The feds are expected to soon make their decision known about the Keystone XL Pipeline - something labor unions are hoping will move forward. Recently, as noted by Marita Noon, the AFL-CIO noted the jobs Keystone XL will produce are more like a lifeline than a pipeline. And yet, the Obama Administration keeps dragging its feet - suffocating jobs growth, even in Illinois. From Noon's article in Heartland News:
No one knows better than the major labor unions—which support building the pipeline—that the entire construction industry is based on a continuing series of single projects, be they roads, buildings, bridges, or other structures.
Sean McGarvey, president of the AFL-CIO Construction Trades Department, which represents 13 unions, makes the point: “The interstate highway system was a temporary job; Mount Rushmore was a temporary job. If they knew anything about the construction industry they’d understand that we work ourselves out of jobs and we go from job to job to job.”
The AFL-CIO explains its support: “The American construction industry has suffered greatly. The national unemployment rate for construction workers remains above 13 percent and far too many of our members have lost homes and are struggling to put food on the table. For many members of our unions, Keystone XL is not just a pipeline; it is, in the most literal sense, a life line.”
And the bi-partisan support the pipeline attracts in Congress, clearly signals that many legislators understand the economic benefits that are generated throughout the supply chain and the economy down to the local level.
The oil pipeline from Canada will carry 830,000 barrels of oil daily to US refineries on the Gulf Coast.
More HERE.
