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Contact: Jacob Hay, LIUNA at (202) 942-2285, (202) 445-4788 or jhay@liuna.org
Statement of Terence M. O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA, On Economic Recovery Plan Conference Report
“Plan will help build America so America works”
Washington, D.C. (February 12, 2009) – LIUNA members coast-to-coast reached out to Congress like never before in the last two weeks, sending a message to their Senators and Representatives with nearly 10,000 personal calls and letters and with targeted advertising carrying their voices and hopes through one unified message: “America needs an economic recovery plan that creates jobs building America, not more tax breaks for those who helped cause the economic crisis.”
The economic recovery plan reported out of conference today raises the hopes of LIUNA members and millions of working men and women.
The plan will create hundreds of thousands of good jobs building America while leaving behind a positive legacy for generations to come. The historic investment in the long-neglected fundamentals of country – our transportation systems, energy systems and schoolhouses – will help to get our economy back on track.
And by modifying tax carry-back provisions of the bill, which would have given at least $12 billion in tax breaks to the largest corporate homebuilders, Congress prevented rewards for those who helped cause the current crisis.
The leadership shown by President Obama and Congress must continue as lawmakers begin to consider other build America investments, particularly the Surface Transportation Act. The economic recovery plan will help build America so America works. But although it will create as many as 700,000 construction jobs, over 1.7 million construction workers are jobless. And while, it provides needed investment, it is only a fraction of the $2.2 trillion our transportation systems, energy systems and schoolhouses need.
The plan is a leap forward, but it cannot become a “we already gave” sign that blocks sorely needed resources, leading to continued deterioration of the basics of our country and our economy.
The 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. To learn more about LIUNA’s Build America, so America Works - a long-term effort to make taking care of America’s basics a national priority - go to www.LiunaBuildsAmerica.org.
