Roadmap to Reviving Worker Power: Leveraging Federal Funds to Grow Unions & Economic Opportunity

Choices made in recent years at the federal level offer Virginia a significant opportunity to build a more fair, more robust, and thriving economy that works for families today and in the future. The historic investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS Act represent a monumental chance for decision-makers to draw down billions in available federal funding. And, with thoughtful collaboration and implementation, we could create thousands of family-supporting union jobs; strengthen worker power and pave new pathways to the middle class for women, people of color, and low-income communities; deliver community benefits like safer air to breathe; position Virginia as a national clean economy leader; and build a more just and equitable economy. However, maximizing these benefits will require intentional efforts and careful planning from advocates and policymakers.

To truly uplift underserved communities and build an economy that works for all, policymakers must prioritize good job quality, equitable access to economic opportunities, and meaningful community engagement every step of the way. By centering these values and leveraging key policy levers, Virginia can transform this historic funding into lasting, structural changes that will deliver concrete benefits, especially for low-income communities and communities of color who are too often left behind.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides $1.2 trillion over 10 years to rebuild and revitalize the nation’s critical infrastructure. For Virginia, this translates to major investments across a range of sectors, including $7 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs. It also provides $1.2 billion over five years to improve public transportation options across the state, $1.5 billion to expand broadband access (with at least 470,000 Virginians set to benefit from improved connectivity), $389 million to upgrade water infrastructure and ensure access to clean, safe drinking water for all communities, and increased funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission to spur economic development and growth across Appalachian communities in Southwest Virginia. Virginia has also won over $800 million in funding for rail improvements from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Importantly, many of these investments come with requirements and incentives aimed at maximizing job quality and equity impacts, such as setting minimum pay through the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage standards, preferences for registered apprenticeship programs, which train the next generation of skilled workers, set-asides for disadvantaged businesses, and strong domestic sourcing requirements under Buy America. The Davis-Bacon wage standards typically require contractors on federally funded projects to pay workers at least the average wages and benefits for their job type in that local area, helping to ensure fair compensation in the construction industry. 

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) delivers an additional $369 billion over 10 years — the largest investment in clean energy and climate action in U.S. history. The IRA offers a suite of tax credits and incentives to accelerate deployment of renewable energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency upgrades, and other key climate solutions. It also makes strategic investments to onshore clean energy manufacturing and build out robust domestic supply chains. To further boost job quality, many provisions include new labor standards requiring prevailing wages and use of registered apprentices. The IRA also targets specific investments to low-income and disadvantaged communities and those impacted by the transition away from fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act aims to strengthen U.S. leadership in the semiconductor industry through expanded research and development, workforce development, and incentives for domestic manufacturing. With its growing tech sector, Virginia is well-positioned to capture a significant share of these investments. However, proactive efforts will be needed to ensure the benefits reach workers across the full semiconductor supply chain.

With nearly $2 trillion allocated over the next decade, the federal packages represent a once-in-a-generation chance to accelerate clean energy deployment, create good union jobs, and build a more just and equitable economy. Yet delivering on the promise of this federal funding will require advocates and policymakers to be proactive and strategic. Attaching high-road labor standards — like making sure working people are paid fairly through prevailing wage standards, prioritizing local hiring and community engagement, partnering with unions of working people, and meeting registered apprenticeship requirements — is key to creating pathways into good jobs for communities who are often excluded from shared prosperity.

These efforts could be bolstered by and help build on the recent momentum of worker power, as union membership in Virginia rose to 4.3% of workers in 2023, bucking the national trend of declining union rates. By joining together in a union, working people are better able to improve pay, working conditions, and more for both union and non-union members. However, with only 176,000 union workers statewide, Virginia’s labor movement still has a long way to go to reverse its historically low union density as one of the original “right-to-work” states. Not only does the type of work laid out in the federal packages naturally lend itself to partnering with unions of skilled workers, but there are also incentives to use union labor built into the funding. As a result, Virginia could create thousands of family-supporting union jobs across fast-growing sectors like clean energy, transportation, and infrastructure. 

