NASHTU Notes Archives

Registration Now Open for the 24th Annual NASHTU Conference – Register Today!

The 24^th Annual NASHTU Conference will be held June 3 through 5, 2024 at the Hilton Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington D.C.  To register for the 2024 NASHTU Conference, click here.

The NASHTU Conference provides an important opportunity for transportation unions to come together and strategize about how best to serve our members and deliver safe, cost-effective transportation projects for taxpayers. 

The conference is also a chance to hear from some of the preeminent transportation leaders in Washington.  Past conferences included the congressional leaders of both Senate and House committees with jurisdiction over transportation and infrastructure and key transportation and labor officials from AASHTO, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, FHWA, Center for American Progress, American Highway Users Alliance, Economic Policy Institute, and many other transportation stakeholder organizations.

NASHTU conference attendees will be able to meet face-to-face with their state’s Congressional Representatives and Senators during the lobbying portion of the conference, reserved for the afternoon of Tuesday, June 4.  The NASHTU Conference will also feature networking opportunities, including a Group Dinner where conference attendees can get to know union representatives from other states, and a Congressional Reception where they can mingle with Members of Congress and Congressional staff.

Again, to register for the conference, please visit our conference webpage.

Over the weekend, congressional leaders announced a $1.59 trillion deal on top-line spending levels for a new federal budget.  The agreement may help to avoid a federal government shutdown as the latest funding resolution is due to expire in the next couple weeks.

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30, and Congress is supposed to agree on a budget for the next fiscal year prior to the September 30 deadline.  If Congress can’t agree by the deadline, they usually pass something called a “continuing resolution” that keeps the government funded beyond the start of the fiscal year.  In the fall of 2023, Congress passed two continuing resolutions – one that expired in November and another that expires January 19 for certain federal agencies and February 2 for the others. 

The top-line spending deal allocates $886 billion to military spending and $704 billion for non-defense spending.  The deal paves the way for congressional appropriators to finish their work on the funding bills that will keep the government running after the continuing resolution expires. 

While the top-line agreement signifies that congressional leaders are working in unison to pass a budget, it is not a guarantee that the federal government will not shut down.  The funding bills still need to be passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by the president to avert a shutdown. 

“The framework agreement to proceed will enable the appropriators to address many of the major challenges America faces at home and abroad,” wrote Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in a letter announcing the deal.  “It will also allow us to keep the investments for hardworking American families secured by the legislative achievements of President Biden and Congressional Democrats.”

According to a CNBC article on the deal, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) acknowledged that the spending levels would “not satisfy” all parties, or cut as much as many had hoped for, but offers a way to “move the process forward.”

Read more on CNBC.

NASHTU Conference Set for 2024 – Save the Date

The 2024 NASHTU Conference will be held June 3 through 5, 2024 at the Hilton Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington D.C.  Please save the dates!

The NASHTU Conference is an excellent opportunity for transportation unions to come together and strategize about how best to serve our members and deliver safe, cost-effective transportation projects for taxpayers.  It also provides important access to transportation leaders and key Members of Congress.  Past conferences included the congressional leaders of both Senate and House committees with jurisdiction over transportation and infrastructure and key transportation and labor officials from AASHTO, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, FHWA, Center for American Progress, and many other transportation stakeholder organizations. 

NASHTU has secured a special room rate at the Hilton Capitol Hill Hotel (525 New Jersey Avenue, NW) of $309 per night (single/double occupancy).  The hotel will also honor the special room rate for up to two days prior to and after the conference, subject to hotel availability.  Advance reservations can be made by calling the hotel at 202/628-2100.  Please be sure to mention the NASHTU Conference when booking your accommodations.

As always, if you have suggestions for speakers, panels, or interesting subjects for the conference, please let us know.  We look forward to seeing you next June at the 2024 NASHTU Conference!

