While the construction economy has grown, living and work standards for construction workers have fallen.

We cannot stand idly by, tied to a past that promises only further decline for construction workers.

We must build a movement that does effectively address the construction industry as it is today and which helps the majority of our nation's construction workers have good jobs, good training and a path for new opportunities.

Workers that make these clothes don't even earn a living wage. In Mexico, laborers often work for $4.50 a day, and even though the law prohibits their employers from forcing them to work more than eight hours per day, they are often forced to work 10 or 12 hours per day.

The economy seems very healthy and there is a significant demand for workers.

Henry Ford was right. A prosperous economy requires that workers be able to buy the products that they produce. This is as true in a global economy as a national one.