Posts in Infrastructure
IFPTE Applauds Bipartisan Agreement on Water Resources Development Act, Inclusion Union-Backed Provisions

This week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unveiled their compromise text for the Water Resources Development Act of 2024. The agreed-to WRDA text addresses some of the priorities that IFPTE has advocated for inclusion in the bill

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House-Passed WRDA Bill includes IFPTEs' Language on Lock and Dam Remote Operations – IFPTE Weighs in with Senate and House WRDA Authorizers 

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted on Monday to pass H.R. 8812, the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, legislation that includes IFPTE-backed language to bring oversight to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ ability to unilaterally and recklessly implement remote operation at navigational locks and dams and hydroelectric facilities. 

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House Water Resources Development Act Bill Includes Language for Secure Lock and Dam Operations and Protects IFPTE Members’ Work

The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee marked up their version of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) with a version of IFPTE-requested language that protects lock and dam operations and hydroelectric operations from being performed and controlled through remote offsite operations.

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Local 147 Attends Commerce Department CHIPs Act Announcement

Local 147 leaders Jerry Bouchard and Mike Croll attended an event in Malta, New York on Tuesday hosted by the United States Commerce Department to announce the $1.5 billion in funding upstate New York to expand and create new manufacturing capacity and capabilities to securely produce more essential chips for automotive, IoT, aerospace, defense, and other vital markets. 

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IFPTE, AFT, JWJ, TVA Meet to Discuss STEM Jobs Training Center

Officers and staff from IFPTE, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Jobs with Justice (JWJ), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) came together for two days of meetings in Chattanooga this week to discuss the coalition’s ongoing efforts to stand up a training center for STEM workers.

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SPEEA’s Rich Plunkett and Brandon Anderson Attend First Aerospace Supply Chain Resiliency (ASCR) Task Force Meeting

SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001’s Director of Strategic Development, Rich Plunkett, and Legislative Director, Brandon Anderson, traveled to Washington, DC this week to attend the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) first Aerospace Supply Chain Resilience (ASCR) task force. 

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IFPTE Participates in Senate Forum Regarding AI’s Impact on National Defense and Homeland Security

IFPTE President, Matt Biggs, was one of twenty-one panelists who participated in a bipartisan forum this week hosted by Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Todd Young (R-IN).  The forum is the ninth of a series of Senate forums held this year to examine Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on all facets of society. 

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IFPTE Continues to Fight Against Army Corps of Engineers Efforts to Operate Federal Hydroelectric and Navigational Lock and Dam Facilities without Onsite Personnel

Despite IFPTE’s urging Congress over the last two years to put a stop to efforts by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to replace on-site workers at hydroelectric and navigational lock and dam facilities with remote operation, the USACE doubled down in mid-July by issuing a directive that stipulates that, “USACE will establish a unified, consistent, national lock & dam remote operation program.” 

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IFPTE Shares Positions on NDAA Amendments Ahead of House Rules Committee's Consideration

On Friday, the House passed the NDAA without the customary strong bipartisan support that the NDAA has received in years past. The House bill passed with several troubling amendments that would cut health services for armed service members and defund numerous DoD components and civilian positions related to diversity, without considering the impacts.

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TEAM-Local 161 and the CCPA Release Study, "For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Privatization of Manitoba Telecom Services and its Impacts"

On June 20, in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), TEAM - IFPTE Local 161 held a press conference announcing the release chronicling how the privatisation of MTS, once an engine of the Manitoba economy, has resulted in significant job loss, poor rural and northern phone service, and high rates.

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