Stars and Stripes Graduation
Southwest Carpenters indentured 8 transitioning service members from the new Stars and Stripes program. Over the last 8 weeks, these participants have undergone extensive training to learn highly sought-after skills in the construction industry. Having successfully completed their training, they will now begin their careers as Union Carpenters by enjoying middle-class wages, Union benefits for themselves and their family, and a career that packs an adrenaline punch.
Infrastructure Bill is Out
The bipartisan Infrastructure Bill was released to the Senate over the weekend – all 2,702 pages of it. There’s tens of billions of dollars in there for all the traditional areas of infrastructure spending — roads, highways, bridges, rail and airports — as well as funding for broadband, updates to the nation’s power grid, combating climate change, clean energy research and electric vehicle charging stations. Amtrak will get a huge boost, the most in decades. It’s a hugely ambitious piece of legislation that will mean a lot of work for Carpenters! You can read the bill here.
More Employers Are Mandating Vaccines
Federal workers will be required to sign forms attesting they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus or else comply with new rules on mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and more. The strict new guidelines are aimed at increasing sluggish vaccination rates among the huge number of Americans who draw federal paychecks — and to set an example for private employers around the country. This comes on the heels of companies such as Google, Disney, and Facebook announcing they will require their employees to be vaccinated.