THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2023 Page 17 “A major victory for hardworking families”: Clark, Raimondo,Mass. delegation laud CHIPS & Science Act child care investments D emocratic Whip Katherine Clark (5th District of Massachusetts) hosted U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Governor Maura Healey, Mayor Michelle Wu and Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Stephen Lynch for a tour and roundtable at the Greater Boston Joint Apprenticeship Training Center. The elected leaders met with members and apprentices to discuss the Biden administration’s job-creating investments and the central role of accessible, aff ordable child care in building a robust economy. Below are highlights from their conversation. Whip Clark on Democrats’ continued progress for working families: “We made sure that as Democrats, we passed the American Rescue Plan that kept 200,000 child care centers open for business during and immediately after the pandemic. We passed a federal budget that invested another $20 billion in childcare so that we can continue to bring down the costs for families. And, now we are using the leverage of the federal government to make sure that employers do their part. This is really the brainchild of our Secretary of Commerce, working with the Biden administration to add a child care component to the application for funding from the CHIPS & Science Act to really leverage that private investment in our workforce and make sure that people have access to affordable childcare so they can get to the job site and know that their family is secure. So, this is a major victory for hardworking families here at the IBEW, throughout the building trades, and across our country.” Secretary Raimondo on commitment to helping women reenter the workforce with accessible, aff ordable child care: “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is truly transformative. The investments we are making will create millions of jobs: Union jobs. Construction jobs. Manufacturing jobs. “I’m also investing CHIPS and Science Act money. We’ll create over 100,000 manufacturing jobs building semiconductor facilities all over the country. So, the good news is for the next 5 to 10 years, this country will see massive job creation in high paying jobs for Americans. We have to make sure that we train folks to do these jobs – and that includes women. “I know, as a working mother and having been the governor, it is so hard to do a job if you don’t have reliable child care. You could be the best trained electrician in the world, but if you can’t drop your child off and know with confi dence and peace of mind that your child will be cared for … then you can’t hold your job down. And so, one of the things that I’m doing is making sure that child care is provided.” Governor Healey on Massachusetts’s plan for CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) & Science Act child care funding: “I, too, subscribe to this notion that child care is economics. It is really the backbone of our ability to move forward as a state – or inability to move forward. So, what are we doing to address that? One, we’re making sure that as we compete hard for federal dollars … that we are taking advantage of the very funding opportunities and the requirements of the program. It is right, what Secretary Raimondo oldest daughter is 24 … I have a 15-year-old girl. I have a 3-yearold little boy. And yes, I work alDemocratic Whip Katherine Clark (5th District of Massachusetts) is shown answering questions from the media as Governor Maura Healey and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo look on following a tour and roundtable at the Greater Boston Joint Apprenticeship Training Center this past week. (Photo courtesy of Katherine Clark) has done, in making sure that child care is included because we don’t have a workforce unless we have child care. And, we don’t have development and growth unless we have a workforce.” IBEW Local 103 apprentices and journeywomen on the struggle to balance work and child care: LisaMarie Scales: “My most 7 days a week since January outside of holidays. I would say it is extremely hard. You have to sacrifi ce … With my baby, my husband had to retire from the MBTA [and] we had to make a decision: Was I going to work days or nights with the baby? So obviously I took the days and VICTORY | SEE Page 19
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