September 10, 2022
Dear Friends,
This week, I had the honor of meeting with some of the countless hardworking men and women who keep our Capital Region moving forward every day. As I traveled throughout our district attending Labor Day picnics and parades and speaking directly with workers, I saw firsthand the incredible progress we’ve made on delivering high-quality, good-paying jobs here in the Capital Region and across our nation.
This progress would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of the American labor movement, which has always been the driving force of change for better wages and working conditions.
If we are to continue our successes in growing good-paying jobs across our Capital Region, we must work alongside our union partners to expand the rights of employees to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace. We must pass measures like the PRO Act, legislation I supported that introduces meaningful penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights and strengthens the right of workers to hold free and fair union elections. As long as there are underpaid, mistreated workers in the wealthiest country in the world, I’ll never stop fighting for crucial measures like these.
While there is still much work to be done, the progress we’ve made under the Biden Administration on creating good-paying American jobs has been astounding. Since President Biden took office, our nation has created nearly 10 million jobs—the fastest job growth in American history. Our economy added 315,000 jobs in August of this year alone, and the share of Americans who are working continues to rise. And I’m proud to have played a role in shaping the significant legislation that has helped make this unprecedented growth possible and will continue to create jobs for years to come.
From the onset of the COVID pandemic, our top priority was uplifting middle-class families and getting Americans safely back to work. Last year, I was proud to support the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that lifted our economy off the ground, helped businesses reopen and got millions back to work.
Even now, ARPA continues to deliver for our communities, as I saw first hand last week when I visited the sites of infrastructure projects in Albany, Moreau, Schenectady, and Troy to see some of the amazing job growth these federal funds are bringing to our district.
And ARPA is just the beginning. With the significant investments included in the Inflation Reduction Act, passed last month with my strong support, our nation will create millions of good-paying union jobs that will help reduce emissions across every sector of the economy. This landmark bill also includes some of the strongest labor protections ever attached to clean energy legislation, including measures to require businesses to pay prevailing wages and use registered apprenticeship programs. With its existing high-tech workforce and research and manufacturing capabilities, our Capital Region stands ready to host many of these new jobs, and I’ll fight to make certain our region gets its fair share of these enormous benefits.
Of all these new, historic job creation measures, the CHIPS and Science Act has the potential to bring perhaps the greatest job growth to our region. This week, the Department of Commerce announced its strategic plan for utilizing the CHIPS and Science Act’s $50 billion in funding to promote long-term growth in the domestic semiconductor industry. And while this bill will bring benefits nationwide, our region is particularly well-positioned to benefit from this transformative legislation.
With our highly educated workforce, cutting-edge research facilities and universities like SUNY Polytechnic Institute, RPI, and HVCC, and established industry leaders like GlobalFoundries and IBM, the Capital Region is poised to be able to train the next generation of American semiconductor workers while also keeping those jobs in our region and promoting long-term economic growth. That’s why I’m fighting to make sure our region reaps every possible benefit from this legislation, including the establishment of a new National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) here in New York.
As we celebrate another Labor Day, let us reflect on the unprecedented progress we’ve made in creating jobs and raising wages for hardworking Americans. And let us also resolve to continue our vital work ensuring that no worker is left behind in our growing economy. With the significant legislation we’ve passed this Congress to create good-paying jobs, I’m confident that our region and our nation are well on their way to a better tomorrow for American workers.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to ensure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
The Watervliet Arsenal is hosting a job fair on Friday, September 23rd and Saturday, September 24th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
More than 40 career positions at the Arsenal are now available, in fields ranging from information technology and quality assurance to metal processing, manufacturing, and engineering.
The Watervliet Arsenal is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and veterans are encouraged to apply!
To ensure base access, please register online by Monday, September 19th at https://www.wva.army.mil/jobs
The Watervliet Arsenal is located at 1 Buffington Street in Watervliet, NY. Visitors should enter through the South Gate located on Third Avenue (Rte. 32)
