With roads and bridges covered, it’s time to address human capital

For decades, the United States has neglected its roads, bridges, ports, rail and transit — the infrastructure associated with men in hard hats. For far longer, our nation has ignored the infrastructure that is more associated with women and families, like paid leave.

President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law to make transformational investments in the former – and now the Senate must follow the House’s lead in passing the Build Back Better Act to implement the latter.

The United States must make up for years of inaction and invest in every foundation of our economy. When we do, we will create good union jobs and build the foundation for an equitable recovery. We will increase our nation’s economic competitiveness. And we will finally respect the caregivers and educators whose labor makes all other work in our economy possible.

Right now, only one in five American workers has access to paid family leave through their employers. For the overwhelming majority, getting sick or caring for a family member means being stuck with the impossible choice of earning a paycheck or caring for the people they love.

As we rebound from the pandemic, our nation is at a crossroads. We can either continue to push women out of the workforce or we can create an economy that works for every working person.

Inequality in any form threatens not only our economy but also our democracy. And believe me: The longer this imbalance continues, the heavier the burden becomes on the most critical infrastructure — the institutions and communities that define our nation.

That’s why America’s labor movement is committed to bringing economic justice to every workplace. We’re committed to guaranteeing social justice for all working people, regardless of whether they carry a union card. This is how we finally level the playing field. No system can endure if it doesn’t provide for the workers who make it run.

Biden is working with Congress to pass the investments we need. The Build Back Better Act that recently passed the House includes a national, comprehensive paid leave program. That would empower working people to take care of themselves and their families during a medical emergency or to welcome a new child into the world.

Doing what’s right by workers is also good for America’s economic competitiveness. Right now, the United States is the only industrialized country in the world without a national paid leave policy. Our inaction is costly. The lack of paid family and medical leave forces women out of the workforce and costs families $237 billion in wages each year.

Unfortunately, the Senate is considering eliminating paid family and medical leave from the Build Back Better Act. Missing this opportunity to boost the economy and make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of Americans would represent a disappointing return to the status quo.

Of course, if Biden established a comprehensive paid leave program in this country, it would be a defining moment for his legacy. He would be remembered for helping working people like the ones he grew up with.

Since February 2020, nearly 2 million women have left the labor force — many of whom are women of color. These hard workers have been left out and left behind through no fault of their own. As our nation emerges from the pandemic, we have the chance to make our economy stronger for all Americans.

Passing the bipartisan Jobs Act was no small feat. That legislation will create millions of good-paying union jobs and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. But we still have work to do. Infrastructure investment and worker empowerment are intertwined. It’s past time to build 21st-century infrastructure that powers our economy and empowers all working people, too.

Fredrick D. Redmond is the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. He was elected to the position by the AFL-CIO Executive Council and is the first African American to hold this office in the history of the labor federation.