LIUNA Calls for Permitting Reform to Protect Blue Collar Jobs

Washington, D.C. (Feb. 19, 2025) — The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) is urging the U.S. government to reform the permitting process for energy projects to protect blue-collar jobs and ensure energy independence. In a testimony before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, LIUNA General President Brent Booker highlighted the negative impact of frivolous litigation and regulatory delays on the energy sector and the broader economy.

“Our nation’s energy boom has provided significant work hours and jobs for our membership, as we march toward complete energy independence and global competitiveness,” Booker said. “We are sick and tired of frivolous litigation tactics … taking food off the tables of our members’ families.”

The hearing, called by Committee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito and Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse, aimed to explore ways to improve federal environmental review and regulatory processes. LIUNA, with over 530,000 members working predominantly in the construction industry, is at the forefront of building virtually every energy project, including solar, wind, oil, natural gas, hydropower, and nuclear power.

Booker testified that unnecessary delays wreak havoc on energy projects and the workers who depend on them. “A project can be permitted, fully funded, and ready to go one day, then on the next day, out of nowhere, it gets hit with a lawsuit,” he said. “When a LIUNA member asks when they will be able to get back on that job, we are forced to tell them we don’t know … you try delivering that message to someone who has a mortgage payment due or has to buy school supplies for their kids.”

Booker pointed to the need for streamlined permitting processes, mandatory mediation or arbitration for construction disputes, strengthening prevailing wage laws, improving workforce training and education, encouraging public-private partnerships (PPPs), and ending wrongful manipulation of the regulatory review process.

He also cited the negative impact of the administration’s halt on offshore lease sales, which has upended the wind production market and cost LIUNA members their jobs. “This isn’t a political game for our members. It’s real-life consequences,” Booker said in closing. “It’s about putting our members to work, allowing them access to a middle-class way of life and the ability to retire with dignity. Because even to this day, that is still the American Dream.”

Insert chart showing the decline in renewable energy jobs due to permitting delays and the halt on offshore lease sales

The more than a half-million members of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – are on the forefront of the construction industry, a powerhouse of workers who are proud to build the United States and Canada. By advocating for permitting reform, LIUNA is fighting to protect the jobs and livelihoods of its members and ensure a sustainable future for the energy sector.