“Jobs in this industry have paved the way to a blue-collar, middle-class way of life for millions of families across our country.” – Terry O’Sullivan, General President of Laborers’ International Union of North American (LiUNA)

This week is the seventh annual Infrastructure Week – a national week of advocacy and education that brings together business, labor, and elected leaders to spotlight the need to revitalize, modernize, and invest in infrastructure.

Constructing, maintaining and expanding energy pipelines, processing plants, export terminals and other types of infrastructure is essential to our nation’s future.

The development of abundant and affordable natural gas over the past decade has greatly benefited Pennsylvanians through meaningful home energy savings, well-paying local jobs – including many for the region’s building trades union members – and renewed manufacturing investment.

President Trump reiterated these benefits during a visit to Sempra Energy’s $10 billion Cameron Parish LNG export facility in Louisiana on Tuesday, where he touted the thousands of jobs that this facility and future projects will create:

“From right here in Hackberry, Louisiana, you will very soon be exporting clean American natural gas all over the world. With the incredible grit, skill and pride, the 7,000 workers at this facility are helping lead the American energy revolution.

… [Natural gas] is clean and environmentally better than alternatives. In Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and states all across our lands, workers like you are lighting up our homes, powering up our factories and reducing energy costs for hardworking American families. You are not only making our nation wealthier, but you are making America safer by building a future of American energy independence.

…Instead of relying on foreign oil and foreign energy, we are now relying on American energy and American workers like never before.”

For manufacturers considering further investments in the commonwealth, secure and reliable connections to low-cost, abundant energy supplies is a necessity. That requires a focus — not only this week but every day — on expanding and building new pipelines, transmission systems, processing facilities and transportation connections to deliver more affordable energy to where it’s needed.

By partnering with Pennsylvania’s building trades unions, our industry is ready to expand Pennsylvania’s energy infrastructure network. Steamfitters Local 420’s Mike Trofa recently underscored this reality, noting:

“[Pipelines are] a generational transformation – they mean sustainable jobs for our workers and a lifetime of opportunities for people across the state. But none of that happens without the pipeline network that safely and responsibly transport and delivers the product for processing”


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