The American Petroleum Institute and 15 labor unions have formed a committee that will lobby for better, higher-paying jobs in the oil and gas industry, the groups announced on June 17.
"The genesis of our committee comes from our mutual interest to develop good, well-paying jobs in the US. Talking over the past few months, it became apparent we have many mutual interests," API Pres. Jack N. Gerard told reporters in a teleconference. "Equally important, it's about energy security in the United States. Experts tell us we'll need to produce more of it domestically, and it's in our mutual interest to come together," he said.
Mark H. Ayers, president of the Building and Construction Trades Department at the AFL-CIO, said, "We intend to work in close cooperation with API to assure that the oil and gas industry remains a good source of income for our members. That will require us to remind lawmakers that competitively priced supplies of oil and gas should remain a part of the US energy portfolio."
Doug J. McCarron, president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, said the committee will provide a great opportunity for craft unions to work with the oil and gas industry to create and maintain well-paying jobs. "I think the biggest opportunity for the building trades industry is in creating training programs to make sure there are qualified people to take these jobs," he said.
API Chairman J. Larry Nichols, who also is Devon Energy Corp.'s chairman and chief executive officer, said he expects the Oil and Natural Gas Labor-Management Committee to be at the forefront of shaping policies to assure oil and gas stay affordable. "If this country doesn't try to continue developing its own oil and gas resources, supplies from outside will cost more and reduce our economic recovery as it begins to occur," Nichols warned.
One impetus for the committee's formation was proposals that have emerged in Congress and the Obama administration, according to API's Gerard. "It's very clear that some of them are not in the best interest of the oil and gas industry and its employees. Our role will be to go up there arm-in-arm and educate people that there are great opportunities here for job creation. Many people don't realize that oil and gas industry jobs pay 2-3 times what other jobs pay, and that creating more of them can help our economy recovery more quickly," Gerard said.
"When you look at the vast US oil and gas resources, we could create another 160,000 jobs by 2030," Gerard continued, adding, "We also shouldn't overlook the $1.7 trillion of revenues that would come from doing this."
AFL-CIO's Ayers said, "We'll take a multifaceted approach. One is public policy, but there are several other areas in which we plan to engage to create good-paying jobs. That will help perpetuate the oil and gas industry and open great opportunities for employment. We have an aging workforce that needs to be replaced. The need's there. The opportunity's there. The jobs are there. We just need to reinvest in America."