USW International Vice President Roxanne Brown appeared on The Leslie Marshall Show last week to talk about updating U.S. trade infrastructure to keep pace with global competition.
The U.S. has seen significant disinvestments in domestic shipbuilding, port development and highway maintenance since the 1980s, which have undercut the nation’s efficiency and national security.
“For a long time, the U.S. has willingly ceded our innovation, our competitiveness and our ability to be true global leaders to the world,” said Brown. “We have such an opportunity by doing things like investing in infrastructure to make the United States and the American worker a global powerhouse.”
A $1billion infrastructure investment could create 21,000 jobs, Brown said.
“The millions of products Steelworkers make across this country – from steel to rubber to glass to cement – have nowhere to go in terms of global trade if our systems fail.”
Brown addressed the Moving Forward Framework, a proposal put forward by U.S. House Democrats that includes investing $760 billion into highways, transit, rails and clean energy.
Though infrastructure improvements generally have bipartisan support, Brown said, arguments over funding keep getting in the way of the much-needed, large-scale investment.
“Americans can’t wait. American industry can’t wait. American workers can’t wait. Because every day is another failure, and every day is another lost opportunity to be a global leader.”
For the entire interview about the updates the U.S. needs to make to its trade infrastructure, click below: