Refinery Workers Will Deliver Line 5 Petitions and "Valentines" to Michigan Statehouse

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Feb 09, 2022, 13:00 ET

TOLEDO, Ohio, Feb. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that on Friday, Feb. 11, union workers from Toledo Refining Co. will deliver petitions to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calling for the continued operation of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline while the Great Lakes Tunnel Project is completed.

Union members, along with supporters from Ohio and Michigan, will present the petitions, as well as hundreds of "Valentines" for Attorney General Dana Nessel, at the Michigan Statehouse between 10 and 10:30 a.m. in Lansing on Friday. The presentation will feature an especially large Valentine from USW members in Michigan to remind Nessel that their jobs are also at stake.

Hundreds of members of USW Local 912 and salaried employees who work at Toledo Refining Co. depend on the pipeline to do their jobs and support their families and communities. Whitmer revoked Enbridge's easement in 2020 and has since supported legal action seeking the closure of the pipeline, which passes through the Straits of Mackinac.

The workers will deliver several hundred pages of signatures on Friday asking Whitmer to seek an equitable solution to protect jobs, the economy, and the environment and urge her to allow Line 5 to continue operating until the proposed replacement tunnel project can be built.

In addition to supporting hundreds of jobs and families in the Toledo area, Line 5 is crucial to future supplies of jet fuel for carriers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport as well as of heating oil for residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

WHO: USW Local 912 members, co-workers and supporters
WHAT: Delivery of petitions urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel to stop opposing the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline
WHEN: 10-10:30 a.m., Friday, Feb. 11
WHERE: 111 S. Capitol Ave., Lansing, Mich., 48933, in front of the Michigan Statehouse near the intersection of South Capitol Avenue and West Michigan Avenue.

Photo and video opportunities will be available.

The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in manufacturing, metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in tech, public sector and service occupations.

Contact: Tony Montana – (412) 562-2592 or [email protected]

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)