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Updated at: 06/04/2009 10:17 AM Construction Workers Excited About Pipeline ProjectWednesday was a busy day for Patrick Radzak, Secretary- Treasurer of the Teamsters Union, Local 346. The phones, Radzak said, rang non-stop. Mostly, it's non-union men and women calling, Radzak said, who have caught the news of Enbridge Energy's pipeline project. And now, they want in. "Everybody is basically looking for jobs and they want to be a union member and they want to go to work. But, like I said, we have our own members that are out of work that need to go to work first," Radzak said.With almost 200 of his own out of work, Radzak said-- they aren't exactly open enrolling. His is one of three local unions that will work on the project, however Enbridge spokeswoman Denise Hamsher said, it is unclear just how many local people will be hired. When complete-- the Alberta Clipper will stretch 1,000 miles between Canada and Superior. The Southern Lights will span 700 miles, between Chicago, Superior, and Clearbrook, MN. The project has already been delayed once, and some union heads say they are skeptical that shovels will actually hit the ground this summer. "If it isn't one thing its another-- all it takes is some environmental group from California or Colorado to file a suit and put this deal on hold again, and that affects all the workers in this area," Radzak said. Hamsher attributes the setback to the need for additional research and permits. "Those environmental studies were very thorough, very complete. Especially when you take in to account all of the public meetings we held, it just took a little longer," Hamsher said. Still, she is confident the company is on the right path. And come August, there will be plenty of men and women ready to go to back to work. Hamsher said, a Federal Environmental Impact Statement on the project should be finished on Friday |
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