BOSTON, Nov. 29, 2015: Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, right, endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Hard Hats for Hillary, an event where union workers showed their support for the candidate, at Faneuil Hall. (Photo by: Nikita Sampath)
BOSTON — Speaking to a full room at the historic Faneuil Hall on Sunday, Hillary Clinton, with Mayor Marty Walsh by her side, announced a $275 billion plan to improve the nation’s infrastructure and launched Hard Hats for Hillary, an initiative aimed at mobilizing the support of labor unions.
Terry O’Sullivan, General President of Laborers’ International Union of North America called the candidate “the most capable leader in [the] country,” acknowledging her continued support, respect and fight for unions since she was First Lady.
“One thing our union members are good at is getting feet on the street. We activate our members, and our friends and our families. We have an important vote impact,” said Scott Duhamel, the Assistant General President of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.
In her remarks the Democratic candidate previewed a $275 billion plan to improve the country’s roads, bridges and power grids, and said she would create a national infrastructure bank that would support up to $250 billion as additional investment that would go to cities and states for local projects. Clinton added that she intends to bring back Build America bonds, a program that helped states and cities borrow the money required to invest in infrastructure at lower costs.
“Investing in infrastructure makes our economy more productive and competitive across the board. [And] we’ve got to do this now. We need to put people to work now,” said the Democratic hopeful.
According to Clinton’s campaign, the infrastructure plan would be financed via “business tax reform.” Details of the plan are scheduled to be released on Monday.
