Contractors Launch Ad Campaign Calling for Funding
U.S. contractors have launched a multi-media ad campaign addressing President Obama’s national Jobs Summit today (Thursday December 3). The 28 national associations and labor groups of the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) are launching the campaign calling on Congress and the Administration to create thousands of long-term sustainable American jobs by passing a new six-year highway/transit authorization bill.
The existing investment law – the Safe Accountable Flexible Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users SAFETEA-LU) – expired on September 30.
The TCC will run 60-second radio ads during morning “drive time” on news talk station WTOP in Washington D.C. highlighting that construction industry unemployment is twice the national average. A companion Internet ad is being produced for online placement.
“Transportation investment creates jobs gets America moving again and helps lay the road to economic recovery. Tell Congress to pass the six year highway and transit program bill NOW” the ads proclaim.
A “Jobs Check List” print ad is also running today on the The Washington Post Federal Page. Over the past few weeks the ad which was also developed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Public Transportation Association has been appearing in widely-read Capitol Hill publications such as Roll Call National Journal Congress Daily Congressional Quarterly and Politico.
The transportation design and construction industry has been hard hit by the recession. While the economic stimulus law likely saved thousands of construction-related jobs in 2009 it was not enough to prevent wide-spread lay-offs among road and transit construction business. The outlook for next year is bleak too absent congressional action.
According to a recent nationwide survey of more than 500 highway and transit contractors 44 percent anticipate having to lay off additional permanent employees in 2010 because of overall economic conditions.
Aggregate producers many of whose major market is highway construction have been gravely affected by the lack of highway construction funding.
The TCC ads can be found at: www.transportationconstructioncoalition.org
