Pipe Dreams: What’s next for West Virginia pipeline workers?

Map of U.S. interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.

In a win for climate activists everywhere, President-Elect Joe Biden has announced his plan to rescind the Keystone Pipeline XL’s pipeline permit via executive order during the first few days in office. 

A pipeline that has been in development for more than ten years—with some of it already completed—Keystone XL was to be a 1,179-mile pipeline that ran from Alberta, Canada to Nebraska, capable of carrying more than 800,000 barrels of oil per day. It has been the center of controversy for just as long.

President Obama initially rejected the proposed pipeline, citing environmental concerns, only for President Trump to attempt to clear the way for its construction during his four-year term.

With President-Elect Biden’s policy on pipelines more than clear, one question has been given little attention: what happens next for the hundreds of thousands of blue-collar pipeline workers currently employed by pipeline companies?

As of 2021, there are more than 220,000 people employed in the oil & gas pipeline construction industry in the United States, increasing 6.1% per year on average. Many of these jobs can be found in West Virginia, driving our unemployment rate lower each year.

Construction industry job growth chart.

Aside from West Virginia’s dominance as a natural gas producer, why is the pipeline construction industry in particular working in West Virginia? Two main reasons:

• Employees don’t need specialized education to be considered for the job. Most workers have high school diplomas, GEDs, or some college. All pipeline-specific training and certifications are provided by the companies during the course of the construction season, making it an affordable way for the employees to gather meaningful skills that can translate to other industries.

• The pay is lucrative, if you put in the work. While being expected to show up on time and work twelve-hour days, six days a week (often thirteen days in a row with only one or two days off), most pipeline construction workers net $2,000 a week. The paychecks allow access to a higher standard of living, a standard that couldn’t otherwise be reached without a bachelor’s or professional degree. 

With these in mind, it is easy to see what is at stake for these workers. The notion that the environment is in crisis is entirely real and true, yet the impact of dismantling an entire industry with no alternative for its employees is a terrifying thought. It is difficult now as it is.

While most of the pipeline construction jobs are temporary—with many employees hopping from state to state to find work year-round—many stay in one place, surviving with no income for several months until the weather breaks and the construction can resume or finding odd jobs where the pay is considerably less until then.

So, what is the alternative for pipeline construction workers? Without the ability to cheaply learn transferable skills, what other sustainable career will suit them? Not every worker can find a place in a construction yard.

Without the paychecks, how will they continue to afford the lifestyle they have so fiercely worked to achieve? Not every worker can take out student loans and go back to school in search of a similar-paying career. 

By way of a suggestion, several programs currently exist in the mining industry that could serve as a model for pipeline construction worker reemployment. Workforce West Virginia sponsors one such program for dislocated coal miners impacted by mass layoffs and coal mine closures.

Using a $7.4M National Emergency Grant from the United States Department of Labor, Workforce West Virginia provides up to $5,000 per person for occupational skills training in high-demand occupations while providing allowances to cover the cost of food, gas, childcare and other expenses up to $100 a week.

This type of federal-funded program is something the President-Elect should be begged to consider should he enact an anti-pipeline policy. A way forward for the environment should go hand-in-hand with a way forward for those left in the pipeline’s ashes.