NABTU President criticizes Senate draft as job-killing and harmful

Washington, D.C. – June 28, 2025 – North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) confronted the latest Senate draft proposal, expressing significant concern over its potential impact on the construction industry.

The draft, released in the late hours of Tuesday, has been criticized by NABTU President Sean McGarvey as a severe threat to construction jobs across North America. McGarvey stated, “The revised Senate draft released late last night is a massive insult to the working men and women of North America’s Building Trades Unions and all construction workers. This is not what they voted for.”

The proposed legislation, if passed, is projected to be detrimental to the U.S. workforce, comparable to ending more than 1,000 Keystone XL pipeline projects. The NABTU estimates that the bill could result in the loss of around 1.75 million construction jobs, a reduction exceeding 3 billion work hours, and an economic blow of $148 billion in lost annual wages and benefits.

The union warns that the bill, which appears to favor tax breaks for affluent corporations and individuals, would also elevate healthcare costs due to predicted Medicaid cuts. "In some cases, it worsens the already harmful trajectory of the House-passed language, threatening an estimated 1.75 million construction jobs and over 3 billion work hours, which translates to $148 billion in lost annual wages and benefits," McGarvey lamented.

McGarvey emphasized the critical need for maintaining energy tax credits and removing restrictive measures that could hamper national economic and energy development. He remarked, “Our three million members are ready, willing, and able to build this country into the world’s undisputed energy superpower. But this bill takes their jobs away and undermines that mission.”

Expressing disappointment, McGarvey criticized the direction of the proposal, noting, "We are especially outraged because all of this, all of these job losses for hardworking Americans, is being done for one reason only: to make room for more tax breaks for the wealthiest corporations and individuals in America." The statement concludes with an appeal to Senate Republicans to advocate for a legislative route more favorable to the construction sector: “We strongly urge our Senate Republican allies to keep pressing their leadership and the Administration for a better path forward for construction workers, because this one is certainly not it.”

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