Posted:
Thursday, February 6, 2020
The leadership of the IBEW, while attending its annual officers meeting this week, unanimously endorsed Vice President Joe Biden to be the next President of the United States. "Vice President Biden has been a longtime friend of working families and the IBEW," said International President Lonnie R. Stephenson. "Joe has a long record of standing up for union members, and we believe it's in the best interest of IBEW members to elect him president. "Most importantly, Joe has listened to us on the energy issues critical to the 85% of our members who work in the industry, and his priorities and policies have been shaped by those conversations."
Stephenson said that all of the Democratic frontrunners have taken positions that would help working families, including support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would provide millions of workers across the country with additional protections to organize and collectively bargain.But the main issue driving leaders' decision to back Biden was the most basic - jobs. "That's what makes Joe Biden different. It isn't just his support for our rights on the job, but his support for good energy jobs," Stephenson said. "Our country needs a realistic plan to combat the ongoing threat of climate change without putting energy security or working families at risk."
Stephenson pointed to Biden's support for an all-of-the-above approach to slashing carbon emissions, which includes a mixed portfolio of low and zero-emission alternatives as a realistic transition to a carbon-free future. Biden has also proposed the nation's largest-ever investment in clean-energy technology, as well as an aggressive clean-power infrastructure plan that will make the United States a global leader in fighting climate change while putting tens of thousands of Americans to work building the energy economy of the future. Historically, the IBEW has not picked sides this early in the primary process. The extraordinary decision to announce an endorsement wasn't taken lightly, Stephenson said.
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