Teamsters Condemn Jobless Energy Package

Teamsters Condemn Jobless Energy Package

Hoffa Questions Domenici's Enthusiasm on Job Creation

November 15, 2003

(Washington, DC) – Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa responded today to Senate Energy Chairman Peter V. Domenici’s statement on the Energy Policy Act of 2003.

"Senator Domenici claims his bill will create 'nearly 1 million new jobs' and hails this as a great achievement. However, Senator Domenici passed up an opportunity to create more than twice that number of new jobs. According to a recent study by the National Defense Council Foundation, opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) alone will create over 1 million new jobs—more than Senator Domenici claims will be created by his entire bill.

"By stripping language to allow for the opening of the ANWR, Senator Domenici failed Teamsters and other working families. Unlike many of the sorts of jobs listed in the Senator's statement, new jobs created by opening ANWR are primarily union jobs, with livable wages, strong benefits, and security. That's the only reason why the Teamsters joined more than a dozen other unions to work with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to pass a comprehensive national energy policy.

"Since he took office, President George W. Bush and the Republican Congress have made more than 3 million jobs disappear from our nation's economy. With Senator Domenici's leadership, we could have put two thirds of those Americans back to work. Unfortunately, Senator Domenici failed working families by settling for less than half that number.

"First, this Republican Congress and White House gave workers a jobless recovery, and now they want to give us a jobless energy package. If this bill reaches President Bush's desk in its current form, I urge the President to veto it."