First Lady Jill Biden visited a former steel mill in Hazelwood Wednesday, joining union leaders, educators and local politicians in a panel discussion.
Her visit to what is now Mill 19 — Carnegie Mellon University's Manufacturing Futures Institute — was part of a two-state tour that began in Georgia, focusing on the impact of President Biden's "Bidenomics" agenda, which emphasizes investments, job creation, and infrastructure development. Biden and Su made a similar visit to Pittsburgh's International Airport earlier this year to meet apprentices involved in the workforce development initiative.
Biden spoke about those apprenticeship programs, establishing career pathways into robotics, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing, and of regional plans to generate more than 1,000 new jobs.
She praised the Pittsburgh region for embracing manufacturing and clean energy and highlighted the progress made since the Biden administration's workforce hub initiative began.
“In many ways Pittsburgh has always been a part of this transformation,” Biden said. “Where iron ore turns to steel and steel to prosperity. And today you’re still transforming, turning old steel mills into a training center for the jobs of the future,” she said, referring to the 60,000-square-foot engineering and science lab CMU students had access to there on the 265,000-square-foot Mill 19 complex.
She was joined by acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su, who acknowledged that despite negative public sentiment about the economy — with concerns about "Bidenomics" due to high inflation in the summer of 2022 leading to increased consumer prices — since President Biden's inauguration, employers have generated 14 million jobs.
“President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda has put $255 million in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County so far,” said Su. “That’s Bidenomics, and it’s working.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey offered his local perspective on job growth saying the best way to break down poverty is to provide the proper skill sets to lead, and remove barriers to job access.
“I want to see the next generation watch this generation grow up getting jobs they can be proud of,” said Gainey. “It removes them from this whole situation that we call ‘the drug game.’ I don't want them to know 'the drug game.' I want to know the ‘organization, trade and business game’ so that they can grow and continue to move forward with their life.”
Gainey also emphasized initiative to break down barriers that prevent jobs from opening up.
“We can't do anything if we're not educating the next generation. And I'm not talking about education in the classroom. I'm talking about education that removes barriers such as hate, racism and other things that have had a tremendous impact in America for a long time.”
A panel of local workforce experts joined Biden, Su and Gainey, including CEO of Partner4Work Robert Cherry, Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council president Darrin Kelly, Community College of Allegheny County president Dr. Quintin B. Bullock, and executive vice president of operations with Re:Build Manufacturing Victor Mroczkowski.
The panel discussed details of new job opportunities slated to become available in the near future:
Re:Build Manufacturing, a manufacturer located in Arnold, intends to expand its workforce by hiring 300 new employees over the next three years. This expansion will involve collaborations with local workforce boards, career pathways programs, and nearby technical schools.
Module, a company specializing in the construction of affordable modular homes, is set to create approximately 50 jobs within the next four years at a new facility in Allegheny County.
The U.S. Navy Talent Pipeline Program is committed to aiding up to 50 regional manufacturers annually by assisting in the recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and retention of workers.
Eos Energy Enterprises plans to hire 650 employees for positions in advanced manufacturing and the clean energy sector.
Secretary Su also spoke of the federal government's $20 million investment to modernize the Pittsburgh International Airport terminal, “that is going to generate $2.5 billion in economic activity using ‘Made in America’ steel and create thousands of jobs in this community.”
The Biden administration hopes to tap more “model workforce hub cities” in the future, continuing its push for the cultivation of advanced manufacturing in the U.S.
