Joe Biden meets union leaders and says 'these are the people who brung me to the dance' amid confusion over whether teachers can go back to schools without vaccines

 President Joe Biden met with top labor leaders Wednesday amid cross-pressures over his push to reopen schools, as he acknowledged his own political debt to unions.

'Every once in a while as president, you get to invite close friends into the Oval,' Biden said at a meeting with 10 top labor leaders. 

'A lot of these folks have been my friends for a long, long, long time. As they say in parts of my state, these are the folks that brung me to the dance.'

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DANCE WITH WHO BRUNG YOU: International Ironworkers Union president Eric Dean listens as President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with labor leaders in the Oval Office of the White House. The meeting, primarily on infrastructure on COVID-relief, comes amid cross-currents over reopening schools

Among them were  Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. Biden was there to consult with the union chiefs about his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan and the need to modernize U.S. infrastructure, the White House said.

His meeting with powerful labor leaders, who represent a declining share of the workforce but still hold sway in Democratic politics, comes amid cross-currents with Biden's own goal of reopening schools within his first 100 days in office.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Biden does not consider vaccination a requirement for having teachers back in the classroom. 'Neither the president nor the vice president believe that it is a requirement,' she said. 

She stressed that CDC guidelines on reopening schools include a number of recommendations meant to guard against spread of COVID-19. The guidelines did not require teachers and staff be vaccinated although it recommended it.

'At the same time, the president and vice president also believe that teachers should be prioritized,' Psaki said. 'That's up to states to determine.' 

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Vice President Kamala Harris (left) earlier told NBC's Savannah Guthrie on the 'Today' show: 'We think [teachers] should be a priority. The states are making decisions individually on where they should be on the list of who gets vaccinated'

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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Biden does not consider vaccination a requirement for having teachers back in the classroom

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Schoolchildren swab and test themselves for COVID-19 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the classroom at South Boston Catholic Academy in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., January 28, 2021

Teacher's unions in some school systems have blocked a return to in-person learning amid the pandemic, even as vaccinations proceed.

'I think that we should be vaccinating teachers. We should move them up in the hierarchy,' Biden said at a CNN town hall Tuesday night.

Vice President Kamala Harris told NBC's Savannah Guthrie on the 'Today' show: 'We think they should be a priority. The states are making decisions individually on where they should be on the list of who gets vaccinated.'

She also sought to clear up confusion over whether the administration means to have schools open full time within months, or merely to have partial in-person learning restored.

'Our goal is as many K-8 schools as possible will reopen within the first 100 days. Our goal is that it will be five days a week, so we have to work to achieve that goal,' she told Guthrie. 

'But our goal is the goal of parents, I mean, here's the thing, Savannah, I don't need to tell you, the issue here is not just about statistics, it's about our kids, it's about their parents. It's about the fact that every day our kids are missing essential, critical days in their educational development.'

Biden said in the Oval Office: 'I'm a labor guy, and there's no reason why it's inconsistent with businesses growing either.'

Also taking part in the White House meeting were Sean McGarvey, president of North America's Building Trades Union, and Lonnie Stephenson, international president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the White House said.

'They will discuss how to put millions of Americans to work in good-paying union jobs building roads, bridges, transit, electric vehicle charging stations, broadband, schools and child care centers, water infrastructure, and more,' the White House said in a statement. 

Amid the push for legislative action, outside allies are planning to form a 501(c)4 nonprofit to push for his agenda, including the coronavirus package. The group will be “Building Back Together, the Wall Street Journal reported. Senior Biden aides have been involved in talks about it. 

Biden is pushing hard to win bipartisan support for his relief plan, although Republicans have been reluctant to embrace a plan they view as too expensive and potentially inflationary.

He also plans to ask Congress to invest heavily in infrastructure amid studies showing close to half of U.S. roads are in poor or mediocre condition and more than a third of U.S. bridges need repair, replacement or significant rehabilitation.

Details have not been released, but as a candidate Biden called for spending $2 trillion over four years investing in clean-energy infrastructure. He also wants to boost electric vehicles and high-speed rail, while beefing up domestic production of key strategic goods, including medical supplies.

To underpin the revitalization of U.S. infrastructure, Biden said he was backing Democratic legislation that would expand registered apprenticeships and create some 1 million new opportunities for young people in building trades and elsewhere.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and more than 230 trade groups on Wednesday urged Congress to enact comprehensive infrastructure legislation https://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/210217_coalition_buildbuyfourthofjuly_congress.pdf by July 4, setting an ambitious deadline for Biden's push.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Wednesday said it would hold its first hearing on modernizing U.S. transportation infrastructure while addressing climate change on Feb. 24. Names of witnesses were not released.

Biden, a lifelong supporter of trade unions, on Wednesday also announced the nomination of Jennifer Abruzzo, currently a senior executive with the Communications Workers of America union, as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.

Biden may face demands from the labor leaders to reiterate his campaign promise to boost the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25.

The Democratic president said during a CNN town hall late Tuesday that he was cognizant of the concerns of small business and mentioned minimum wage rates of $12 to $13 an hour, while highlighting evidence that increasing the rate to $15 an hour would help bolster economic growth.

The White House later said that Biden was merely explaining how wages would progress to an end point of $15 an hour. Democrat-backed legislation proposes increasing the federal minimum wage to $9.50 immediately and then in increments until it hits $15 in 2025.

Civil rights leader Reverend William Barber said nearly 60 million U.S. workers earned less than $15 an hour today, including many on the frontlines of the pandemic.

'Democrats need to stay focused and united and get this done. And they don´t need to talk about indexing the minimum wage for some places like the South and Midwest or leaving out tip workers,' Barber said in a statement.

Biden is trying to navigate a difficult situation. His Democratic Party is moving to push through the rescue plan without significant Republican support, but some Democrats, including Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, oppose including the minimum wage increase as part of the package. (Additional reporting by David Morgan and David Shepardson; Editing by Heather Timmons, Jonathan Oatis, Kirsten Donovan)