A Message from Dennis Martire

All too often elected leaders and policy-makers have too little understanding and too many misconceptions about the positive impact and value of LIUNA’s proud energy workers. It’s time to change that.

From Pennsylvania to West Virginia to Virginia, I’m proud to say the Mid-Atlantic Region will be taking the lead in telling the stories of our members who prepare the land, lay the natural gas pipelines and return the environment to a pristine state. They do so because it is a life-long career for them and their families and because they are proud to help provide the clean, affordable energy our states and nation need.

For too long, the stories of the workers of LIUNA have gone untold. Meanwhile, misguided and sometimes disingenuous and out-of-touch environmentalists have been on the attack, seeking not only to stop every energy project, but insulting and disparaging the work we do. We’re going to change that.

Already, some of you may have noticed billboards sprouting up in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. They feature local pipeline workers, proudly before an American flag and are headlined with “Local Jobs – LiUNA! and the Natural Gas Industry.” We will be adding more billboards as locations become available.

To tell your story more deeply, we are also producing radio ads that will air in the three states in communities where natural gas development and pipelines are underway or under construction. As with the billboards, the ads will feature the voices and stories of our proud members. They will share how building America’s energy future has helped them build strong families. Some practice a craft that has been passed down for generations in their families. Some have found a lifeline in pipelines after other industries have declined. They will talk about their ten- or twelve-hour shifts and the skills they have honed to make pipelines the safest method of energy transport that exists. They will share what it means to them to be a part of ensuring that we all have the energy we need to power our homes and businesses. And they will share how valuable it is to them to have one of the thousands of local jobs the natural gas industry creates – and how proud they are to do it right and protect the environment, because they live, fish or hunt in the communities where they work.

We’ll be reaching out with this message through news conferences, opeds and letters to the editor, and through social media and online. Our goal is simple: in the upcoming battles to allow a sane and safe natural gas industry to prosper, elected officials, regulators and those who might seek to block every project will see and feel the power of LIUNA.