Eye on President Trump: Clearing the Way for Pipelines to Move Forward

After the presidential election in November, we pledged, as did our fellow unions across the country, to hold President Donald Trump accountable for the promises he'd made during the campaign, and his actions in the White House.

Union representatives across the country expressed support for actions taken by President Trump during his first week in office, in which he cleared the way for two major oil pipelines that had been blocked.

In an Executive Order issued on Jan. 23, the president resurrected the Keystone XL pipeline and expedited work on the Dakota Access pipeline. Both projects had been blocked by the previous administration.

In a statement issued on Jan. 27, Terry O'Sullivan, general president of the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), said: "President Trump acted boldly and decisively to pave the way for the Keystone Pipeline with an Executive Order earlier this week and we look forward to swift approval of this crucial project, which will create thousands of good jobs and unlock affordable energy."

He continued: "The refiling of Keystone XL by TransCanada signals hope for hard-working men and women who have for too long had their careers and livelihoods undermined."

The president's order came on the heels of a meeting he held at the White House Jan. 22 with representatives of America's major union organizations, including Sean McGarvey, president of the NABTU (North America's Building and Trades Unions). 

“The respect that the President of the United States showed us – and when he shows it to us he shows it to three million of our members in the United States – was nothing short of incredible," said McGarvey, "and we will work with him and his administration to help him implement his plans on infrastructure, trade, and energy policy, so that we really do put America back to work in the middle class jobs that our members and all Americans are demanding."

Just as we pledged to hold President Trump accountable, we will give credit where credit is due. In his first few days in office, he acted swiftly to reach out to organized labor and support key infrastructure projects that will create jobs and put our members back to work.

Stay tuned.

The East Central Ohio Building & Construction Trades Council is online at www.eastcentralohiobuildingtrades.com.