Try as they might, even skeptics can't deny that we're in the midst of extraordinary economic growth in the United States. The job market is sizzling, the economy is bursting at the seams, and the labor movement is growing.

Last year, 261,000 private-sector workers joined a union, more than double the surge we saw in 2022. And the vast majority of new members are in their 20s and 30s. After decades of decline, our movement is young, diverse and vibrant.

The 2023 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics even shows an uptick in some of the fiercest right-to-work states. Florida added 67,000 unionized workers. Texas added 58,000.

These and other remarkable numbers for 2023 have been pouring in from economists and analysts of every stripe: nonpartisan, liberal-leaning and conservative.

By every measure, America's economy is stronger than ever, surpassing every other nation in post-pandemic recovery. After 1.6 million jobs were created in 2023, 353,000 were added in January 2024, double the forecast. The U.S. has had two full years with unemployment below 4%.

All the while, inflation continues to decline, with economists predicting that it will drop even further in 2024. There's still a ways to go, of course, especially with the sticker shock we're all still experiencing at the grocery store.

There's even more to feel good about right now, but our work is not finished. The challenges are many. Here are a few:

We won a historic vote to end the so-called right-to-work law in Michigan last year, but these misleading anti-union laws persist in two dozen states. Wherever these laws are allowed to stay on the books, they constrain the efforts of all unions to organize and operate.

In Georgia, a bill is in play to withhold state incentives from new businesses that let workers organize by card check instead of requiring a secret-ballot election.

While private-sector unions are growing, the Supreme Court's 2018 Janus ruling is chipping away at membership among public workers.

But think about this: We're still in the infancy of President Biden's historic job-creating laws — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the American Rescue Plan Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act.

Together, they are driving trillions of dollars in private investment in manufacturing and construction, with millions more new, good jobs projected over the next decade. And don't forget that they also contain protections the IBEW insisted on, including prevailing wage, project labor agreements and the hiring of registered apprentices on projects receiving federal funds.

The IBEW was in the room when these laws were drafted. We played a hand in creating these conditions that are so ripe for growing the union. There is no better time than now to accelerate organizing at every local as we push to reach 1 million members in five years.

I want to thank every one of you for the work you do, and will do, to help us reach this critical goal.

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