The employment situation in the construction industry continues to lag across the United States, as July employment figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show the unemployment rate for the construction industry virtually unchanged at roughly 20% nationwide.
The U.S. economy is in a crisis, roads, bridges, schools and sewers are crumbling, and yet national leaders are seemingly out of touch with reality. Not only has the U.S. Congress failed to acknowledge the untenable situation of our industry and to conceive of a plan that will invest in America while putting millions of workers back on the job, it recently took them three months to agree to extend federal unemployment insurance benefits for American workers who are experiencing long-term unemployment. And while we strongly supported the extension of benefits to the unemployed, our members want a job not an unemployment check. The lack of action by, and obstruction within, Congress to create real jobs is unacceptable.
The time has now come to make our voices heard and to get Congress re-focused on the Number One issue on the minds of Americans everywhere - JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!
To that end, we are joining the Building and Construction Trades Department in launching a national education and lobbying effort – dubbed “Back on the Job” – that is designed to both capture the attention of elected officials of all political parties and spur them into action by giving voice to the compelling stories of hundreds of thousands of construction workers whose economic and personal security are at risk of ruin.
Visit www.backonthejob.org, the central hub for this campaign to find out more.