This unprecedented investment also provides an opportunity to expand the pathway to good-paying, union jobs and economic opportunity. In recent years, apprenticeship programs have been a key tool to remove barriers to good-paying jobs for women and people of color. Hiring registered apprentices and expanding access to union apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs is critical to maximizing the benefits of this funding. Policymakers should also include increased funding, child care assistance, transportation and other support services to help underrepresented communities further overcome barriers to these empowering career pipelines.

Critically, robust community engagement provisions must be baked in from the start through inclusive planning processes, equitable workforce goals, and dedicated funding for capacity building to ensure low-income and communities of color are true partners. In particular, entering into a community benefit agreement can help make sure community concerns are addressed throughout the duration of the project and support positive economic, health, and environmental impacts within a community.

However, failure to prioritize equity and worker voice risks reinforcing existing inequities and environmental injustices in marginalized communities, who could bear the brunt of any harm while being shut out from economic gains. Public trust would also erode without robust community inclusion. And without strong labor standards, new jobs may offer low wages and limited protections.

While some states are rapidly aligning policies and structures, Virginia’s implementation still allows opportunities for advocates, community members, and legislators to shape efforts in an equitable, worker-centered direction over the coming months.

For community organizations, there are opportunities to amplify community voices in planning processes, advocate for equity provisions like targeted hiring and workforce funds, and push for inclusive oversight structures like compensated local advisory boards. Organizations can provide input to ensure investments reflect true community needs, build grassroots capacity for meaningful engagement, and hold decision-makers accountable.

For community members, opportunities exist to stay informed on plans, attend public meetings to vocalize priorities, engage representatives on centering equity, get involved with driving organizations, pursue new jobs and training created, and hold leaders accountable through civic participation.

For legislators, there are opportunities to pass policies attaching labor standards to projects, codifying robust equity frameworks and inclusive governance, allocating sufficient engagement resources, exercising transparency oversight, collaborating with community and labor partners, exploring innovative workforce models, and defending against attempts to sideline working people or communities.

Realizing this opportunity’s transformative potential will likely require coordinated efforts across these groups. An all-hands-on-deck approach centering equity, worker empowerment, and robust democracy could help Virginia maximize these investments so that everyone can thrive, no exceptions.

By seizing this moment through sustained, strategic advocacy, Virginia can lay the foundation for an economy that is stronger, cleaner, more equitable, and more prosperous for all for generations to come. The potential benefits for Virginia’s working families are unmatched — but realizing them will require bold vision and relentless organizing.

Now is the time to dream big and fight for the future Virginia’s workers and communities deserve. Advocates must act urgently to influence critical implementation decisions being made over the coming months. While the path ahead will demand hard work, the once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Virginia’s economic landscape and the economic opportunity for Virginia’s families makes the struggle worthwhile.

While the labor incentives and standards like prevailing wages, registered apprenticeship utilization, project labor agreements, and others are optional for many of the infrastructure funding streams, federal agencies like the Department of Energy and Department of Transportation have been directed by the Biden administration to prioritize projects that incorporate such workforce provisions when awarding grants and financing. However, tracking which specific projects have included these labor standards has proven difficult, as federal funding announcements often do not clearly delineate the workforce policies attached. Here at TCI, we are working diligently to identify infrastructure projects in Virginia that have successfully leveraged the law’s labor incentives so far. We are analyzing funding awards, talking to stakeholders, and filing public records requests to get a fuller picture. Our goal is to highlight these workforce-focused projects as models for other states and municipalities.

TCI is also actively advocating for Virginia to make robust use of these labor standards and workforce development opportunities as the state pursues future funding opportunities from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Incorporating strong prevailing wage, registered apprenticeship, local hire, project labor agreement, and domestic sourcing requirements into Virginia’s grant applications and financing requests will be crucial to ensuring these investments create quality jobs and drive equitable economic mobility.

The stakes could not be higher. But by centering good jobs, equity, and community voice, Virginia can leverage this historic federal investment to revive its labor movement and ensure the rewards of economic growth are broadly shared. It’s up to advocates to make the most of this opportunity through effective implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and complementary legislation. An economy that works for all of us is within closer reach. The time to act is now.

Category:
Economic Opportunity