It’s time to build the Rover Pipeline

On behalf of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, I write to you today to express our support for the development, construction and subsequent maintenance of the Rover Pipeline project.

The IBEW has long fought for the rights of workers to obtain fair wages and benefits in a safe work environment. Our 700,000 members work in a wide range of fields and perform an extensive range of services, including utilities, manufacturing, construction and other jobs essential to the building of projects like the Rover Pipeline and other improvements to our nation’s infrastructure. The IBEW also welcomes the Rover Project as an opportunity to continue and expand our incredible apprenticeship programs that offer many aspiring workers the chance to “earn-while-they-learn” by balancing classroom education with hands-on training.

The building of the Rover Pipeline will inject over $1 billion of direct spending into the U.S. economy and invest over $4.2 billion total along the way. The state of Michigan alone will receive an additional $6 million in property taxes during Rover’s first year in operation and perhaps even more in the years following. Moreover, the Rover Project will create over 10,000 construction jobs for hardworking Americans, many of them members of the IBEW here in Michigan.

It is also important to note that pipelines are the safest available means of transporting energy products. Over 2.6 million miles of pipeline are already in use in the United States, safely transporting energy products across the country on a daily basis. However, just as our roads and bridges are in need of repair, pipelines are also among America’s aging infrastructures in need of updating and expansion to ensure an energy-secure future.

As a devoted IBEW member, I am constantly concerned for the livelihoods of my fellow IBEW brothers and sisters and want only to help them and their families prosper well into the future. Our workers are well versed in the most advanced electrical engineering practices and are eager to put these skills to use on the Rover Pipeline. For this reason, I stand in full support of the Rover Pipeline project and ask for your help in ensuring that this occurs in an efficient and timely fashion. Thank you.

Sincerely,

John Bzdawka