“How Many Construction Job Losses Will it Take Before Washington
Makes a Sustained Effort to Put People Back to Work Building America?”

March 5, 2010 (Washington, D.C.) – Today the U.S. Labor Department reported another month of declining national unemployment but the situation for construction workers continues to worsen with continued devastating job loss. Construction unemployment spiked to 27.1 percent as another 64,000 construction jobs were lost. Currently more than 2.4 million construction workers are out of work.

Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA made the following statement today regarding the
jobs report:

As the employment situation steadies or improves for many U.S. industries, construction workers saw another month of worsening, depression-level unemployment. How many construction job losses will it take before Washington makes a sustained effort to put people back to work building America?

This is a no-brainer. By passing a build America jobs bills – with at least $40 billion in needed
investments to build America’s crumbling roads, bridges, mass-transit, schools and new energy systems - we can put more than one million men and women back to work and boost our economy. With additional long term investments in our country, we can bring the construction industry to full employment while leaving behind real assets and a positive legacy for generations to come.

Without a sustained effort to create jobs building America, construction workers will continue to
be left behind, leaving more families jobless and further undermining recovery. The 2.4 million
construction workers in desperate need of paychecks are looking for leaders in Washington to
show they are able to respond to the needs of working Americans.

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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.