A group representing unionized construction workers says it has signed an agreement with the company that plans a $5 billion underground natural gas pipeline through southern New England. The Massachusetts Building Trade Council announced Wednesday that a Memorandum of Understanding with Kinder Morgan requires the company to use union labor at all work sites in the Bay State. Kinder Morgan vice president of public affairs Allen Fore has said the project would create about 3,000 construction jobs.
“I’ve heard criticisms of that number that they’re temporary jobs,” Fore said during an open house at Berkshire Community College in February. “Ask the laborers what construction job isn’t temporary.”
The pipeline would follow a route from New York into western Massachusetts for 63 miles, then turn north and continue for 70 miles in southern New Hampshire before re-entering Massachusetts, ending in Dracut.
Supporters say it will expand natural gas supplies in the region. Critics say the project could cause environmental harm and slow investment in renewable energy sources.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
