"Emergency Bridge Repair Team" Rolls Through Ohio, Highlighting Unsafe Bridges and Urging House Speaker Boehner to Lead Adoption of Bi-Partisan Senate Highway Bill

As Deadline Looms, Truck Carries Giant Roll of Duct Tape to Symbolize House Speaker's Approach to America's Bridge Crisis; Amplifies "Russian Roulette" Radio Spots and "How to Survive a Collapsed Bridge" Direct Mail

CINCINNATI, March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LIUNA – the Laborers' International Union of North America – today launched a multi-city media tour in U.S. House Speaker John Boehner's home state of Ohio, highlighting the safety crisis of America's roads and bridges and urging the Republican leader to swiftly adopt the U.S. Senate's bi-partisan Highway Bill.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91600LOGO)

A 15-foot flatbed truck labeled "Emergency Bridge Repair Team" made the first of several stops at the Cincinnati's Brent Space Bridge – one of nearly 6,400 structurally deficient or functionally obsolete bridges in Ohio – where LIUNA members passed out information about the Highway Bill. The truck carried a giant roll of duct tape, symbolizing the current approach to the crisis facing America's aging bridges. Local labor, elected and business leaders also convened a press conference near Rep. Boehner's West Chester district office. 

"If extremist Republicans in Congress have their way, we will need a whole fleet of trucks and a lot more duct tape," said Randy McGuire, Marketing Director for the Ohio Laborers' District Council.  "Instead of passing a bipartisan bill that will protect bridges and jobs like the Senate has done, the House continues on the path of partisan politics and is putting public safety at risk."

The average U.S. bridge is now 45 years old, dangerously close to the average bridge lifespan of 50 years. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, one-in-four bridges nationwide are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Many are unsafe – and thousands of others create a chokehold on commerce because they are unable to carry commercial vehicles. Another 3,580 are closed altogether because they're unsafe for travel.

The week-long tour includes additional stops in Dayton and Columbus as the current extension of the Highway Bill is set to expire on March 31.  Last week, the Senate passed a two-year, $109 billion investment that enjoyed broad bipartisan support.

"It is now up to Speaker Boehner to lead the House to follow suit," said McGuire. "Bipartisanship is hard to come by these days, but the Senate came together to pass a good Highway Bill last week. Speaker Boehner can now lead his party to do the same in the House. So far, previous efforts to pass the bill in the House have been blocked by Republicans' efforts to slash investment and jobs."

"Playing politics with our nation's crumbling roads, bridges and highways isn't just putting the chokehold on jobs – it's endangering lives," said Butler County community leader and life-long resident Jodi Billerman, citing the fatal bridge collapse on I-35 in Minneapolis four years ago. "We don't want a terrible tragedy like that to happen here in Ohio – and if Congress can pass a Highway Bill to keep people safe and protect jobs at the same time, that just seems like a no-brainer to me." 

In addition to the "Emergency Bridge Repair Team" truck, LIUNA's multi-media campaign also includes a powerful radio ad – "Russian Roulette" – which warns motorists that the House is in effect forcing motorists to play Russian roulette every time they cross an unsafe bridge. The ad is saturating airwaves in Speaker Boehner's home district, including Dayton, as well as in Columbus and Cincinnati.

The effort also includes a direct mail piece, "How to Survive a Collapsed Bridge: Inspired by House Speaker John Boehner." The tongue-in-cheek brochure draws from the U.S. Army Survival Guide on bridge collapses. The brochures were mailed to 90,000 activist Ohio voters last week.

And thousands of LIUNA members across the country continue to call their representative in the House, urging passage of the bi-partisan Senate bill in the House.

"This campaign is hard-hitting and it's provocative – it's also accurate," said McGuire.  "The crisis is real. What is it going to take for Mr. Boehner to listen, to rise above partisanship and to lead the passage of a bi-partisan Highway Bill to save our bridges, support jobs and protect lives?" 

For more information, to view campaign materials and listen to the ads, visit www.HighwayBill.org.

The half-million members of LIUNA – the Laborers' International Union of North America – are on the forefront of the construction industry, a powerhouse of workers who are proud to build America. 

SOURCE Laborers' International Union of North America

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