Iron Workers Local Union 5 will host a town hall forum on infrastructure and the coming election this Wednesday, August 10 at 4 pm at their union hall in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Local 5 represents Ironworkers in the states of Maryland and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia. Speakers will include Iron Workers General President Eric Dean and General President Emeritus Walter Wise. The town hall will focus on the issue of rebuilding the country’s transportation infrastructure.
The American Society of Civil Engineers rates American infrastructure as deficient, and estimates that the federal government must invest $3.6 trillion by 2020 for repairs. Speakers will explore the depth of the problem and examine the major presidential candidates’ proposals to fix it. Transportation is a familiar issue to members of the union. T
he Iron Workers train and represent bridge builders, and the members of Local 5 have been building and maintaining the area’s bridges since 1901. “Our infrastructure shortfall is the most urgent issue on the plate of our next president, if we want to keep our commuters safe and our economy competitive,” said Dean. “Hillary Clinton has announced her plan to tackle infrastructure funding during her first hundred days in office.
We’re still waiting to hear a plan from Donald Trump.” The ironworkers will be joined by other members of local construction trade unions and Anthony Brown, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and candidate for the state’s fourth congressional district as well as other local elected officials.