The Big Fail: You Can’t Build That

Biden Panders To Unions At Plumbers And Pipefitters Local 189 After Punting On Keystone Pipeline And Costing Thousands Of Jobs

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN TALKS OHIO MANUFACTURING TO UNIONS AT PLUMBERS AND PIPEFITTERS LOCAL 189 IN COLUMBUS

“Vice President Joe Biden Will Deliver A Campaign Speech At The Plumbers And Pipefitters Local 189 Union Hall In Columbus.” (Joe Vardon, “Biden’s ‘Made In Ohio Manufacturing Tour,'” The Columbus Dispatch, 7/17/12)

The Plumbers And Pipefitters Local 189 Is a Local Chapter Of The United Association Of Journeymen And Apprentices Of The Plumbing And Pipe Fitting Industry Of The United States And Canada. (Local Union 189, Accessed 7/17/12)

THE UNITED ASSOCIATION STRONGLY SUPPORTED THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

“The United Association Strongly Supports The Construction Of the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline. Moving Forward Immediately With This Private Investment Will Protect Our National Security, Enhance The Financial Stability Of Our Country And Provide Better Livelihoods For America’s Working Families.” (The United Association, TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline Flyer, Accessed 7/17/12)

In A Letter To Members, The United Association Called The Keystone XL Pipeline A “Top Priority.” “As you know, General President Hite has made constructing the TransCanada Keystone pipeline a top priority for the United Association.” (“Legislative Action To Support The Creation Of 13,000 Contraction Jobs!,” The United Association Department Of Political And Legislative Affairs, 3/9/11)

• The United Association Said The Keystone Pipeline Would Reduce Dependency On The Middle East And Would Provide “13,000 High-Wage And Good-Benefit Jobs.” “Through this project, the U.S. will receive oil from our ally neighbor, Canada, rather than increasing dependency on adversary Middle Eastern countries. What’s more, TransCanada has already signed a Project Labor Agreement for all aspects of construction. Our membership will directly benefit from the projected 13,000 high-wage and good-benefit jobs, needed to construct this pipeline.” (“Legislative Action To Support The Creation Of 13,000 Contraction Jobs!,”The United Association Department Of Political And Legislative Affairs, 3/9/11)
• The United Association Urged Members To Call Their Senators And Urge Their Support For The Approval Of The Keystone Pipeline. “Currently, Senator Landrieu, of Louisiana, is circulating a letter in Washington D.C. She, and her staff, are in the process of acquiring signatures supporting the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline. ON FRIDAY, March 11, the letter will be sent to Secretary of State Clinton. We are asking you to call your Senator and urge them to sign on to Senator Landrieu’s support letter! Locate your Representatives’ contact information here.” (“Legislative Action To Support The Creation Of 13,000 Contraction Jobs!,” The United Association Department Of Political And Legislative Affairs, 3/9/11)
• The United Association On The Keystone XL Pipeline: “Two Years Have Passed And Our Industry Is Experiencing 30% Unemployment. We Cannot Afford To Wait Any Longer!” (“Legislative Action To Support The Creation Of 13,000 Contraction Jobs!,”The United Association Department Of Political And Legislative Affairs, 3/9/11)

In A Letter To Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, The United Association Said That The “Environmental Impact Along The Proposed Route Is Minimized As Much As Practically Possible.” “State has held more than twenty public comment meetings along the proposed route of the pipeline, and TransCanada on its own has held more than ninety open houses and public meetings while providing hundreds of hours of testimony and submitting thousands of pages of project information. All of these efforts have been to ensure that any environmental impact along the proposed route is minimized as much as practically possible.” (William P. Hite, General President Of The United Association, Letter To Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, 5/12/11)

• The United Association To Clinton: “There Is No Question That This Project Serves U.S. National Security Interests.” (William P. Hite, General President Of The United Association,Letter To Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, 5/12/11)
• The United Association: “While Our Nation Is Still Struggling To Recover From The Great Recession, The Keystone Project Is Projected To Create Nearly 20,000 Manufacturing And Construction Jobs In The U.S. And Will Do So Without A Single Dollar Of Government Assistance. The Entire Project Is Privately Funded.” (William P. Hite, General President Of The United Association,Letter To Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, 5/12/11)
• The United Association: “In fact, the project is expected to provide more than $5.2 billion in tax revenue to the pipeline’s corridor states. Again, this economic stimulus will come without any financial assistance expended by the federal or state governments. It would be incomprehensible for the government to intervene into the private market and prevent such an important economic engine from coming to fruition- especially for the men and women who would miss out on the much needed jobs as a result .” (William P. Hite, General President Of The United Association,Letter To Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, 5/12/11)

BIDEN HAS DEFENDED OBAMA’S OPPOSITION TO KEYSTONE

Biden Defended Obama’s Opposition To The Keystone Pipeline. QUESTION: “If the Obama/Biden plan is so key on jobs why say no to the Keystone pipeline?” VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: “Well two reasons it hadn’t gone through the process. There is a process to make sure it can be environmentally sound. Done in an environmentally sound way particularly through that part of Nebraska that is so sensitive. The president signed off on the second half of the plan/pipeline because it doesn’t have those environmentally and even if in fact it was sound off through now. It’s not going to generate any new energy for a long, long time. So the impact that it will impact that will affect the process we have now. It’s going to go through the process, and it will be made on an environmentally sound basis.” ( Interview With Vice President Joe Biden , KWQC, 3/28/12)

OBAMA AND BIDEN COST THE ECONOMY THOUSANDS OF JOBS BY REJECTING THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE XL PERMIT

The Keystone Pipeline Will Create 20,000 Immediate Jobs. “TransCanada’s initial estimate of 20,000 – which it said includes 13,000 direct construction jobs and 7,000 jobs among supply manufacturers – has been widely quoted by lawmakers and presidential candidates.” (Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson, “Obama’s Allies’ Interests Collide Over Keystone Pipeline,” The Washington Post, 10/16/11)

Many Of Keystone’s 20,000 Initial Jobs “Would Have Been Filled By Skilled Union Members.” “Many of those 20,000 jobs on the construction of the pipeline would have been filled by skilled union members. Eventually, the completed pipeline was expected to result in as many as 130,000 jobs, many of them on the upper Texas Coast, where the heavy oil would be refined into 700,000 barrels of oil daily.”(Editorial, “Keystone Pipeline Delay Is The Wrong Call,”Houston Chronicle, 11/11/11)

The Pipeline Had Support “From Four Unions Representing 2.6 Million Workers.” “The oil industry, 14 U.S. senators and four unions representing 2.6 million workers have pushed for swift approval of the pipeline, which they said would help keep energy costs down, stimulate $20 billion in spending for the U.S. economy and spur creation of 118,000 jobs.” (David Lerman and Jim Efstathiou Jr., “TransCanada Pipeline’s Environment Risk Limited, U.S. Finds,” Bloomberg, 8/26/11)

Local 189’s United Association Was One Of Four Labor Unions Reached A Tentative Agreement To Build The Pipeline Because They Say It Will Directly Create As Many As 20,000 High Wage Jobs For Their Members. “In September 2010, four unions – the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada; the Laborers International Union of North America; the Teamsters; and the International Union of Operating Engineers – reached a tentative project labor agreement with TransCanada to build the pipeline, which is now finalized. They say the project will directly generate as many as 20,000 high-wage jobs for their members.” (Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson, “Obama’s Allies’ Interests Collide Over Keystone Pipeline,” The Washington Post, 10/16/11)