A statement from Ryan N. Boyer, business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council and the business manager of the Metropolitan Area of Philadelphia/Baltimore/Washington Laborers' District Council, in response to today's early reopening of the I-95 section that collapsed 12 days ago. 

Philadelphia, Pa. (June 23, 2023) -- This is the kind of work that you can expect on a 100% union project: a project built safely and ahead of schedule.

Before the approximately 100 LIUNA members and other members of the Philadelphia Building Trades could build, we needed the resources to make it happen. Under emergency powers, the resources were able to be accessed quickly, but the federal funding was available in large part due to President Biden and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

It is unfortunate that this impressive outcome came from a tragic accident, but LIUNA members showed up ready to build as they always do. So many people involved from Governor Shapiro, Secretary Carroll, and Mayor Kenney as well as community leaders recognized the need to build this critical project with a skilled union workforce. LIUNA members and the other union members who worked on the I-95 rebuild reminded not just Pennsylvania but the entire country of what a union workforce is capable of.

LIUNA looks forward to maintaining our involvement on the project as work on the permanent structure begins.

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