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Labor Day is a celebration of the people who build America.
They are the workers who wake before dawn, put on a hard hat and steel-toed boots, and head to a job site. They build the roads we drive on, the buildings where we work, the power plants that keep the lights on and the pipelines that deliver the energy that makes modern life possible.
But workers need something to build.
Right now, America has a tremendous opportunity to put both its resources and its workers to work. After years of delays and uncertainty surrounding critical infrastructure, the country is confronting the need to build more power generation, pipelines, manufacturing capacity and other infrastructure needed to support a growing economy. At the same time, Americans want good-paying jobs that allow families to build a future here at home.
Pennsylvania sits at the center of that moment.
Our Commonwealth is the nation's second-largest natural gas producer, sitting atop one of the world's most prolific shale formations. That resource is becoming the foundation for a new wave of American construction, manufacturing and power generation.
Importantly, it's also creating opportunities for the people who build these projects.
Consider Homer City, once Pennsylvania's largest coal-fired power plant. Today, that site is being transformed into a massive natural gas-powered energy and technology campus. More than 1,300 skilled workers are now on site, with the project expected to support more than 10,000 direct jobs over the course of the construction.
Those numbers represent paychecks. They represent apprentices getting hours and hands on training. They represent union members putting their skills to work. They represent families supported by a project that will help power the next generation of American industry.
And Homer City is far from alone.
In Beaver County, plans to transform the former Bruce Mansfield coal plant site into a natural gas power facility is expected to generate thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions.
Meanwhile, the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline project is moving forward to deliver more Pennsylvania natural gas to consumers across the Northeast. The project is expected to create roughly 2,000 jobs - a majority of which will be performed by union tradespeople.
Taken together, these projects tell a story that goes well beyond natural gas. They tell the story of an America that is beginning to build again.
Electricity demand is growing rapidly as advanced technology and manufacturing transform our economy. And we cannot afford to become dependent on foreign energy or allow critical infrastructure to fall behind.
The answer is not choosing between energy and workers. The answer is putting American energy and American workers on the same team.
Pennsylvania has an extraordinary advantage. We have the natural gas. We have the industrial sites. We have the infrastructure. And we have a highly skilled workforce with generations of experience building the energy systems that power this country.
What we need is the opportunity to put those resources to work.
The relationship between the natural gas industry and the skilled trades matters because our interests are fundamentally aligned.
And beyond the jobs, there is another benefit for Pennsylvania families: abundant natural gas helps keep energy affordable. Pennsylvania households and businesses have saved billions of dollars because of the availability of domestic natural gas.
So this Labor Day, let's honor the people who show up to work, and support the their opportunity to work for decades to come.
America is bringing manufacturing home. We are investing in artificial intelligence and advanced technology. We are rebuilding our energy infrastructure and strengthening domestic supply chains.
We are fortunate to have the best workers in the world, let's make sure we give them the opportunity to put their skills and know how to work building it.
Jim Welty is President of the Marcellus Shale Coalition. Jeff Nobers is Executive Director of the Builders Guild of Western Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh Works Together.