Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, 412-562-2444, jkamm@usw.org
The United Steelworkers (USW) union issued the following statement today after participating in the White House’s working group to advance responsible mining:
The USW welcomes the Biden administration’s leadership as we look to facilitate responsible mining and meet our growing need for critical minerals.
The legal framework for hardrock mining in the United States is now 150 years old. It’s essential that we streamline our permitting process to balance robust assessment of mining plans with the need to more swiftly approve projects so we can domestically mine materials in time to meet our climate, infrastructure and national security goals.
As today’s meeting demonstrated, achieving this objective will require all stakeholders working together so we can ensure workers and their communities reap the full benefits of these investments.
USW members across North America already engage in responsible mining and welcome the opportunity to continue providing our nation with the raw materials it will need well into the future.
The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.