Union Labor Hits the Street Calling for Stimulus Funds
 Construction Industry Council President Ross Pepe addressed approximately 300 construction tradesmen who attended a rally to promote additional stimulus funding for infrastructure projects in the Hudson Valley. Standing with Mr. Pepe are from left: Westchester County Executive Andy Spano, State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, Edward Doyle, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam Counties, and State Assemblyman Greg Ball. |
By JOHN JORDAN
WHITE PLAINS – It was perhaps the largest public display of unity among organized labor unions in the region in more than a decade. Nearly 300 construction workers were joined late last month by elected officials and management representatives to call for increased federal and state funding for highway, bridge, transit and water treatment facility infrastructure projects.
The organized rally, held on April 23, was staged by the Coalition to Keep New York Working and featured a number of county, state and municipal officials who all chimed in on the rally’s chief message that more dollars have to be allocated to help maintain and improve the region’s infrastructure. The coalition is calling on state government to finance a $12-billion state economic stimulus package that would be above and beyond the federal stimulus financing already earmarked for New York State.
Ross Pepe, president of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley, Inc., told the gathering, “The federal stimulus program is starting to show some promise. However, it is not enough. We need more. There are more than $90 billion in project applications sitting up in Albany waiting for funding and we only received $3.9 billion in funds for those projects. So we are asking our elected officials here in Westchester, in Albany and in Washington to do more, to create jobs, because that is what this is all about. If we are working, the economy is working.”
Mr. Pepe, who is a member of the Coalition to Keep New York Working, told CONSTRUCTION NEWS, “New York needs to invest more than $74 billion to maintain and improve its waste-water and drinking-water systems during the next 20 years. Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation in November 2007 said $175 billion must be spent over the next 20 years to maintain and improve roads and bridges. This dramatically shows how the $12-billion state stimulus package is barely a drop in the bucket compared to our needs.”
He added the state has 412 wastewater projects and 497 drinking-water projects that have been reviewed, ranked and are “shovel ready” should funding become available.
“There are hundreds of bridges in New York that need to be replaced or repaired, and the state and federal economicstimulus funds should be used to get these projects started,” said Mr. Pepe. “We also need to address our roads, sewagetreatment plants and public buildings like schools, hospitals and housing. Many of these projects can be started immediately, so it’s important that we receive our fair share of the federal stimulus funds.”
Edward Doyle, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam Counties agreed. “It is very important that we get these jobs and we get back working again. Infrastructure projects have a very beneficial impact on the economy because they involve so many local employees and suppliers. The vast majority of infrastructure spending is invested locally with area residents and contractors and suppliers. It’s impossible to ‘offshore’ a highway-construction project. The money stays close to home.”
Event organizers noted that for every dollar spent on construction, nearly $3 is generated for the economy. With approximately 30,000 construction workers in New York currently on the bench, the state stimulus funding is sorely needed to help get members of the construction trades back to work.
Westchester County Executive Andy Spano also spoke at the rally and expressed his support for the coalition’s efforts to secure additional infrastructure funding.
“You should understand we haven’t been sleeping upstairs and waiting for the rally,” Mr. Spano said. “We have been pursuing these (federal) stimulus funds all along. We presently have been able to garner $80 million. That is going to be added to the money we are putting out ourselves. We figure we are going to push out about $300 million in projects. That will translate to about 10,000 jobs, not all in construction; about 3,000 in the construction trades.”
He added that the county will also try to expedite some projects in the 2010 capital budget that are part of the county’s fiveyear capital program. “We are going to try to move some of that closer in, so we can get them out,” he noted.
Mr. Spano said that the county is continuing its efforts to secure additional funding and is helping private developers in their applications to the state for stimulus financing for facets of their ventures.
Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone said that the city has billions of dollars of capital development projects in the pipeline that are ready to go. Currently, a $1.5-billion project on the city’s waterfront is nearing the end of the approval process. He noted that the city is seeking stimulus help to provide funding for hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure work—water, sewers, bridges, roads, public buildings, etc., that will help facilitate these private development initiatives.
“We need the stimulus money to get down to our level,” the mayor said. “We need to have it here and we need to have it fast. We can’t afford to let this linger any longer.”
Others that addressed the rally and expressed their support for additional infrastructure funding for the region included: State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, State Assemblyman Greg Ball, and representatives for Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Congressman John Hall.
The Coalition to Keep New York Working has identified public-works projects in Westchester County; the Hudson Valley; the Capitol Region; Central New York; Long Island; New York City; the North Country; the Southern Tier; and Western New York where work could commence immediately. In addition to the rally in White Plains, the group has organized similar events recently in New York City, Long Island and Binghamton.
“It’s important that we start work on these projects immediately because spring is here and the construction season already has started,” said Mr. Pepe. “We have the plans. We have the manpower. We just need the funding and the green light to start working.”
Coalition officials stated that New York State could lose an estimated 225,000 jobs during the next two years if additional stimulus funding is not earmarked for infrastructure work.
According to preliminary spending statistics released by New York State, the approved federal stimulus will provide the Empire State with: $1.245 million for mass transit; $1.12 billion for highways and bridges; $435 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund; $85 million from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund; and $404 million for weatherization programs for low-income housing.
New York State will also receive $126 million through the State Energy Program; $31 million in alternative energy block grants; $450 million for Science Facilities, Research, Instrumentation; and $75 million for Nuclear Waste Cleanup programs.
The Coalition to Keep New York Working includes: the General Contractors Association of New York, Long Island Contractors Association, Construction Industry Council of Westchester & the Hudson Valley, Inc., Associated General Contractors of New York State, New York State Building and Construction Trades Council, New York City Central Labor Council, Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters, District Council of Carpenters, Operating Engineers Local No. 14, Laborers International Union of North America, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 9, Mason Tenders’ District Council of Greater New York & Long Island, Building Trades Employers Association, the Regional Plan Association, The New York League of Conservation Voters, Audubon New York, New Yorkers for Parks, Parks & Trails New York, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, Friends of Hudson River Park, Governors Island Alliance, City Parks Foundation, Business Council of Westchester, New York State Construction Materials Association, Fair Apportionment of Infrastructure Revenue (FAIR) Committee, Business and Labor Coalition of New York, New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways, and the Coalition of Labor for Energy and Jobs.
This is part of the May 1, 2009 online edition of Construction News.
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