On Friday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Surveillance,” Labor Secretary Marty Walsh stated that he hasn’t “necessarily had a side” in the Willow oil project in Alaska that is supported by labor unions and opposed by environmental groups and that he’s not very involved in the conversation.
Co-host Jonathan Ferro asked, [relevant exchange begins around 5:00] “Another story that involves the union movement, Secretary Walsh, that you’re also involved in, ConocoPhillips, you’re aware of this situation with this Alaska operation, this $8 billion oil project in the Arctic. On the one hand, you’ve got huge union support for the project. On the other hand, the environmentalists hate it and want more involvement from the administration. Where are you on this Secretary Walsh? Do you have a side in this one?”
Walsh responded, “I haven’t necessarily had a side in this one, but I was asked earlier and the labor unions are certainly putting lots of pressure and calling me on this all the time because they’re concerned about it. And so, we’re kind of seeing, as we move forward here, what’s going to happen.”
Ferro then asked, “Is there a compromise, and what does that compromise look like?”
Walsh answered, “I’m not that involved in the conversation, so I can’t answer that question if there’s a compromise.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett