Folks, is it “woke” to wake up at 4 AM, drive to some far flung construction site, wash a gas station breakfast down with an energy drink, work a ten-hour shift with your hands, and go home tired and covered in dirt? Apparently, the answer is “it depends.”
President Donald Trump has begun to target federal funds granted under the Biden administration to construction projects across the country, killing hundreds of thousands of union construction jobs all in the name of stopping “woke.” Union construction workers across the country are having bread taken off their table as the President rages war against anyone, and anything, that he perceives to be an enemy, including construction projects.
Trump’s Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation have cancelled billions of dollars in funding for construction projects across the country that would have put union members to work across the country.
Solar projects, hydrogen hubs, transportation projects, water pipe replacement projects, you name it, Trump seems to find have a grudge against any infrastructure project that he didn’t think of himself. How long until the work from the Biden administration dries up and the number of union members sitting on the books, waiting for work, starts to pile up? Ask your bank account, does it matter if the President thinks the project is “woke” if that means your union brothers and sisters will be unemployed?
North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement: “The shutdown and job cancellations over the past 48 hours are creating chaos and uncertainty for America’s construction workforce. As of this morning, with more unnecessary job cancellations and delays threatening to further divide us as a nation, roughly $28 billion in federal funding is being withdrawn from dozens of states across the country. Over 300 Department of Energy project awards have been canceled, and major transportation projects are now also threatened in major hubs like New York and Illinois. These are not headlines or talking points; these targeted actions attack the jobs of blue collar workers and create deeper construction industry market instability in both red and blue states. Real jobs and real paychecks are in jeopardy from these devastating blows to American workers and their families.
“Two cancelled project awards alone, the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub and California’s ARCHES Hub, would have created more than 135,000 construction jobs, most under project labor agreements to ensure cost and schedule stability and a locally trained, highly skilled workforce. These are major projects with bipartisan support that would grow the hydrogen industry and strengthen America’s energy and national security.
“Unlike Members of Congress, building trades workers only get paid when they show up to work. This chaos threatens their livelihoods. If they cannot work, they do not get paid. Lawmakers need to remember: memes do not pay the bills. Political games and social media fights do not build projects or keep families afloat. Shutdowns, delays, and cancellations deliver only chaos, and our members are the victims of Washington’s dysfunction and chaos culture.
“Our members are ready to build. But we cannot do our job unless Congress and the White House do theirs. It is time for Washington to get to work and have a sense of urgency. Our elected officials should not be anywhere but together in a room working to resolve this unnecessary crisis.”
Tristin Amezcua-Hogan is the Editor of The Labor Beacon and a member of LIUNA Local 264. Tristin also serves as the Director of Communications for the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO and the Chair of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance.
Tristin grew up as the son of a UA Local 669 member in Tecumseh, KS and the great-nephew of George C. Amis, longtime leader of the United Rubberworkers (now USW Local 307) in Kansas. Growing up in rural Kansas as the child of teen parents, Tristin quickly came to appreciate the life-changing benefit of a union job.
Tristin and his partner, Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, are residents of the Westside, Kansas City, MO's historic Mexican neighborhood. They are proud members of Kansas City's New Reform Temple.
