I join Pipeliners Local 798 in expressing frustration over Integrity Kokosing Pipeline Services, LLC's decision to use workers outside the Pipeliners Local 798 network to perform the welding of natural gas pipelines for Vectren Energy Delivery Corporation.

Earlier this summer, our members collected 2,218 signatures on our letter that we submitted to President Ellsworth urging Vectren to encourage contractors, such as Kokosing, to hire workers within the Local 798 network because they understand the tremendous skill and commitment it takes to safely and efficiently construct these energy infrastructure projects. I am proud to stand with Local 798 members as they again try to send the message that it is irresponsible to select any other workforce to perform this most safety-critical piece of pipeline construction when Local 798 professional craftsmen are ready to work!

Local 798 represents the best men and women for this job due to the following:

• Ongoing Training & Education: Local 798 dedicates hundreds of hours each year training members in all aspects of pipeline construction and welding safety, and members have access to a state-of-the art Training Center where their skills are constantly improved upon. This sort of commitment to training and education is simply unmatched, especially by a non-Local 798 workforce, which does not place the same level of emphasis on safety and quality.
• Environmental Commitment: Local 798 members are specifically trained on how to perform tasks while also caring for the surrounding environment. For example, the workforce is often educated in the identification of different types of soil and the importance of keeping them separate during the construction and remediation processes. 
• History of Quality Work: Since it was chartered in 1949, Local 798 has provided the highest quality of industry craftsmen to contractors across the country. Our members represent the nation's best tradesmen who have worked on various sections of oil and gas pipelines from coast to coast.

Pipeliners Local 798 members represent the most qualified, highly skilled and safest option for any proposed project. This is why I urge you to look to this workforce for current and future infrastructure projects.

Signed,

American Energy Supporter