Builders hold rally for coal plants in Michigan

On Tuesday, nearly 2,000 people – mostly ironworkers, electricians, carpenters and other builders looking for work – rallied outside the Michigan Capitol to demand action on the permitting of two new clean coal plants. The state air permits have been pending for two years.

Meanwhile, Michigan’s unemployment rate has climbed to 15.2 percent in August. As unemployment worsens, the pace of workers moving out of the state quickens. Michigan is shedding residents faster than a Siberian Husky loses fur in August. Michigan loses a family to outmigration every 12 minutes.

Given that climate, you would think Michigan’s leaders would quickly embrace projects that would create new jobs, pump money into the economy and provide affordable, reliable electricity for businesses and consumers.

You might think that, but you would be wrong. And that’s why nearly 2,000 mostly unemployed members of the building trades showed up Tuesday for the pro-coal plant rally in Lansing.

“Energy construction is one of the few potential growth areas in our state if only the governor and regulatory agencies would let them happen,” said Jeff Radjewski, who is with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. “Only in Michigan do state leaders look at that kind of investment and say, ‘no, thank you.’”

Just one of the proposed new clean coal plants – in Bay County – would cost more than $2 billion and create nearly 2,000 jobs during construction.

The two plants would also be much cleaner than the existing fleet of coal plants in Michigan, which are among the oldest in the nation. Coal plants are 77 percent cleaner than they were 35 years ago. The plant at Bay County will deploy advanced supercritical clean coal technology to improve operating efficiency and lower emissions. The other plant, to be built near Rogers City, would capture carbon dioxide and store it underground instead of releasing it into the air. The Rogers City plant got a boost this week from Washington, with a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

ACCCE attended the Lansing rally with a team representing America’s Power Army, our grassroots arm. We distributed literature to attendees and the local media. And we heard from the men and women about why they want these new coal plants to be built.

One worker put it simply: “So we can raise our families, pay for our homes, keep our cars … maintain a standard of living we haven’t seen in Michigan for a long time.”

“Put us to work!” the crowd chanted at the rally. Michigan’s leaders are all that stands in the way of these folks getting decent jobs and having a shot at the American dream. We hope they were listening.

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[Pete]

Michigan Unemployment Trends - August 2009

Michigan Unemployment Trends in Heat Map form:
here is a map of Michigan Unemployment in August 2009 (BLS data)
http://www.localetrends.com/st/mi_michigan_unemployment.php?MAP_TYPE=curr_ue

versus Michigan Unemployment Levels 1 year ago
http://www.localetrends.com/st/mi_michigan_unemployment.php?MAP_TYPE=m12_ue