Five Labor associations call for Dakota Access’ continuation

Five labor unions called on President Obama to allow for construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue.  In a letter released this morning, the unions said the action by the Departments of Justice, Interior, and the U.S. Army. will impact their members directly.  The letter noted:

Our members make careers out of jobs created by projects like Dakota Access, and our jobs depend on the investments of conscientious employers. If companies like Energy Transfer Partners cannot trust that the regulatory process outlined in federal law will be upheld, who will continue to invest in America? The family-sustaining jobs and benefits that this project provides are in jeopardy.

The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), United Association (UA), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have not only been put out of work due to the aforementioned federal intervention, but have been consistently threatened by pipeline protestors. It is worth noting that these threats have gone largely overlooked.