NARRAGANSETT, Rhode Island ‒ Dozens of union construction workers are bobbing on boats 15 miles off the coast, killing time playing video games, texting their families and trying to figure out why President Donald Trump has put them out of work.
The White House on Aug. 22 abruptly halted the nearly complete 65-turbine Revolution Wind project in the Atlantic Ocean, leaving developers and construction workers wondering how to proceed. The decision has pitted environmental groups and union workers against some members of the local fishing industry, along with green-energy critics.
For the union members hoping to get back to work, Trump's action makes no sense: After more than a decade of planning, permitting, approvals, reviews and lawsuits, the privately funded Revolution Wind project is 80% done, ready to power an estimated 350,000 homes with the 704-megawatt field of turbines. It's the kind of construction work that provides six-figure jobs for skilled laborers while helping produce inexpensive carbon-free energy for consumers.
"A lot of building trades workers, a lot of union workers, voted for Donald Trump and his team. But they didn't vote to have union jobs shut down," said Patrick Crowley, the president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, which represents the contractors. "It shouldn't work like this."