CWA President Shelton Joins President Biden to Urge Passage of the CHIPS Act

Today, Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Chris Shelton joined President Joe Biden for a roundtable on the importance of passing the CHIPS Act to promote domestic production of semiconductors and create good jobs in the United States.

CWA represents workers at onsemi, a semiconductor manufacturer in Mountain Top, Penn., which is currently the only union-represented final assembly semiconductor manufacturing workforce in the United States.

“The CHIPS Act is a key component of both creating good jobs here in the U.S. and strengthening our ability to compete with China,” Shelton said. “Passage of this bill is going to drive a huge amount of investment in semiconductor manufacturing across the country. It will result directly in tens of thousands of jobs to help grow a key component of our manufacturing sector.”

The CHIPS Act will result in tens of thousands of new manufacturing jobs in the United States and contains provisions that prevent companies that received money under the Act from using those funds to invest in overseas semiconductor production. It is a key part of the Biden Administration’s plans for rebuilding America’s manufacturing sector to create good jobs and strengthen the supply chain for critical components like semiconductors.

“Passing the CHIPS Act is an important first step toward creating good, union jobs in a competitive U.S. semiconductor manufacturing sector,” said Carl Kennebrew, President of CWA’s IUE-CWA Industrial Division. “Semiconductors are essential for everything from appliances to cars to medical imaging devices to fighter jets. We are ready to build on the expertise of our members and help secure the supply chain for these critical components.”

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