Without federal highway bill, 700,000 jobs at risk
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trans-
portation and construction unions are
lining up behind a bipartisan plan in the
U.S. Senate that will pay for highway,
bridge and mass transit funding pro-
grams, which are about to run out of
money.
The AFL-CIO Transportation
Trades Department, North America’s
Building Trades, and the Laborers
Union all endorsed a plan introduced
June 18 by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). The pro-
posal would raise the federal gasoline
tax by 6 cents in each of the next two
years. After that it would be indexed to
inflation. The senators estimate their
plan would raise about $164 billion
over the next decade — enough to sup-
port the Highway Trust Fund at cur-
rently projected spending levels for 10
years.
The trust fund, which helps states
pay for transportation construction and
upkeep, is due to run out of money by
the end of summer. If Congress does-
n’t act soon, more than 700,000 middle
class jobs will be at risk.
In spite of that, Sen. Murphy told
Roll Call magazine that a formal bill
has yet to be introduced.
“We acknowledge that ultimately
this is going to be passed as part of a
package coming out of the Finance
Committee (which will draft the fund-
ing plan) and the Public Works Com-
mittee (which oversees transportation
policy),” he said.
Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden chairs
the Finance Committee.
Roll Call also reports that neither
senator expects any action until after
the November elections. Meanwhile,
they believe Congress will pass a
short-term patch to keep transportation
programs funded through the end of
the year.
Building Trades Department Presi-
dent Sean McGarvey lauded Corker
and Murphy for “saying ‘enough is
enough,’ and for putting partisan poli-
tics aside and working across the aisle
to construct a serious, bipartisan solu-
tion to deal with the shortfall. Their ef-
forts will make our country safer, will
grow our economy, and will create
thousands of middle-class wage jobs
across the United States.”
The proposal, however, was criti-
cized by the conservative Club for
Growth. The Tea Party-influenced
House Republicans are dead set against
raising any taxes. They favor turning all
road, bridge, bus and subway responsi-
bility back to the states.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), a
member of the Finance Committee,
wants to cut highway project costs by
slashing construction workers’ pay —
through repeal of the Davis-Bacon pre-
vailing wage law.
And the U.S. House leadership has
floated a proposal to fund highway
projects by eliminating Saturday mail
delivery.
Even the Corker/Murphy plan calls
for making about $190 billion in tar-
geted tax breaks permanent.
The federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per
gallon has not been raised since 1993.
The Highway Trust Fund has also been
hurt by the recession and slow eco-
nomic growth, which caused user-fee
revenues to drop. Reduced driving and
increasingly fuel efficient vehicles are
also taking bites out of federal rev-
enues. As a result, user-fee revenue has
lagged behind spending, and the deficit
is expected to continue into the future.
To avoid cutting transportation
funding, since 2008 Congress has
made up the gap between user-fee rev-
enue and spending by transferring $55
billion into the Highway Trust Fund.
Some states, not sure if a funding
measure can make it through such a di-
P ROUDLY S ERVING
P ORTLAND W ORKERS
F OR O VER 32 Y EARS
JULY 4, 2014
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
vided Congress, have canceled and/or
postponed projects. The Oregon De-
partment of Transportation announced
last month that it was postponing new
road construction projects for at least a
year.
RAISE A CUP TO SOLIDARITY:
New beer will take its
name from a local union
A craft brewery in Bend, Oregon, is
naming a beer after a Portland labor
union: Local 36 of the International As-
sociation of Heat and Frost Insulators
and Allied Workers. The beer, by Wor-
thy Brewing, will be called Local 36
Red Lager, and there’s a story behind it.
Brewery owner Roger Worthington
is a California lawyer specializing in
representing workers exposed to as-
bestos. Asbestos, a naturally occurring
mineral, is made up of tiny fibers that
are as strong as steel but can be woven
like cotton and are highly resistant to
heat. Before 1975, it was used heavily
in shipyards, construction, and many
other industries. But breathed into the
lungs, the fibers can lodge in tissues, re-
sulting in changes to the cells that may
eventually lead to mesothelioma, as-
bestosis and other cancers. Long after
they knew the harm asbestos was caus-
ing, companies continued to expose
workers, and that became the grounds
for decades of lawsuits by workers who
developed asbestos-related diseases.
In 1989, when Worthington was just
starting out as a lawyer, he opened a
Portland law office in space rented from
Carpenters Local 247. Local 36 (better
known as Asbestos Workers Local 36)
gave Worthington a shot, and referred
some of his first clients. Today his firm
Worthington & Caron, P.C., has offices
in Dallas, Texas, and in San Pedro and
Dana Point, California.
The harm of asbestos is personal for
Worthington: His father, David
“Punch” Worthington, worked in Port-
land-area shipyards, paper mills, and
power plants in the 1960s as a member
of the Painters Union, and was exposed
to asbestos while sandblasting fire-
proofing off of steel. He died in 2006 of
asbestos-related lung cancer.
Worthington closed his Portland of-
fice after his father died, but returned to
Oregon in 2011 to found the brewery
and a related enterprise growing hops.
He says Local 36 Red Lager is a way to
thank the union that gave him a start.
“I’m always grateful,” Worthington
said. “They gave me a shot. One thing
led to another, and I did pretty well.”
Worthington plans to launch the beer
July 16 at a special event for active and
retired Local 36 members. After that,
the beer will be available in 22 oz. bot-
tles and in kegs, distributed to local bars
and retailers by Columbia Distributing.
The bottle’s label will sport a salaman-
der borrowed from the union’s logo.
According to legend, the salamander is
associated with fire, and is variously
said to be born out of, or unharmed by,
flames. Worthy Brewing is making one
batch of Local 36 Red Lager, but Wor-
thington said it could make more if the
beer proves popular.
DETAILS: All local 36 members
and retirees are invited for beer and din-
ner at the Sextant Bar and Galley, 4035
NE Marine Drive, Wednesday, July 16,
from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
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