LiUNA! Laborers' International Union of North America - www.liuna.org

Economic Stimulus - Build America so America Works

We can get our economy back on track and put America back to work if we invest in building America - in transportation, energy, and education systems that we all rely on every day, but which have deteriorated due to years of neglect and misplaced priorities.

The answer to the current economic crisis is simple: Build America so America Works.

• Recent economic stimulus efforts have failed. They were primarily handouts for corporations and the wealthy or a small amount of cash for working people. They had no lasting impact.
• Working America needs paychecks. Our economy needs jobs. Building America is the best way to achieve this objective.

There is a lot of work to do taking care of America - and millions of Americans need Work.

• We support Barack Obama's proposals for the largest transportation investment since the Interstate Highway System was built and for a "green jobs" initiative.
• Today, 26 percent of our nation's bridges need repair or replacement. A third of our roads are in less that good condition, wasting gas, wasting time and risking lives. Our kids are crowded into 220,000 temporary classrooms. There are 3,650 dams and levees that are unsafe. Broken sewer pipes result in the release of billions of gallons of raw sewage into waterways every year.
• The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates conservatively that we have a $1.6 trillion problem when it comes to the fundamental infrastructure of our country. We can't nickel and dime a $1.6 trillion problem.
• By investing in green jobs, we can put people back to work helping to free our country from foreign oil by weatherizing and retrofitting buildings, upgrading our electrical grid and building solar, wind, bio-fuel and clean coal power plants.

Construction jobs are good jobs, providing family-supporting pay to the people who are among the hardest hit by the current economy. Yet among construction workers, unemployment is now 12.7 percent with 1.2 million construction workers jobless.

• Current economic stimulus proposals ranging from $400 billion to $700 billion are a good start. At least a third of any stimulus should be used to put people back to working building America.
• Across the country - in every city and state - projects are shutting down due to the economy. There are thousands of ready-to-go projects that could build our country, put people back to work and help get our economy back on track. According to the Department of Transportation, for every $1 billion investment, 34,800 jobs are supported.
• We can build America, put people back to work and leave a positive legacy for future generations - and something good will have come from this economic crisis.