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News
Minnesota AFL-CIO News Release
December 9, 2009
Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson today sent the following letter to the DNR advising the state agency to approve the draft EIS for PolyMet mining.
St. Paul, MN - Northeastern Minnesotan needs good family supporting jobs. The most recent data from the Jobs Now Coalition of Minnesota shows that 12 people are competing for every open job in the Northeast region.
On March 16, 2009, the Minnesota AFL-CIO General Board passed a resolution opposing legislation aimed at delaying the PolyMet EIS process. Now, after consultation with elected officials representing the Iron Range, after learning that PolyMet has already invested more than $20 million in researching and outlining a safe and environmentally responsible mining operation, we urge the DNR to approve the draft EIS and allow the project to move forward.
PolyMet's proposal to begin mining copper, nickel and other precious metals offers important new opportunities for creating long-term family supporting jobs in this hard hit region of our state. PolyMet has said it will employ 400 people with an annual payroll of $40 million when it is fully operational and it estimates that as many as 500 spin-off jobs will be created in St. Louis County alone.
Even before the refurbished mine in the Hoyt Lakes area begins operating, the PolyMet project will create as many as 300 jobs for skilled trades-people during the construction phase. Jobs at the PolyMet site meet our criteria for good jobs-they will be safe for workers, they will provide family supporting salaries and with the promised mitigations, they will be safe for the environment that we all share.
There is no question that the PolyMet project is controversial. However, we believe that it holds promise both for our economy and for our environment.
The mine will yield family supporting jobs and necessary materials-copper, nickel, gold, cobalt, palladium and platinum that would not need to be imported from countries with weaker labor and environmental standards. The current situation robs Northeastern Minnesota of good jobs and forces US manufacturers to rely on poorly regulated global markets for rare raw materials that are available right here in Minnesota.
It is time for the DNR to approve the draft EIS and allow the project to proceed.
Sincerely,
Shar Knutson
President
MN AFL-CIO
