America's Building Trades Unions Encouraged by Highway Bill Movement

News provided by

Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO

Nov 10, 2011, 01:42 ET

MAP-21 Brings Needed Reforms and Investments

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's Building Trades Unions today expressed their collective approval for action taken by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to favorably report out of committee a highway bill known as the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, or MAP-21. Through the leadership of Chairman Barbara Boxer and Senators James Inhofe, Max Baucus, and David Vitter, MAP-21 brings needed reforms to transportation programs and continues to provide necessary funding to a sector desperately in need of investment.

"America's Building Trades Unions commend this bipartisan collaboration as a welcome reprieve," said Mark H. Ayers, President of the Building and Construction Trades Department. "I applaud the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for putting the needs of the country ahead of party."

America desperately needs infrastructure investments. Over 200 million Americans drive over structurally deficient or functionally obsolete bridges every day; which begs the question: How much longer can we put off these repairs? Must we wait until we experience another catastrophe like the Minnesota I-35 bridge collapse?

"Our needs are enormous," said Ayers. "And I am particularly heartened to see that MAP-21 continues funding transportation at current levels plus inflation."

Perhaps most importantly, MAP-21 will prevent the loss of nearly two million jobs and create approximately one million more, with many of them in the construction industry. These are important, good-paying jobs that fill a serious need and bring robust benefits to local communities. The skilled men and women of America's Building Trades Unions are eager and qualified to get to work in order to rebuild this great country. The action taken yesterday by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is an important first step in that long journey.

The Building and Construction Trades Department is an alliance of 13 national and international unions that collectively represent over 2 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada

www.BCTD.org
www.Facebook.com/AmericasBuildingTradesUnions
www.PLAsWork.org

SOURCE Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO