LIUNA Urges Congress to Solve Sequestration Issue

"Congress should take responsibility and propose solutions that don't place full burden on working people"

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Terry O'Sullivan, General President of LIUNA – the Laborers' International Union of North America – made the following statement regarding the impact of sequestration on working families, including thousands of LIUNA members serving in the National Guard who are under threat of furlough:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91600LOGO)

"LIUNA members and all working people will soon be paying the price for political gamesmanship in Congress, which could put our economic recovery at risk.

"Federal workers, including 53,000 National Guard Technicians, 10,000 of whom are represented by LIUNA, will be coping with furloughs and reductions in pay in coming months in part because some Republicans have refused to close tax loopholes that benefit Wall Street and corporate CEOs. Other federal employees who are LIUNA members, including those in Indian Health Services, are also caught in the middle.

"And cuts in construction investment alone – estimated at $4 billion or more - undermine an industry just beginning to recover from long-term record unemployment.

"Republican leaders have shown they are willing to sacrifice our economic prosperity to score points. It's time for Congress to stop the gamesmanship and get back to work."

SOURCE Laborers' International Union of North America