LIUNA Joins Elected and Business Leaders in Call for Congress to Invest in Critical Infrastructure and Save Lives, Create Jobs

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At a news conference with elected officials, business leaders and infrastructure advocates, Terry O'Sullivan, the General President of the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), called on Congress to quickly develop a long-term solution for America's deteriorating roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

LIUNA represents a half-million workers, predominantly in the construction industry, and is a longtime advocate for greater infrastructure investment.

Noting that poor roads contribute to more than 10,000 U.S. traffic fatalities each year, that bridges are literally falling down, and that potholes are damaging vehicles and making roads unsafe, O'Sullivan called on Congress to stop "dodging the issue, and playing political games."

"The proud men and women of LIUNA, and of all the building trades, are ready to do our job: rebuilding America's infrastructure," O'Sullivan said.  "We call on Congress today to do its job: pass a long-term, well-funded highway bill; invest in our great nation's infrastructure; and develop strategies to fund these projects for decades to come."

Since 2009, Congress has failed to reauthorize the Highway Trust Fund to address the transportation infrastructure crisis, and has instead passed more than 30 short-term patches. The fund is on course to begin running dry again this summer.

O'Sullivan urged Congress to act quickly so that transportation and other infrastructure projects can get off the ground. "The responsibility for every stalled infrastructure project, and every worker trapped in jobless despair, rests with Congress until it acts," he said.

According to the Associated Equipment Distributors, every dollar spent on infrastructure construction results in nearly $2 of growth elsewhere in the economy. And for every three construction jobs created, five are created in other sectors.

In all, about 14.5 million workers, or 11 percent of the workforce, are employed in infrastructure jobs; most with good benefits and family-supporting pay, which quickly spreads through local communities.

Those are jobs, O'Sullivan said, "that can put food on the table of blue-collar, working families, and create a road to prosperity for unemployed construction workers.  It's about transforming not only the lives of these workers, but the future of our country, and our economy."

Also joining the news conference were Ray LaHood, former U.S. Transportation Secretary and Co-Chair of Building America's Future; Salt Lake City, Utah Mayor and National League of Cities President Ralph Becker; Anaheim, California Mayor Tom Tait; and National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons.

The event was part of "Infrastructure Week," which includes hundreds of participating leaders and organizations fighting to increase investment in the nation's critical infrastructure.

"Ordinary Americans can't get away from the crumbling state of our infrastructure; we're here today to make sure that members of Congress can't get away from their responsibility to do something about it," O'Sullivan said. "It's time to stop kicking the can down the road, and fix the road."

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. Learn more at www.liuna.org.

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SOURCE Laborers' International Union of North America

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http://www.liuna.org