Washington, D.C. (May 5, 2017) – Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA, the Laborers’ International Union of North America, today made the following statement on the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s first public hearing in York, Nebraska on the Keystone XL pipeline:

LIUNA members have been amongst the fiercest and most dedicated in their advocacy for the Keystone XL Pipeline over the course of an extensive and highly politicized permitting and approval process. Thousands of members submitted testimony, attended public hearings, and sent letters to their local newspapers raising their voices for rational energy policy and pushing to construct the Keystone XL Pipeline. However, the Keystone Pipeline was stalled, delayed and ultimately blocked by the previous Administration.

 

During his first week in office, President Donald Trump acted decisively to finally allow the project to advance and win federal approval. The President’s effort to expedite approval of Keystone is an encouraging demonstration of his commitment to create good middle-class jobs and end the political gamesmanship on energy policy that marked the previous 8 years.

 

With federal approval secured, the Keystone Pipeline is now under consideration by the Nebraska Public Service Commission. LIUNA members have once again been front and center in the effort to win approval – working tirelessly to coordinate with allies and rally communities to get involved in the upcoming approval process.

 

LIUNA members who live and work in communities near the pipeline route were a strong presence in the hearing last week. With approximately forty in attendance and 20 giving testimony, members gave powerful testimony, which was widely covered by the news media and outnumbered opponents 3-1, highlighting the importance of this critical piece of infrastructure and the trained and skilled workforce standing ready to build it.

 

LIUNA is eager for this long-delayed project to become a reality. And, in a conversation increasingly dominated by extremism, LIUNA members have become a crucial voice for good blue collar jobs building our infrastructure safely and responsibly.

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The half-million members of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – are on the forefront of the construction industry, a powerhouse of workers who are proud to build America.