The Senate Must Reject Job-Killing Cuts. Union Jobs Are on the Line

Newsweek

18-06-2025

As the general president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), I represent 140,000 proud workers across the finishing trades. Our vital work includes our country's industrial, commercial, and decorative painters. Because we spend our careers ensuring that our vital infrastructure works well and looks good, we know a thing or two about making things beautiful.
President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill is anything but.
Jimmy Williams, Jr., president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), speaks onstage during the Nationwide May Day Strong Rally on May 1, 2025, in Philadelphia, Pa.
Jimmy Williams, Jr., president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), speaks onstage during the Nationwide May Day Strong Rally on May 1, 2025, in Philadelphia, Pa.for May Day Strong
Right now, Republican senators are working overtime to pass Trump's budget bill by July 4. As it stands, this bill is an outright attack on every family in this country. It would slash critical funding for programs like Medicaid and SNAP, ripping health care away from millions of people, and denying food assistance to millions of children and families in need—all to hand massive tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.
And if that's not enough, the bill also attacks clean energy tax credits, which would jeopardize hundreds of thousands of union jobs across the country and push the American energy sector into crisis.
Since 2022, America has seen a manufacturing and construction boom. Federal energy tax credits and investments are driving energy innovation, bringing new sources of affordable and domestically-produced electricity online, and allowing cities and states to upgrade dilapidated schools—all good things on their own—but these credits and investments also create thousands of good, family-sustaining jobs for members of unions like mine.
Yet, ever since that first dollar was invested, there are politicians who have done everything they can to get those investments reversed. Take it from someone who's worked with the tools: workers want reliable jobs that allow them to take care of their families, invest in their future, and come home safely after the workday. Whether the project they're on is "green" or not matters a lot less than if it's safe and reliable. Any bill that halts billions of dollars of infrastructure and energy investments is a direct threat to the futures and livelihoods of workers across the country.
Anyone who is willing to wake up in the morning and put in a hard day's work deserves to know that their job is secure, that they'll earn enough money to support their family, and that their workplace is safe. I've spent almost 30 years in the IUPAT, fighting for the promise that all my union brothers and sisters will be able to work a stable job that pays them what they're due.
That security is now threatened because some members of Congress are fighting to take away the funding and the incentives to create good jobs in the energy sector. This administration constantly talks about supporting workers and being independent from China, yet this bill does the exact opposite. It pulls billions of dollars of investment out of the American economy, takes jobs away from hundreds of thousands of American workers, and ensures that we will continue to lag behind China in technological advancements.
As the Senate decides whether to push through the job-killing cuts that some House members already regret voting for, there are some easy ways they can protect American energy jobs and lower bills.
First, Congress must revise the bill's unrealistic timelines for project development. Currently, the bill phases out tax credits for wind and solar projects almost immediately. In practice, this functionally ends the credit for all projects except those that are near completion at this current moment. Similarly, Congress should fix the overly strict "foreign entity of concern" limits on where essential project components must be manufactured. This may make for a good talking point, but as written, the limits only pay lip service to national security and would do nothing to move manufacturing jobs onshore.
Now is the moment for our elected officials to stand up for our workers, our families, and our energy future. Working-class Americans want our leaders to let commonsense prevail against the partisan talking points and the political gamesmanship that has gripped Washington for far too long. And one way to do that is to pass a budget that continues to support the creation of good-paying union jobs in our hometowns.
Regardless of what happens with the budget fight this summer, it's clear that cities and states must take up the mantle and continue to go big on clean energy and union job creation. We will always have the power to invest in clean energy—and workers across the country are ready to continue building this critical new infrastructure. Long after this fight is over, unions like ours will continue to build this country—and fight for workers, their families, and their futures.
Jimmy Williams, Jr. is a fourth-generation glazier, the general president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), and the proud father of three sons.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.