OPINION: A New Dawn For Virginia- McAuliffe’s Inauguration to Usher In a New Era of Partnership Between Business and Labor

By Dennis Martire 

For the past four years, too many political leaders in Richmond put ideology ahead of the interests of working families. The result? Longer travel times, rougher roads and higher overall transportation costs for Virginia families. I can see that our newly inaugurated governor understands that we need to force the spring and get Virginia’s economy moving. Our new governor understands that we need to move Virginia forward and find ways for the two parties to get along and not let ideology hurt working families. The only way for this to occur is for elected officials from both parties to work together to pass common-sense legislation that helps working families achieve economic mobility. 

Economic mobility begins with good jobs; not jobs that pay a meager minimum wage but instead jobs that pay a living wage and provide health care benefits so that workers may be able to earn enough to provide for their families. Transportation and economic development will continue to move Virginia forward. Our union, LiUNA!, follows a model that adds value to construction companies by providing trained and skilled workers at competitive prices. We stand for helping employers succeed by providing businesses with a trained and productive workforce. Trained and productive workers help the bottom line, which is something every business can appreciate. This is the type of thinking our new governor is preaching, and it is the type of thinking that will usher in a rising economic tide that will lift both workers and business towards greater prosperity.

I am confident that our new Governor wants to find ways to bring good jobs to Virginia. I look forward to working with our Governor and the General Assembly to find ways to work together to bring good jobs to working families in Virginia. Our new governor understands that the only way for Virginia to succeed is for labor and business to work together. The agreements that our union, LiUNA!, form with businesses benefit working men and women, contractors, communities and taxpayers by ensuring projects are completed on time and on budget. It is a model for success that I know our new governor respects and understands. I look forward to partnering with him to ensure Virginia returns to an era when labor and business worked together to promote economic mobility and prosperity for all.

Dennis Martire is the Vice President and Regional Manager of LiUNA!’s Mid-Atlantic Region. LiUNA! represents over 40,000 construction and utility workers in the Mid-Atlantic Region.