the same place. Be here. Thanks to all of you for coming and putting this together. One of things i see we need to do as we talk about infrastructure dollars and all of these things are going to happen is going to be so wonderful. Weve got to make sure that secretary su have been marginalized a real opportunity have been a part of the good jobs summits in the past and on of the things ice stand and hope to that right now, those who control the money make the rules. So you have got to make sure the rules are in place that will connect to the jobs and all the things that President Biden is attempting to do and Holding People accountable to folks are going to receive the money. Its not just putting the money out there. We have to train the workforce which is one of the things the laborers are doing now with our pathways to apprenticeship make sure they have a real opportunity to get into the trades, get into the union thats one of the things were doing this going to be essential because we are going to do the work force is going to be a lot of h money but we have to be rey and trained when it hits the ground. Thank you. For thank you somuch for that. Im going to ask you a question just based on what you said about the need bring all the pieces together. Can you say a little bit more about why it is so important to bring the climate environmental folks together with labor as we implement the funding . Yes. It takes a long time to build trust between different organizations, right . 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. We have to trust one another. And i think throughout the country this is going on but i know for sure its going on in the state of ohio. Our abandoned mine lan work we have the labor at the table we have the operators of the table. We have ohio valley river Environmental Organization at the table. Our utility solar work, we have the developers, ibew at the table. All talking to one another and singingal from the same hymnal t has been an amazing thing to see. 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 ar