If it’s good for New York workers, it’s good for New York
The most expensive energy decision New York can make right now is doing nothing. Every time we delay practical infrastructure, we lock in more volatility — and working families and employers pay the price. In a state that still depends on manufacturing, construction, hospitals and critical public facilities, “wait and see” isn’t a plan. It’s a guarantee that the next winter spike or summer heatwave will land on household budgets and business balance sheets.
That’s why the Boilermakers support building the Constitution Pipeline — and why this project matters to New York. It’s exactly the kind of investment Albany should be embracing right now.
For years, New York and New England have lived with a simple vulnerability: when winter demand spikes, the region cannot always get enough natural gas deliverability to meet it. That’s when prices jump, volatility increases, and the system leans harder on less efficient, higher-cost alternatives. The result is predictable: working families pay more and employers face higher operating costs at the worst possible time.
Constitution is a practical response. It is an approximately $800 million investment in New York and Pennsylvania’s energy infrastructure that not only immediately supports jobs and economic activity but will also deliver cost-effective, cleaner-burning natural gas to millions of homes and businesses across the region. It will strengthen energy reliability and help reduce the kind of winter price spikes that hit families and small businesses hard.
These benefits are not hypothetical. The project is designed to transport enough natural gas to serve more than 3 million homes. That’s the kind of capacity that helps stabilize a region under stress and supports a more affordable energy system.
When New York invests in major infrastructure, it isn’t an abstract “project.” It’s paychecks, apprenticeship opportunities, and a stronger middle class rooted in communities across the state. If it’s good for the Boilermakers, it’s good for New York — because we are New York’s workforce.
Our members are New York’s builders and maintainers. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers represents nearly 50,000 skilled craftspeople and industrial workers. We construct and repair the facilities New York relies on — power plants, refineries, pulp and paper mills and steel mills — and the infrastructure that keeps them operating safely and efficiently.
Independent analysis shows Constitution would directly and indirectly create 2,500 jobs and generate approximately $295 million in labor income, while producing $105 million in tax revenue for New York and Pennsylvania. Those are not paper estimates. That’s skilled work in the field — and real economic activity that supports local diners, suppliers, contractors, hotels and small businesses in the communities where projects get built. It’s also the kind of work Boilermakers are known for delivering — on time, within budget and safely. Every time.
This matters for New York’s broader economy, too. A significant portion of the state’s manufacturing jobs depend on affordable, reliable natural gas. When energy costs are unstable or supply is constrained, manufacturers don’t just absorb it — they rethink expansion plans, defer investments, or look to other states with lower costs and fewer reliability risks. New York cannot afford to be complacent about that.
At the Boilermakers, we believe in projects that make New York stronger: lower costs, better reliability, cleaner air, and good union jobs that build the middle class. The Constitution Pipeline checks all of those boxes. And because we invest in training and apprenticeship programs that produce highly skilled, safety-focused craftspeople, we’re ready to help build the infrastructure New York needs — and to do it right.
It deserves swift approval — and New York’s leaders should treat it for what it is: a practical investment in the state’s economy, its workforce and its future.
Dave Addison
BM-ST, Local 28 New Jersey
(Covers Entire Garden State)
Brad Mikatavage
BM-ST, Local 13 Philadelphia
(Covers Eastern Pennsylvania and Northern Delaware)
Johah Stiger
BM-ST Local 237 Hartford
(Covers all of Connecticut)
Eric Edgren
BM-ST, Local 29 Boston
(Covers MA, VT, NH, ME, RI)
Tom Ryan
BM-ST, Local 5 New York
(Covers all of the Empire State)
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