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Politics & Policy
Cheney Pitches
Energy Policy To Labor Leaders as Jobs Plan WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney, hoping to build support for the administration's energy policy, appealed for support from labor leaders, pitching the package as a jobs plan that will keep Americans working. The White House energy report is expected to call for the construction of 1,300 to 1,900 new power plants in the next 20 years. Each of those building projects will require about 1,500 construction workers and at least 200 full-time workers to manage the plant once it opens, White House officials told about a half-dozen labor leaders during a private meeting yesterday. In addition, White House officials said the nation needs another 36,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, which hold the promise of employing tens of thousands more workers to construct them. "I give them credit for delivering a motivating message with the group," said Mike Mathis, government-affairs director for the Teamsters. But the union leaders remained short of endorsing the Bush energy proposal, saying they had to wait until they could read the final document. "We're going to look at it," said Teamsters President James P. Hoffa. "It's a first blush. It's the beginning of a dialogue." Douglas McCarron, president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, said that what he heard "sounded good . . . We can build those plants." The meeting was part of a final series of private briefings by the White House to gauge reaction and develop allies before Mr. Bush unveils the package during a Thursday speech in St. Paul, Minn. During the meeting, the union leaders raised areas of concern. Mr. Hoffa emphasized that the package must produce a reduction in energy costs for working families and not just enhance the profits of big oil and gas companies. In addition, representatives of the United Steel Workers of America sought assurances that the steel used to build the pipelines and plants will come from American sources and not imports. The meeting with labor leaders was viewed by some as a White House attempt to divide the labor community on one of the most daunting challenges facing the new president. But the labor community has long been divided on proposals to expand the nation's energy supply, and the potential for job creation is also putting some distance between labor and its allies in the environmental community. The Teamsters have long endorsed the controversial idea of opening the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration. Noting the differences within its own ranks on the issue of energy, the AFL-CIO has taken a "neutral" position on the package and lodged no objections to yesterday's meeting -- even though the federation wasn't invited to attend. Meanwhile, labor and environmental leaders downplayed speculation that their partnerships on trade and other issues will be harmed if they wind up on different sides on the energy proposal. The ties between the environmental and
labor communities, two important factions of the Democrats' electoral coalition,
were forged during last year's emotionally charged fights over the World Trade
Organization. "On most things, we and the unions will be working
together," says Carl Pope, head of the Sierra Club.
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