TAMPA, Fla. — Officials with several Tampa-based labor unions gathered with Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor on Monday to tout the local benefits to come from the massive $1.2 trillion-dollar infrastructure package signed by President Joe Biden last month.


What You Need To Know

  • The $1.2-trillion bipartisan infrastructure is being called “the most historic investment of our generation,” by Tampa Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.

  • Both of Florida’s U.S. GOP Senators – Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, opposed the bill, as did every Florida Republican in the U.S. House.

  • Local labor union heads say the law means more jobs for working Floridians.

Dubbing the new law “the most historic investment of our generation,” Castor believes that a fair share of Tampa Bay area’s funding should go towards improving stormwater and wastewater projects – “the city’s plumbing” as she called it.

“We have to take care of what defines us here in the Tampa Bay area,” she said, referring to a clean, healthy Tampa Bay. “It’s those everyday contaminants that flow in along with these big stormwater [and] wastewater systems. That’s going to be at the top of the list.”

Another project that will likely receive funding is the nearly 50-year-old air traffic control tower at Tampa International Airport, which Castor has said is in terrible shape and badly need replacing.

There will also be federal transportation administration grants for electric buses and new charging stations. 

Shawn McDonnell, the president of IBEW 915 and president of the West Central Florida Labor Council, said his instructors and apprentices have been trained on how to install charging stations. "So we’re ready to go now that it’s been passed. We’re training and certifying for installment," he said.

Castor emphasized the bipartisan nature of the bill. In the Senate, 19 Republicans joined 50 Democrats and independents in the Senate to pass the bill. In the House, 13 Republicans voted for the legislation.

However, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis derided the legislation after it was signed into law last month, calling it “pork-barrel spending.”

“This bill is good,” countered Jim Junecko, the business agent with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 487, which represents mechanics as well as crane and heavy equipment operators. “If you look for something bad, you’re going to find something bad. This is about jobs.”

Junecko said the investments in transit alone will “improve the lives of people in communities of color. In communities of color, people depend on public transportation. Our public transit system is lagging behind. So this is an investment in safe roads and transportation systems.”

The press conference was held at the Apprenticeship Training Facility for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 915 in East Tampa.

The new law is expected to bring Florida $13.1 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs, $245 million for bridge replacement and repairs, and $2.6 billion to improve public transportation options, according to a fact sheet distributed by the White House earlier this year.