Washington, D.C. – July 7, 2020 – Today, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement on the Atlantic Coast pipeline cancellation:

“After years of planning, procurement, preparation, and following every federal, state, local law and regulation, the Atlantic Coast pipeline cancellation is beyond disappointing. It is an abuse of the legal system by opponents of clean-burning natural gas, which led this country out of the last recession and is poised to be a significant factor in helping this country avoid the very real potential of a depression brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Like the majority of America, we at NABTU support the increased deployment of renewable energy. However, it still has decades to go before the technology advances to the point where the world’s leading economy can depend on it to keep the lights on, schools and homes air-conditioned and manufacturing facilities humming. As our nation’s energy portfolio shifts, renewable jobs in manufacturing, construction, and operations must meet the current middle-class sustaining economic standards that exist in the natural gas industry. NABTU and our contractor partners look forward to helping the renewable sector create ladders of opportunity for underserved communities, minority communities, women and veterans through our unrivaled apprenticeship readiness programs and apprenticeship training programs when the majority of renewables have the economic standards to meet the benchmark of middle-class jobs and careers.

“Along the pipeline route, opportunities for people preparing their entry into the construction industry – climbing the ladder to the middle-class through training and support that is so desperately needed – have been wiped away by this abuse of our system.

“We hope for our future as our country and its people deal with the multiple crises that currently affect every man, woman and child, and we look forward to when middle-class jobs are not threatened, but protected. Until then, we hope that the opponents of clean-burning natural “American” gas will put the same zealousness, fervently uncompromising, single-minded focus into pushing the renewable industry to meet the middle-class standards for workers to not only survive, but thrive in the United States. As of today, it has a long, long, long way to go.”

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