Terry O’Sullivan, General President, Laborers’ International Union of North America
Biography provided by participant
Terry O'Sullivan has been General President of LIUNA - the Laborers' International Union of North America - since January 1, 2000. O'Sullivan has guided the more than 500,000 collective bargaining members of LIUNA to the forefront of the labor movement, reshaping the Union into one of the fastest-growing, most aggressive and progressive unions in North America.
LIUNA members literally and figuratively build America with their work in construction, hazardous waste remediation, state and municipal government, the Postal Service, health care, maintenance and food service.
In 2008, LIUNA launched its Build America, so America Works campaign - an intensive and sustained effort to redirect our nation's priorities and resources to taking care of America's basics - our roadways, bridges, dams, railways, schoolhouses, energy systems and other fundamentals the country depends on every day. The new Web site is www.LiunaBuildsAmerica.org.
O'Sullivan is a long-time, vocal supporter and activist for Sinn Fein to secure peace, justice and a united Ireland. He is Executive Vice President of D.C. Friends of Ireland and President of New York Friends of Ireland.
He is also a member of the Governing Board of Presidents of the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and a member of the Leadership Council of the Change to Win labor union federation. O'Sullivan is a current member of the Board of Directors of Ullico Inc., and past Chairman and CEO of the insurance and financial services provider. He also serves on the Board of Directors of America's Agenda: Health Care for All, and is a member of the Management Committee of Americans for Transportation Mobility.
Before becoming LIUNA General President, O'Sullivan served the union as a Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager, and Assistant to the General President. He has also served as Administrator of the West Virginia Laborers' Training Center.
A proud native of San Francisco, he joined LIUNA in 1974 and is a long-time member of Local Union 1353, Charleston, West Virginia.
Delaying the surface transportation reauthorization is unacceptable. Any delay in building America’s surface transportation system will cost jobs, hturt our economic recovery efforts by undermining the stimulus, worsen the condition of our roads, bridges and mass transit and make the problem more expensive when we do fix it. A series of extensions – like the two year delay before the last authorization – will hinder the planning of transportation projects. When projects cannot be planned, jobs get cut. The stimulus is putting people back to work building America but it is a temporary fix and only enough to create jobs… Read more
Our roads, bridges and mass transit are overcrowded, crumbling and outdated because we have not been investing enough to build and maintain them. The Highway Trust Fund, a key resource for building America, is already under-resourced and should not be further depleted for projects that are beyond its purpose. The Fund must be dedicated to our critical transportation needs and Congress should not raid it. Bikes lanes and pedestrian walkways are positive investments – if Congress determines they are an urgent priority, they should come up with a way of funding them that does not deplete the already strained Highway Trust… Read more
President Obama views transportation investments not just as something that needs to be done, but as a way to create jobs that leave behind real assets for future generations, build communities and help get our economy back on track. That is a good thing for America and for our transportation system. The President also understands we need to make sure that jobs building America are good jobs. He supports job training to help construction workers turn jobs into careers and to make sure America has the highest skilled workers building our country. President Obama has increased OSHA funding to keep… Read more
If done properly a cap-and-trade system would benefit transportation builders and users of every mode. Making it more costly to emit carbon pollution will push people to find carbon neutral modes of transportation. Not only will this increase the demand for energy efficient mass transit and for fuel efficient cars, it will focus urgency on improving our transportation network to eliminate waste caused by insufficient capacity. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that “Americans spend 4.2 billion hours a year stuck in traffic at a cost of $78.2 billion.” That’s a lot of wasted time and money but it… Read more
With a funding gap that is wide and growing, we have long said that all options must be on the table when it comes to building America’s transportation system. PPPs are an option to be considered – but only if we can make sure PPP doesn’t stand for “Picking the Public’s Pocket.” It needs to be emphasized that PPPs are not without public cost. On the limited projects that may be appropriate for PPPs, there will either be new tolls or increased tolls and if traffic fails to generate enough revenue, private parties will hold governments accountable for revenue shortfalls. For many projects,… Read more
Absolutely it’s worth it to build a world-class high-speed rail system in America – commuters want it, our transportation system needs it and our economy will benefit from it. But like the rest of the stimulus investments for transportation, it is just a down payment. We shouldn’t be debating how we divide the current pie of limited resources between high-speed rail, freight rail or highways and bridges – America needs them all. In high-speed rail, as with the other transportation categories, America is falling behind because we have not been investing enough. Instead of dividing a pie that’s too small, we need to… Read more
The longer we ponder the question, the further the answer will be out of reach. In just the past four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers reports the cost of taking care of the basics of our country – our transportation systems, energy systems and schoolhouses – has soared 37 percent due to continuing deterioration and inflation. It’s a matter of priorities. During the last eight years, when tax cuts for the rich and a misguided foreign policy were top priorities, our leaders found enough money to spend over a trillion dollars on each. The current economic recovery plan… Read more
Look how far we’ve come. Tax cuts and bailouts were the solution to every problem under the previous administration and there was little interest in creating jobs or taking care of our transportation needs. Now we have an economic recovery plan that will actually put people back to work building America’s crumbling transportation network and leaving behind a legacy for generations to come. The economic recovery proposal is a great step forward, but why stop there? $43 billion dollars for transportation needs will help address many of our transportation needs and will create a lot of jobs. However, there are currently 1.4 million… Read more
Any step forward is progress, but the level of investment in House economic recovery proposal falls far short of needs and fails to fully take advantage of the opportunity to put America back to work building the essential and long neglected basics of our country. It falls short of the opportunity to invest in a way that can revive our economy and leave behind tangible assets and a positive legacy for generations to come.… Read more
To maximize public support and effectiveness, spending in the stimulus plan should be transparent and subject to oversight. Funds should be dispersed for projects based on a combination of factors such as the capacity to create jobs, public need and long term goals that prepare our transportation system for the next century. If funds are spent unwisely without transparency and oversight we will miss the important short and long term potential of the stimulus package. Projects that are unnecessary or fail to produce jobs will lose public support and not accomplish the job creation goals of the stimulus. In the… Read more
Steve Heminger and Ken Orski have an interesting debate going below. Mr Heminger argues for raising the gas tax to increase the demand for greener transportation alternatives, as was the case when gas prices skyrocketed this summer. Mr. Orski argues against raising the gas tax and allowing people to enjoy the extra pocket money while waiting for the natural increase in oil prices to spark a demand for new energies. Certainly both sides have merit. On one hand, we need to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil and the temporary crutch of lower gas prices is only delaying that change. … Read more
The Next Surface Transportation Bill Must: 1. Match the size of America’s transportation needs Transportation needs are bigger than ever in our nation’s history – but the Transportation Bill as it has been constructed cannot meet those needs. Due in part to past neglect and misplaced priorities, surface transportation needs now exceed $500 billion over five years, which is nearly twice the largest authorization ever in the Transportation Bill. User fees, such as the gas tax or even potential taxes on carbon emissions, will continue to be part of the mix in the future, but they will become a smaller… Read more
Biography provided by participant
