Labor & Employment Law

AFL-CIO, Chamber in Rare Agreement, Urge Infrastructure Investments

By Mike Hall

The AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce don?t agree on very much. But today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Chamber President Thomas Donohue told a Senate committee that labor and business agree on the vital need to invest in the nation?s transportation infrastructure to create jobs and boost the economy.

Trumka told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that the joint appearance ?does not mean that hell has frozen over or that unicorns are now roaming the land.?

The fact is, while there are many policy areas where we have sharp differences, we both realize that our country needs to step up our ?Investment in America? for business as well as working Americans to succeed.

In his testimony, Donohue told the panel:

Public and private investment in the economic foundation of the United States is critical for long-term economic prosperity. The United States? global competitiveness is dependent on construction and maintenance of a world class infrastructure. As the President recognized in his State of the Union address, lasting jobs grow where infrastructure is strong.

Trumka says there is a ?direct link between a strong transportation infrastructure and a strong economy? and that infrastructure investments create jobs. That is especially important to building and construction trades workers whose national unemployment is 22.5 percent.

The Department of Transportation estimates that every $1 billion in federal highway investment, accompanied by the state match, creates or supports nearly 35,000 jobs.

But it is not just the nation?s highways that must be brought up to world-class standard, says Trumka. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives the overall U.S. infrastructure a grade of “D.”

Not only do we need a reliable and efficient highway system with expanded capacity, but a 21st century rail system to supplement our roadways in moving goods and people, supporting commerce and easing congestion. This means investing in high-speed rail, freight rail and commuter rail and transit systems.

Infrastructure investments not only create jobs directly tied to specific projects but ?will also boost our manufacturing sector,? he says.

These projects create substantial long-term employment in manufacturing, design and engineering when we use the domestic U.S. supply chain to produce the materials that will be needed?from concrete, wire, steel and pipes to high-speed trains. And all this restores revenues for state and local public services struggling with budget holes as well.

Click here to read Trumka?s full testimony and here for Donohue?s.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on February 16, 2011 (boomark / email).