Tammy Baldwin: We celebrated lots of progress on Labor Day, but there’s more to be done

In an exclusive op-ed in UpNorthNews, the Wisconsin senator makes the case for labor victories won during her second term—and for what Eric Hovde and Donald Trump would do to hurt workers if given the chance.

Here in Wisconsin, we’re home to some of the best workers in the world who make everything from paper, engines, tools, and ships to beer, brats, and cheese. It is a long and proud tradition. Our workers are the backbone that keep our Made in Wisconsin economy going strong and our state moving forward, and that means we need to do right by them. As we move toward more sustainable practices to bolster our growing clean energy economy, we have the opportunity to create even more good paying jobs for our workers.

In honor of Labor Day 2024, I want to reflect on some of the big wins we’ve had together over the years. Last year, when we passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I made sure my Made in America provisions were included in there. So when we’re building new bridges, roads, and transportation infrastructure all across the country, we’re using American steel and American concrete to do it. All of those projects mean more good-paying, union jobs right here in Wisconsin.

I’ve also been proud to support historic pieces of legislation that will create opportunities for good-paying union jobs in the trades through the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act. In fact, investments in the Inflation Reduction Act are expected to create more than 9 million good jobs over the next decade—including nearly one million in manufacturing—and help sustain millions of other existing jobs.

The Inflation Reduction Act was designed to ensure good-paying jobs, lower energy costs, build a stronger economy, and create a cleaner environment for Wisconsin workers and families. We worked hard to make sure that the Inflation Reduction Act has strong labor standards, ensuring that many of these jobs in growing sectors like clean energy, clean manufacturing, and efficient buildings will offer workers good wages and benefits. These are jobs that are building our nation’s infrastructure and helping us move toward a more sustainable, climate friendly future.

Right here in Wisconsin, this legislation has already prompted companies to invest over $940 million in local new projects across multiple sectors, including solar, batteries, wind, and electric vehicles. And nationwide, the Inflation Reduction Acthas created more than 330,000 jobs and has saved families more than $8.4 billion on clean energy and energy-efficiency home upgrades. These jobs are also unionizing at higher rates, ensuring our workers have good pay and strong benefits.

Just this past spring, Wisconsin’s four major electric utilities made a historic commitment to using union labor for new clean energy projects in our state. This groundbreaking agreement between our state’s utilities and our unions sets a powerful example for future clean energy infrastructure projects, both here in Wisconsin and across the country. Looking ahead, these projects are expected to create nearly 19,000 new construction jobs in Wisconsin, with the majority of them being unionized.

We also stood together when our workers and retirees were facing huge benefit cuts to their hard earned pensions. We fought back. And we won the restoration of those pensions in full through the Butch Lewis Act in the American Rescue Plan. Now over 350,000 workers and retirees across the country – including 22,000 in Wisconsin — will receive their full retirement benefits that they were promised and deserve.

But we’ve still got more work to do for our workers.

Right now, we’re fighting to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act — the PRO Act — to strengthen our unions and protect workers’ rights to collectively bargain for better pay, benefits, and working conditions. Because workers everywhere deserve the freedom and opportunity to organize a union in their workplace and advocate for fair working environments. Unions give workers more than just a paycheck. They provide security, dignity, and respect. And they’re necessary in creating an economy that rewards hard work and works for everyone.

However, my opponent, Eric Hovde, is a multimillionaire California bank owner, who has a long history of putting himself and his companies first and working people last. Eric Hovde isn’t just anti-worker in his business dealings, he’s also anti-worker when it comes to his policies. He said he supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, raising the retirement age, gutting programs like Medicare and Social Security, and cutting taxes for the ultra wealthy while raising taxes on the working class. The wealthy and well connected like Eric Hovde and Donald Trump only look out for people like themselves. They cannot be trusted by our working families.

So in 2024, it’s all going to be on the ballot and Wisconsin is going to be the battleground state that’s going to decide who controls the Senate, the White House, and the future of our country. I have always stood with Wisconsin workers and unions against the powerful special interests and on November 5th we’re going to take another stand against those who want to further those interests.

I am so proud of all that we’ve accomplished together, and I promise that we’re going to keep working hard to create more job opportunities, support workers’ rights, and protect our workers’ hard-earned benefits because that’s what our workers expect and deserve.

So from now until November 5th, let’s get out there and work. Let’s fight for our values. Let’s fight for our new, clean energy economy. And let’s fight for our workers and unions, who do so much to keep Wisconsin and our country moving forward.