Labor & Employment Law

Rebuilding the Infrastructure is a ?No-Brainer?

By James Parks

When President Obama announced his plan to rebuild our nation?s transportation infrastructure, he was affirming what the AFL-CIO and the union movement have been saying for years: Our crumbling infrastructure needs rebuilding and doing so would put thousands of people back to work.

Today, the Council of Economic Advisers and the Treasury Department released a report spelling out the benefits of investing in our infrastructure, saying ?well designed infrastructure investments have long term economic benefits? and ?the middle class will benefit disproportionately from this investment.? The report also points out that a huge majority of Americans support infrastructure investment.

Union leaders say now is the time to put partisan bickering aside and get down to the business of putting America back to work on the infrastructure. After meeting yesterday with President Obama and a number of governors and mayors, Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), said:

No one disagrees about this?business, labor, and all Americans benefit from more infrastructure investment that will build our economy for the future. We can do this by putting millions of Americans to work in the type of good jobs that transportation investments have supported for more than a century.

Over the next six years, Obama?s plan would rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads, lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways, restore 150 miles of runways and advance a next generation air-traffic control system that reduces delays.

Ezra Klein, writing in today?s The Washington Post, said rebuilding the infrastructure doesn?t just creates jobs, it creates good jobs:

Lots of stimulus programs can create jobs. But infrastructure investment creates the right jobs, for the right people, doing the right things?and at the right time. Or, to say it more clearly, infrastructure investment creates middle-class jobs for workers in a sector with high unemployment and it puts them to work doing something that we actually need done at a moment when doing it is cheaper than it ever will be again. .

With more than 26 million people unemployed, or without fulltime work, including 1.5 million construction workers, we cannot afford to keep ignoring our infrastructure, Laborers (LIUNA) President Terry O?Sullivan said:

 Time is running out. We need to invest in our country, and we need to create jobs as soon as possible. Regardless of who wins this year?s elections, Congress needs to dedicate itself to building America and putting people back to work?.It?s a no brainer ? let?s build our country, create jobs, keep America competitive in the 21st century and leave behind real assets for future generations.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on October 12, 2010 (boomark / email).