My Take: Shutting down Line 5 would shut down Michigan labor
A recent column in the Cheboygan Daily Tribune made shutting down Line 5 sound like a commonsense solution to Michigan’s problems. On behalf of the 14,000 workers that the Michigan Laborers District Council, I can tell you that couldn’t be further from the truth. Michigan laborers depend on Line 5 and would be seriously affected if it were to be shutdown.
Those pushing for a shutdown seem to ignore the real consequences that would impact everyday residents and workers in northern Michigan. Line 5 moves 540,000 barrels of energy across the region every day. That accounts for 55% of the state’s propane supply and 65% of the Upper Peninsula’s propane. Any claim that Line 5 resources don’t benefit Michigan are absurd.
If Line 5 were to be shut down, residents across our state would be left in the lurch. There is no affordable or realistic alternative to access these resources. A shutdown would cut off our energy supply. You wouldn’t expect to cancel your internet and still stream TV shows, right? You can’t cancel your phone plan then make a call. The same logic applies to the energy we rely on from Line 5.
A shutdown would have a true domino effect all across our state and Michigan labor would be among the first to suffer. Our members and other union members work on jobs connected to Line 5 including at refineries, manufacturing facilities, and airports. The last thing we need to do as our state heads into a recession is send hardworking laborers to the unemployment line. But that’s what would happen if a shutdown were to occur.
Despite the scare tactics and exaggerations of opponents, the truth is Line 5 is safe. The Tunnel makes it safer. The right way to handle a concern is to find a safer plan.
The good news? Michigan already has that safer alternative in the works: the Great Lakes Tunnel. The plan for the Great Lakes Tunnel, which was approved and signed into law in 2018, would get the pipeline off the lakebed and safely bury it deep beneath the lakebed under the Straits of Mackinac. Having Line 5 inside the Great Lakes Tunnel eliminates all the environmental risks many are concerned over, while keeping the energy we need flowing. Just as importantly, this plan keeps Michigan laborers on the job and creates new opportunities for us during construction and operation of the tunnel.
The commonsense answer here is the Great Lakes Tunnel, not a Line 5 shutdown. We rely on Line 5 and keeps Michigan workers on the job every day. Now is time for state and federal regulators to pick up the pace and approve permits for construction so we can get this show on the road. It’s time to make our already safe pipeline even safer and start building the Great Lakes Tunnel.
— Geno Alessandrini is the business manager of the Michigan Laborers District Council.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: My Take: Shutting down Line 5 would shut down Michigan labor