Buttigieg Touts Results of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Recently, U.S. DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg hailed some of the achievements of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – also known as the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act (IIJA) – which is nearing its second anniversary of enactment.  Billed as a “once in a generation investment in the nation’s infrastructure,” the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dedicated $1.2 trillion to infrastructure projects across multiple sectors.  It was signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021.      

Secretary Buttigieg said at a White House press conference that there are 31,000 construction projects across the country currently receiving funding from the law, ranging from simple infrastructure repairs to major transit transformations, according to an article in Spectrum News NY1.  

Buttigieg touted specific accomplishments of the law including the recent completion of the Lehigh Valley Airport in Pennsylvania, saying it was “the first time I was able to be at a ribbon cutting on a project that benefited from those dollars and the president’s infrastructure plan.” 

Buttigieg also cited California, which is currently receiving federal funding from the law to expand its metro system in Southern California and seismically retrofit the Golden Gate Bridge in the northern part of the state.  In Wisconsin,
Secretary Buttigieg spoke about the planned replacement of the Wisconsin River Bridge with two bridges that will allow for traffic to flow in both directions. 

Secretary Buttigieg emphasized that the benefits and job creation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is happening now but will also continue for the next several years. 

“Some of these projects are simple road improvements that can be done in one construction season,” Buttigieg said.  While others “even at the fastest possible pace, will take years and years to complete.”

“But that was exactly the point,” he said.  “This wasn’t about a one-off, one-year project.  This is creating a decade of infrastructure improvements that we will then be relying on and using and benefiting from for the rest of our lives.”

Read the full article in Spectrum News NY1.

Last Chance!  Register Today for 2nd Annual Virtual NASHTU Fall Conference

The 2nd Annual Virtual Fall NASHTU Conference is scheduled to be held virtually via Zoom tomorrow, October 19 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. PDT / 1 – 3 p.m. EDT.  If you haven’t done so, please register today.  

The NASHTU Fall Conference is a great opportunity for NASHTU members and interested parties to get together to discuss important updates and state department developments that impact all public employees in the transportation sector.  There is no cost to attend the virtual conference.

Join us as we discuss State DOT recruitment and retention, federal legislative challenges, outsourcing public sector transportation work, and other pertinent transportation-related updates. 

To register for the free conference, please click here.

We look forward to “seeing” everyone soon.

NASHTU Planning Subcommittee Members: Jon Haines (AFSCME), Jenn Porcari (AFT), Amy Hickey (AFT), Travis Woodward (CSEA/SEIU 2001), Patrick Lyons (New York State Public Employees Federation), Michelle Wheat (Montana Public Employees Federation), Patrick Russell (Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists – MOSES), Joe Dorant (MOSES), Tom Prendergast (MOSES), Nadine Westcott (Professional Engineers in California Government).

2nd Annual Virtual NASHTU Fall Conference Next Week – Register Today! 

The 2nd Annual Virtual Fall NASHTU Conference is scheduled to be held virtually via Zoom next Thursday, October 19 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. PDT / 1 – 3 p.m. EDT.  If you haven’t done so, please register today.  

The NASHTU Fall Conference is a great opportunity for NASHTU members and interested parties to get together to discuss important updates and state department developments that impact all public employees in the transportation sector.  There is no cost to attend the virtual conference.

Please mark your calendars to join us as we discuss State DOT recruitment and retention, federal legislative challenges, outsourcing public sector transportation work, and other pertinent transportation-related updates. 

To register for the free conference, please click here.

Please spread the word with other transportation and union leaders – everyone is welcome.

We look forward to “seeing” everyone soon.

NASHTU Planning Subcommittee Members: Jon Haines (AFSCME), Jenn Porcari (AFT), Amy Hickey (AFT), Travis Woodward (CSEA/SEIU 2001), Patrick Lyons (New York State Public Employees Federation), Michelle Wheat (Montana Public Employees Federation), Patrick Russell (Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists – MOSES), Joe Dorant (MOSES), Tom Prendergast (MOSES), Nadine Westcott (Professional Engineers in California Government)