Jobs Delayed – Workers on the Keystone XL

Mark Green
Posted May 16, 2014

Add the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) to the list of American working men and women who want President Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline for construction. The Washington Examiner reports that IBEW President Edwin Hill sent letters to a number of Democratic senators, urging the pipeline’s construction. The Examiner quotes from Hill’s letter:

“At a time when job creation should be a top priority, the KXL pipeline project will put Americans back to work and have ripple benefits throughout the economy. … From pipe manufactured in Arkansas, to pump motors assembled in Ohio and transformers built in Pennsylvania, workers from all over the United States will benefit from the project. … Although America is slowly recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression, unemployment rates remain high, especially in the construction industry.”

Americans in the construction trades look at the Keystone XL as more than a job – it’s a lifeline for people who’ve seen their work recover slowly from the recent recession. Recently, we shared a video featuring pipeline worker Dom Stokes, produced by the Laborers’ International Union of America. A couple more:

And:                  

Like Dom Stokes, Amy Dague and Michael Linn are terrific examples of U.S. workers who’re eager to have one of the 42,100 jobs the president’s own State Department says would be created during Keystone XL’s construction phase. “You would not believe the empowerment it gives you to work a job like this,” Dague says. Actually, we would.

Delaying the Keystone XL pipeline delays jobs and opportunity for workers like Amy, Mike, Dom and tens of thousands more. The Keystone XL review is in its sixth year – holding up job creation, economic stimulus and strengthened U.S. energy security. Building the KXL is good for American workers, our economy and the overall national interest. Not building it – well, that’s simply not in the national interest.