Unions, states, Native tribes slam Biden's energy bans

FPI / January 26, 2021

Joe Biden killed thousands of union jobs by canceling the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline soon after he was inaugurated on Jan. 20.

Biden also put a 60-day moratorium on new oil and natural gas leases and drilling permits on federal lands.

Buyer's remorse came swiftly for many who backed the Democrat.

"Several unions that eagerly endorsed" Biden "are now learning the hard way what it means to support Democrat policies," Bizpacreview noted in a Jan. 22 report.

It estimated that 10,000 jobs — in addition to the 1,000 already established — would be created in 2021 alone with the construction of the pipeline. A total of 42,000 jobs were expected to be filled once the pipeline was completed.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said in a statement on Jan. 21: “The Teamsters strongly oppose yesterday’s decision, and we would urge the administration to reconsider it. This executive order doesn’t just affect U.S. Teamsters; it hurts our Canadian brothers and sisters as well who work on this project. It will reduce good-paying union jobs that allow workers to provide a middle-class standard of living to their families. America needs access to various forms of energy that can keep its economy running in the years ahead. This decision will hurt that effort."

The Teamsters endorsed Biden.

In revoking the Keystone XL permit, Biden's team "has chosen to listen to the voices of fringe activists instead of union members and the American consumer on Day 1,” Mark McManus, the president of the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters said in a statement Thursday.

Biden "has now put thousands of union workers out of work. For the average American family, it means energy costs will go up and communities will no longer see the local investments that come with pipeline construction,” McManus said.

In an August tweet endorsing Biden, the United Association said: "This endorsement is about putting UA members to work and fighting for fair wages and good benefits. Under a Biden Administration, that’s exactly what we’ll get."

North America’s Building Trades Unions "are deeply disappointed in the decision to cancel the Keystone XL permit," union president Sean McGarvey said in a statement Thursday. "Environmental ideologues have now prevailed, and over a thousand union men and women have been terminated from employment on the project."

McGarvey's union also endorsed Biden.

Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) president Terry O’Sullivan said Wednesday that Biden's decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit "is both insulting and disappointing to the thousands of hard-working LIUNA members who will lose good-paying, middle-class family-supporting jobs. By blocking this 100-percent union project, and pandering to environmental extremists, a thousand union jobs will immediately vanish and 10,000 additional jobs will be foregone."

LIUNA also endorsed Biden.

Meanwhile, leaders in a state Biden was declared the winner of, New Mexico, are now saying they are concerned that Biden’s ban on drilling on public lands will devastate the state’s economy.

During his inauguration, Biden "spoke about bringing our nation together. Eliminating drilling on public lands will cost thousands of New Mexicans their jobs and destroy what’s left of our state’s economy,” Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway told The Associated Press on Friday. “How does that bring us together? Environmental efforts should be fair and well-researched, not knee-jerk mandates that just hurt an already impoverished state.”

Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office told the AP that Grisham's administration is reviewing the federal action and the short- and long-term fiscal implications for the state.

“Certainly we all understand the critical importance of this industry to New Mexico’s bottom line and of the imperative to diversify our state economy and energy portfolio,” Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said.

The Ute Indian Tribe in Fort Duchesne, Utah also slammed the Biden team's restrictions on federal energy development.

“Your order is a direct attack on our economy, sovereignty, and our right to self-determination. Indian lands are not federal public lands. Any action on our lands and interest can only be taken after effective tribal consultation,” Luke Duncan, Chairman of the Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee wrote in a letter to the acting Secretary of the Interior.

Duncan accused Biden of violating the U.S. Treaty and trust responsibilities to the Ute Indian Tribe and violating the “important principles of tribal sovereignty and self-determination.”

“The Order must be withdrawn or amended to comply with Federal law and policies,” Duncan wrote.

Free Press International