A bipartisan group of US Representatives and Senators announced that the US Army Corps of Engineers has allocated more than $800 million dollars to modernizing the upper Mississippi River.
The announcement means that skilled union carpenters will receive a lot of work – about 9 million man-hours from the projects on the river.
Wednesday, EST Gary Perinar spoke with the coalition of politicians at an event announcing the funding.
“The Carpenters Union has always appreciated the support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who rely on highly skilled union labor when waterway infrastructure repairs are needed. As the Army Corps and our signatory contractors will attest, union members are far more productive and efficient on these projects due to the advanced training they receive. Having a trained workforce is so important to the success of NESP and other job-creating programs,” Perinar said during the conference.
The funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which was signed by President Biden in late 2021. Better navigation on the river, modernizing Lock and Dam 25 and construction of a new 1,200 foot lock are projects that will be completed with the money. Read more about the announcement here.
