Unions that endorsed Biden are now criticizing him for canceling Keystone pipeline that will 'kill thousands of good-paying union jobs!'
'Deeply disappointed'
January 23, 2021
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Unions that endorsed Joe Biden for president are experiencing some buyer's remorse only days after his inauguration. In one of his first actions in the White House, President Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline. Now, the unions that supported Biden are criticizing the newly-elected president for the political move that they say will "kill thousands of good-paying union jobs!"
The Keystone XL pipeline was first proposed in 2008, but the Obama administration vetoed the 1,200-mile pipeline in November 2015. On his fourth day in office, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order to advance the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline project, which would pump 35 million gallons of crude oil a day from Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska.
Citing climate change concerns, the Biden administration announced on Wednesday it would revoke the federal permits for the Keystone XL pipeline.
The Keystone XL pipeline disserves the U.S. national interest. The United States and the world face a climate crisis. That crisis must be met with action on a scale and at a speed commensurate with the need to avoid setting the world on a dangerous, potentially catastrophic, climate trajectory. At home, we will combat the crisis with an ambitious plan to build back better, designed to both reduce harmful emissions and create good clean-energy jobs. Our domestic efforts must go hand in hand with U.S. diplomatic engagement. Because most greenhouse gas emissions originate beyond our borders, such engagement is more necessary and urgent than ever. The United States must be in a position to exercise vigorous climate leadership in order to achieve a significant increase in global climate action and put the world on a sustainable climate pathway. Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my Administration's economic and climate imperatives.
TC Energy Corporation, the Canadian company behind the Keystone XL pipeline project, said they would cut more than 11,000 jobs.
Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta, appeared on Fox News' "The Story," where he said that Biden's move "kills thousands of union labor jobs on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border and counterintuitively makes the United States more dependent on 'dictatorships' for its energy needs."
Andy Black, president and CEO of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, said, "Killing 10,000 jobs and taking $2.2 billion in payroll out of workers' pockets is not what Americans need or want right now."
Biden was also slammed for canceling the Keystone XL pipeline by the same unions who endorsed him in the 2020 election.
"Pipeline construction has been a lifeline for many #LIUNA members across the country," the Laborers' International Union of North America said. "The anticipated decision to cancel the Keystone Pipeline will kill thousands of good-paying UNION jobs!"
In September, LIUNA "proudly" endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, claiming the Democrats "stand out as the blue-collar candidates."
On Nov. 7, 2020, Terry O'Sullivan, General President of LIUNA, stated, "Together, we helped push Joe Biden and Kamala Harris over the top, and we helped elect many pro-union, pro-labor, and pro-family candidates to office."
"Deeply disappointed," the head of the North American Building Trades Unions, which endorsed then-candidate Biden in October, said.
The United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters endorsed Biden for president in August.
"We're not going to sit on the sidelines at the UA. This endorsement is about putting UA members to work and fighting for fair wages and good benefits. Under a Biden Administration, that's exactly what we'll get," said Mark McManus, General President of the United Association. "Let's be real: nobody in the Oval Office will be with us on every single issue. But with his long history of standing shoulder to shoulder with working families and his commitment to an all-of-the-above energy approach that will mean more UA jobs, protecting the hard-earned retirements of our members, and appointing union-friendly judges, Joe Biden will be a fierce ally to our UA Brothers and Sisters in the White House."
Then this week, the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters condemned the Biden administration.
"In revoking this permit, the Biden Administration has chosen to listen to the voices of fringe activists instead of union members and the American consumer on Day 1. Let me be very clear: When built with union labor by the men and women of the United Association, pipelines like Keystone XL remain the safest and most efficient modes of energy transportation in the world. Sadly, the Biden Administration has now put thousands of union workers out of work. For the average American family, it means energy costs will go up and communities will no longer see the local investments that come with pipeline construction," said Mark McManus, General President of the United Association.