Labor

In the six years spanning 2007 through 2012, total U.S. private sector employment increased by more than one million jobs, or about 1%. However, over the same period, the oil and gas industry — segmented into drilling, extraction and support segments — increased by more than 162,000 jobs, which equates to a 40% increase,” according to a new study from the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Illinois business and labor organizations joined with Ameren Illinois Tuesday to outline a legislative proposal that could, over 10 years, accelerate rebuilding aging natural gas delivery infrastructure while maintaining regulatory oversight.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Plains Gas Solutions LLC in Eunice, LA, for one “willful” and seven “serious” violations involving OSHA’s process safety management standards following an explosion and fire that severely burned a worker earlier this year.

A study by the Global Labor Institute at Cornell University counters recent claims by TransCanada Corp.’s CEO Russ Girling that the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline from the Alberta-U.S. international border to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region could create as many as 20,000 new jobs.

Staging a partial rebound from Friday’s 17.8-cent drop, October natural gas futures following the long Labor Day weekend gained back 6.6 cents to close Tuesday’s regular session at $3.938. The November contract enjoyed much the same ride by moving 5.3 cents higher to $4.043 following Friday’s 17.6-cent drubbing.

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Monday cited National Grid, a major supplier of natural gas and electricity to the U.S. Northeast, for alleged serious violations of trenching safety standards that led to an employee being injured following the June collapse of a natural gas line trench in Boston. National Grid faces a total of $36,500 in proposed fines.

Backers of the NorthernStar Natural Gas Corp.’s proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal have joined a business-labor coalition lobbying the Oregon legislature for legislation to streamline permitting of energy and transportation projects. NorthernStar’s LNG project threw its support behind last Wednesday’s rally staged at the Oregon Capitol in Salem by Energy Action Northwest (see Daily GPI, Feb. 11). In particular, Bradwood LNG’s backers are supporting SB 1020, which they contend is needed to assure Oregon of reliable energy supplies. “Across Oregon, there are proposals to build new roads, water and sewer lines, transmission lines, rail lines and pipelines,” a Bradwood Landing spokesperson said. “Collectively, these projects would invest billions of dollars in Oregon, creating thousands of family wage jobs and putting people to work for years. Many of these projects will be funded without any taxpayer dollars.” A number of state legislators spoke in favor of the measure during the rally.

Backers of the NorthernStar Natural Gas Corp.’s proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal have joined a business-labor coalition lobbying the Oregon legislature for legislation to streamline permitting of energy and transportation projects. NorthernStar’s LNG project threw its support behind last Wednesday’s rally staged at the Oregon Capitol in Salem by Energy Action Northwest (see Daily GPI, Feb. 11). In particular, Bradwood LNG’s backers are supporting SB 1020, which they contend is needed to assure Oregon of reliable energy supplies. “Across Oregon, there are proposals to build new roads, water and sewer lines, transmission lines, rail lines and pipelines,” a Bradwood Landing spokesperson said. “Collectively, these projects would invest billions of dollars in Oregon, creating thousands of family wage jobs and putting people to work for years. Many of these projects will be funded without any taxpayer dollars.” A number of state legislators spoke in favor of the measure during the rally.

A business-labor coalition in the Pacific Northwest is lashing out at environmental organization Columbia Riverkeeper (CRK) for allegedly working covertly in a recent anti-liquefied natural gas (LNG) local election. CRK’s work supposedly led to the narrow recall of one of five members of the Clatsop County (OR) Commission, a majority of which has supported building an LNG receiving terminal along the Columbia River.