‘Long-Term Infrastructure Investment Can Create the Family-Supporting Jobs Our Nation Needs’

Washington, D.C. (May 18, 2016) – America deserves an A-plus infrastructure, not one with near failing grades, LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan told a news media briefing today as part of Infrastructure Week.

O’Sullivan was speaking on behalf of the half-million working men and women of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – who predominantly work in the construction industry, building and maintaining the nation’s transportation, energy and water resources infrastructure.

“Investing what is needed in our infrastructure is crucial to our safety and economic competitiveness,” O’Sullivan said. “And, it goes beyond abstract policies: It’s about good-paying, family-supporting jobs that provide a ladder to the middle class and can’t be exported abroad.”

LIUNA is a long-time advocate for greater infrastructure investment. The union is a participant in Infrastructure Week, which brings together a diverse coalition of unions, employers, business associations, and non-profit research and advocacy groups.

While once No. 1 in the world in its infrastructure, the United States has fallen to No. 11, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“For those of us in the Building Trades, investment in a strong, robust and expanded 21st century infrastructure is about leaving a legacy for future generations,” said O’Sullivan. “The alternative is allowing our infrastructure to crumble around us – strangling our economy, worsening our lives, and endangering us all.”

LIUNA has launched high-impact public outreach efforts in the past – including billboards warning motorists of deficient bridges, a 10-foot roll of duct-tape on a flatbed truck to highlight inaction on infrastructure and a school bus which traveled the country crushed by a fallen bridge prop.

“As the men and women who work every day to build America, we will continue to fight for Congress and all elected officials to invest until we have the first-class, A-plus infrastructure we so desperately need,” O’Sullivan said.