LABORERS DISTRICT COUNCIL HELPS MOVE MN TOWARDS MORE INFRASTRUCTURE, JOBS

ST PAUL, MN (January 23, 2014) - Today the incoming President of the Laborers District Council Todd Pufahl released the following statement in response to the campaign launch announced by Move MN coalition:

The members of the Laborers District Council stand with the Move MN campaign. We encourage Governor Dayton and the legislature to invest in our state's infrastructure to create jobs, improve our communities, and keep the state competitive.

Representing over 12,000 workers, many of whom work to build and repair Minnesota's transportation infrastructure, the LDC urges our state leaders to confront our system's shortcomings.

Nearly half of Minnesota’s roads and bridges are listed in poor or mediocre condition, while only 10 percent of metro area jobs are accessible by public transit. With over 350,000 new jobs projected for the state by 2030, and over a million new residents in the Twin Cities metro area by 2040, our infrastructure can't just be maintained, it must grow.

Not since 2008 has the state dedicated significant new funds to transportation, and the existing funding has been exhausted. To overcome this shortfall, we will need to create new sustainable, dedicated funding sources to invest in roads, bridges, and transit in the metro area and Greater Minnesota.

Now is the time for our leaders to act. Together with the Move MN coalition, we call on Governor Dayton and the legislature to make investing in transportation a priority in this session.

Pufahl will take over the leadership of the LDC at the end of this month. He succeeds LDC president Jim Brady, who is ending his 41-year career as a Laborer. Pufahl, also a lifelong Laborer, has spent 21 years in union leadership, most recently working as Legislative Director for the LDC, a position to which he was appointed in 2005.

About Us

Chartered in 1968 by the Laborers International Union of North America, LiUNA, the Laborers District Council of MN and ND and its seven affiliated Local Unions represent about 12,000 workers in Minnesota, North Dakota and Northwestern Wisconsin. For more information check out their website or Facebook page http://www.minnesotalaborers.org or http://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaLaborers