Labor leader Mike Matejka returned late last week from a trip to the White House as part of a delegation invited to discuss infrastructure investments in Illinois and Indiana.
But when Matejka first got the invite, he thought the email was a scam.
“I looked at .gov, it looked very legitimate, so I quickly signed up,” Matejka said. With a little outreach, he discovered he’d been recommended by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s office.
Legislators, presidential advisors and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg gathered with labor and social services experts across Illinois and Indiana as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s “Building a Better America” initiative.
“One thing the Biden administration is really trying to push is this idea of economic recovery,” Matejka said.
“Building a Better America” thus benefits both the current administration and the Biden-Harris campaign as they seek a second term.
“Even though it was an official event, policy focused in terms of here’s the money we’re spending, the subtext you can read into that is, take this message back home,” Matejka said.
Community leaders with expertise in organized labor, social justice and social services were invited to share insight on how the administration should spend the remainder of the $350 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), aimed at restimulating the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly $400 billion of additional investment was earmarked in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“A number of groups took the opportunity to stand up and say, ‘Here’s what else we need,’” Matejka said.
American Rescue Plan Act [ARPA] funds have been broadly applied throughout Illinois. Addiction and mental health treatment centers got $92 million in 2021. McLean County spent $5 million in APRA money on road, bridge and sewer projects, including the replacement of a cracked 1936 water tower in Saybrook, 30 miles east of Bloomington.
“The City of Bloomington did small-business grants to keep doors open during COVID,” Matejka said. “And for those who suffered through that sewer backup at Colton Street, Bloomington put $5 million of that money toward that project.”
Matejka said social services delegates attending the White House meeting expressed feeling unsupported and under resourced.
“A lot of the LGBTQ folks were talking about still feeling very discriminated against,” he said, “and wanting to see stronger legislation to protect themselves.”
More money on the way
Two visible infrastructure projects planned in Normal are partially funded by the two federal infrastructure grants.
In 2021, the Normal Town Council approved a measure to accept $16 million in federal grant money to fund the Uptown Station underpass, plus about $5 million in state money from Rebuild Illinois. The town is chipping in $1.7 million to complete the project.
A planned $1.5 million dollar upgrade to West College Avenue improves road surface and accessibility for pedestrians and bicyclists, aimed at better serving Rivian's workforce and accommodating increased traffic to the area. Additional federal funding subsidized the cost of building the ISU Mennonite College of Nursing simulation lab on the north end of campus, set to be ready for the fall semester.
More projects = more jobs
Matejka’s primary goal in attending the White House summit was to communicate the impact such infrastructure projects has on jobs. A huge injection of cash from federal and state programs for infrastructure means increased need for trades workers.
“When the Secretary of Transportation asked for comment, I immediately raised my hand,” he said.
A decade ago, Bloomington-Normal's Laborers Local 362 accepted fewer than 10 apprentices a year. The union currently has 58 apprentices.
“The Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 99 has tripled their apprenticeship,” said Matejka. “In 2017, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had 19 apprentices in their Bloomington-Normal classes. Now, they have 97.”
In addition to traditional trades supporting road, sewer and construction projects, additional areas of infrastructure such as broadband expansion programs, or solar and windfarm development projects create even more jobs.
“All of those things are tied to this state and federal investment,” Matejka said. “If this work continues for 8-10 years, those young people are going to have a really solid foundation for some earnings that can make a difference in their lives, and hopefully in the community.”
Political shift
Despite growth in union membership, fewer than 10% of U.S. workers belong to labor unions. Organized labor has long been in lockstep with the Democratic party, but an increasing number of union workers have been courted by Republicans— particularly those in the struggling industries like coal and conventional automobiles. Despite the effort, United Auto Workers recently endorsed President Biden.
“Are we choosing optimism, or are we choosing fear?” Matejka said. “You can easily play up fear and say the country’s going to hell and we’ve got to back to the way things were. But we really are a country that traditionally looks toward the future.”
Matejka sees the scale of current infrastructure investment as akin to Great Depression recovery programs such as the Works Progress Administration.
“If these programs deliver what’s promised, we could really have that 21st century infrastructure that’s not only roads and bridges but also electronic networks and electrical grid systems — and a whole different way of orienting our lives.”
