| Legislative |
Transportation Budget Shows
Success Takes Time, Teamwork
by Mike Ryan, President and Business Manager
It was a long time coming, but, after months of delay, the legislature finally passed a state budget that includes necessary increases in major transportation project and rehabilitation funding.
With nearly one of every four laborers in this state supporting their families by working the road, it is easy to see why the transportation budget and securing adequate funding for the major’s and rehabilitation programs, is a priority to these members.
With nearly every job in the construction industry directly dependent on continued economic development driven in part by a strong transportation infrastructure, it is easy to see why securing the funding necessary to maintain our transportation infrastructure has become a priority for every Laborer Local in this state.
Over the past six years, as I have travelled across the state visiting with each of the locals, I often talked about various programs the Laborers have initiated in order to better service the membership. I often concluded my remarks by reminding members that the success of these initiatives will take time and teamwork.
The transportation portion of the state budget represents success of these innitiatives for Wisconsin Laborers that could not have been possible without the active involvement and leadership of every local in the state.
Whether it was writing letters to lawmakers or visiting with legislators, every local participated in telling elected officials how real working people were impacted by our state’s investment in transportation.
Laborers should be proud of the roll we played in elevating the transportation funding debate. Through the work at the local level as well as through joint efforts with other labor and industry coalitions, Laborers helped broaden the perspective of lawmakers as to the impact adequate funding has on economic development and job growth, which helped make this responsible and bipartisan package possible.
The bipartisan budget passed by the legislature reverses recent under-funding trends by providing the level of investment necessary to keep pace with the state’s growing economy and our growing transportation needs.
It also demonstrates that transportation is not a Democrat or Republican issue. The non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau issued a report late last year that revealed serious funding shortfalls for DOT programs.
Leadership of both parties, particularly in the Assembly, deserve a great deal of credit for putting partisan politics aside and crafting a transportation portion of the budget that begins to deal with these severe funding shortfalls — shortfalls that were not address in either the Department of Transportation’s or Governor Tommy Thompson’s initial budget proposal.
Both the Assembly and Senate versions provide a nearly $60 million increase for major projects over the Governor’s initial “zero increase” proposal. That alone represents new work for 400 to 600 laborers over the next two years.
Both versions also provide over $70 million increases above the Governor’s proposal for rehabilitation projects, creating even more work for hundreds of more members of every local in the state.