Statement of Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA,

On U.S. Senate Vote on the Keystone XL Pipeline

Washington, D.C. (November 18, 2014) – Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – made the following statement today on the U.S. Senate vote regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline:

Today’s failure of the U.S. Senate to authorize the Keystone XL Pipeline is a vote against all construction workers, a vote to keep good, middle-class jobs locked out of reach and a vote to continue to rely on nations that hate America for our energy.

 

As the White House politicized the construction of the pipeline, 41 Senate Democrats cowardly stepped in line, throwing one of their own colleagues, Sen. Mary Landrieu, along with hard working blue-collar construction workers under the bus.

 

That Democrats would block the pipeline’s approval in spite of the fact that repeated environmental impact statements have all concluded that the Keystone XL will have no appreciable impact on greenhouse gas emissions, leaves us disillusioned, disgusted and exasperated with the current majority party and it leaves no doubt as to why they will soon be the minority party.  Continued pandering to environmental extremists, who want to hamper the American economy and destroy jobs is a recipe for continued election losses.

 

The majority of Democrats in the Senate and the White House just don’t get it, even though the recent election results surely should have sunk in by now. They have lost their way, their purpose and their base.

 

Americans want action, they want jobs and they want leadership. Today’s Senate vote demonstrated none of the above. To be relevant with the working class, Democratic leaders in Washington should put job creation and the livelihoods of working men and women ahead of the ravings of environmental wing-nuts and their deep pocketed billionaire funders.  They should get out and meet the men and women who need real jobs and stop putting politics before people.   If they cannot cast a vote for us, we cannot, and will not, cast a vote for them.

 

LIUNA applauds Senator Landrieu and her colleagues who have stood up for this project and our members.  The men and women of our union appreciate their support.

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