As unions rally behind Biden, Pa. GOP claims fracking is at risk
Post-Gazette Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — On the third day of the Democratic National Convention, the message surrounding the outlook on jobs in Western Pennsylvania depended on which virtual panel you happened to hear on Wednesday afternoon.
In a two-hour session on organized labor, Democrats rallied around their nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. They portrayed him as a leader who would restore and expand protections for labor unions; pursue paid sick leave and safety protections; end wage theft; and enhance retirement savings and the right to speedy union elections in more sectors, like academia and the service sector.
“We really need to step up our efforts and organize smartly,” said
Jessica Ramos, a Democratic state senator from New York who was elected in 2018 touting her ties to the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
“There’s never been a better moment in history” to organize, she added.
Minutes after the end of the DNC’s Labor Council discussion, a group of Pennsylvania Republican congressmen hopped on a call to lob fresh accusations that Mr. Biden would support a nationwide ban on fracking. Pennsylvania Republicans for months have expressed alarm at fracking ban proposals from some Democrats, including from Bernie Sanders, Mr. Biden’s chief progressive rival in the Democratic primary campaign.
Though Mr. Sanders lost the primary race, Republicans have sought to claim the Vermont senator — along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has called for a fracking ban — is actually running the show.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, said voters should focus on “what the Democrats are not saying” at the convention, calling Mr. Biden an “empty suit” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez will fill.
“He is a vessel for their far-left radical agenda,” Mr. Reschenthaler said, adding that Mr. Biden will “defund, dismantle and destroy our way of life.”
Rep. Glenn Thompson, RCentre, said energy costs would spike under Mr. Biden’s plan and hurt manufacturing, the food supply chain and families’ checkbooks. Mr. Biden’s supporters are “driven by myth and by emotion.”
“The cost of getting in your vehicle will be just unaffordable,” Mr. Thompson said. “You’ll have to stay at home, not because of the pandemic but because of Biden’s energy plan.”
Mr. Biden has said he does not support a nationwide fracking ban, stating in Michigan he opposes new fracking permits on federal lands and waters.
And last month, a unity platform on climate change crafted by supporters of Mr. Biden and Mr. Sanders — with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez as a co-chair — did not propose a ban on fracking and instead pledged to invest in upgrading the natural gas infrastructure and creating union jobs to do so.
The fight over Mr. Biden’s positions on fracking and jobs in Pennsylvania has spilled into televised ads.
This week, Mr. Biden’s campaign asked several TV stations in the state to stop airing an ad from a pro-Donald Trump super PAC that the campaign says inaccurately represents Mr. Biden’s position on fracking. The ad says a Biden presidency would “kill up to 600,000 Pennsylvania jobs.”
Mr. Biden’s campaign sent a letter to the stations stating Mr. Biden’s platform is not to eliminate fracking and, even if it were, only about 20,000 people work in the oil and natural gas industry in Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, Democrats are leaning on what they hope is more unified support from labor unions, some of which saw rank-and-file members support Mr. Trump in 2016 for his messages on trade and “bringing back” manufacturing jobs.
The DNC’s Labor Council focused two panels this week on taking aim at Mr. Trump’s labor policies and the power of union organizing for essential workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The message builds on a measure passed by the Democratic-led House of Representatives in February that would classify independent contractors as employees, prevent employers from permanently replacing striking workers and impose financial penalties on employers that interfere with organizing efforts.
Unions celebrated the bill — which also would prohibit states from passing right-towork laws — as the most expansive labor organizing measure in 85 years. The bill was dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Wednesday evening’s DNC program was scheduled to include a video on Mr. Biden’s climate change plan, narrated by a worker from Harrisburg represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
On Monday, Mr. Biden was endorsed by the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters, which has supported the Keystone XL pipeline that Mr. Biden has pledged to block.
Democrats are banking on support from more building trade unions — unions that have large memberships in Western Pennsylvania working on commercial building projects and energy development like the Royal Dutch Shell cracker plant under construction in Beaver County.
Jim Kunz, business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66 in Pittsburgh, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last month he was unconvinced Mr. Biden would support the natural gas industry. Other union officials have expressed similar concerns.