Only a few days separate the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and Labor Day. The pairing of the two events calls our nation to examine the need for decent-paying jobs and benefits for workers on the Gulf Coast.

Fortunately, employers and labor unions are collaborating to meet the need in a manner that works for businesses, workers and the broader community.

Boh Bros. Construction Co., a firm that was awarded more than half a billion dollars in post-Katrina reconstruction contracts, voluntarily raised wages and provided food and shelter to encourage its employees to return to work. The result? In the year since the hurricane, Boh Bros. has maintained its reputation for completing projects under cost and on time.

The company's management cites its relationship with its employees' unions as a key ingredient to its success. Management and labor worked hand in hand to get workers back on their feet, and back on the job.

Boh's respectful treatment of its workforce is shared by a growing number of employers nationally, which believe that providing fair wages and benefits makes good business sense. These forward-thinking companies prove that slashing wages and fighting unions aren't necessary to succeed.

Also doing some forward thinking is the AFL-CIO, a national federation of 53 labor unions representing 9 million workers. In June 2006, it launched the Gulf Coast Revitalization Program, a $1 billion housing and economic development program.

Over the course of the next seven years, the initiative will create low- and moderate-income housing, a low-cost mortgage program, hospital and health facilities, job training and thousands of high-wage union jobs throughout the region.

The actions taken by Boh Bros. and the AFL-CIO prove that investing in America's workers is a winning strategy that could benefit all of America's workers.

In observance of Labor Day and the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we should rebuild not only the Gulf Coast but all of America by encouraging decent wages and benefits for everyone.

David Bonior is a former U.S. congressman from Michigan and chairman of American Rights at Work, a workers' rights advocacy organization in Washington. He also is a professor of labor studies at Wayne State University.