Washington, May 4, 2015: Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) General President Terry O’Sullivan today issued the following statement regarding 2015 Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW).

 LIUNA today calls upon all Americans to take a moment this week to recognize, and to thank, the dedicated and patriotic public servants who every day make our government run. We are very proud to represent a large number of these public employees at every level of government, including National Guard technicians, park rangers, groundskeepers, sanitation workers, and nurses. Whatever their job title, these LIUNA members, and all public employees, have answered a call to serve their nation, their communities, and their fellow Americans.

 

Public employees are the unsung heroes who protect our communities, clean our streets, care for our sick, maintain our parks, and in many other ways keep the wheels of government turning. Many could make more money in the private sector, but choose to remain in the public sector out of a deep-seated sense of civic pride and duty.

 

Yet even as we commemorate and thank these hard working and committed champions of the public good, public employees are facing pay freezes and cuts, reduced benefits, slashed pensions, even the denial of collective bargaining rights. That is why it has never been more important to celebrate public employees, and to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them as they face whatever challenges and battles lie ahead.