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‘Power’ Pressure Group Urges Shale Jobs for Ohioans
WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- A newly formed organization says its mission is “to act as a watchdog for local employment practices” as the oil and gas industry emerges across Ohio. The group is called Protecting Ohio Workers, Employment Residents, or Power.
“At its core,” the group says in its announcement, “the grassroots effort of the concerned Ohio citizens that make up Power seeks to hold energy companies accountable for the promises they made on local job creation when they stated their intentions to bring their operations to the Utica/Point Pleasant and Marcellus shale formations of eastern Ohio.”
“As companies from across the country extract precious natural gas and oil resources from Ohio lands, the tremendous employment opportunities available on local shale development construction projects are not being made available to the skilled and qualified workers of Ohio. With an abundance of natural resources beneath Ohio’s lands, it is not only the energy industry’s benefit but also their duty to employ the residents living above these resources,” the group states.
Organizers say horizontal drilling may be new to Ohio but not “the work required to transport and process the gas through constructing processing plants, building compressor stations and laying pipeline.” Thus, they say, “very few specialized, out-of-state workers are necessary to complete these jobs, although the current hiring practices of industry executives suggest otherwise.”
Power is calling on citizens to visit its website, OhioShaleOhioJobs.org, to “connect with energy companies and elected officials and voice the importance of hiring within the community.”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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