SMART members visit White House to discuss pro-worker policies

SMART members and leaders from across the country met with the Biden-Harris administration on Wednesday, June 12 — bringing the voice of members and working-class families directly to the White House.

“This doesn’t just happen in any administration,” said SMART Local 7 (Lansing, Mich.) Organizer John Coleman.

The SMART Army delegation included members of Locals 85 (Georgia); 7, 80 and 292 (Michigan); 24 and 33 (Ohio); 26 and 88 (Nevada); 12, 19 and 44 (Pennsylvania); and 18 and 565 (Wisconsin). Joined by staff from the SMART Governmental Affairs Department, members met with Director of the Office of Public Engagement Steve Benjamin, United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman, White House Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi and Betony Jones, director of the Office of Clean Energy Jobs, among others.

Local leadership shared updates on clean energy projects — staffed by SMART members — that are driving our nation’s transition to a sustainable future, as well as ways to partner with the administration and create jobs for union workers moving forward. The roundtable discussions also detailed how the federal government’s investment in American manufacturing and green energy is creating union jobs, plus actions taken to raise wages for construction workers and protect SMART members’ rights at work.