Washington, DC (October 3, 2025) — Brent Booker, General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) made the following statement on the federal government shutdown and White House order to block billions in energy, transit, and transportation infrastructure:

The White House and Congress are practicing the politics of chaos and division and getting it dead wrong on jobs and our economy. Leaders failed to meet their deadline and are causing the government to shut down for the first time since 2019. Let’s call this what it really is - a lockout. 

 

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors now face an uncertain future because the White House and Republican members of Congress failed to negotiate in good faith. Sidelining the federal workforce will have far-reaching consequences, as a shutdown harms people and weakens our economy.  From food safety inspections being cut back, to contractor payments grinding to a halt, to OSHA enforcement slowing down, the impacts directly affect the essential services Americans rely on daily, putting families, workers, and local communities at risk.

 

To add insult to injury, the White House abruptly cancelled $7.56 billion in energy investments, and put billions more in jeopardy- including $18 billion already allocated to construct the New Jersey-New York Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Avenue Subway, and $2.1 billion to modernize Chicago’s transportation infrastructure. These moves are scorched earth style retaliation directed at members of Congress who won’t fall in line.

 

These project cancellations are an immediate and dire threat to our economy and the livelihoods of thousands of construction workers. 

 

Make no mistake, LIUNA will fight like hell in order to end this lock out, but we should not have to do so.

 

##