What others say: Gas pipeline should be an American effort, not just Alaskan

  • Tuesday, April 22, 2014 2:07pm
  • Opinion

“Happiness is 10,000 Texans headed south with an Okie under each arm.”

If you lived in Alaska in 1977, you probably remember that bumper sticker. Thirty-seven years ago, thousands of Lower 48 welders left Alaska, leaving behind a 800-mile oil pipeline and a state determined to never again let “foreign” workers dominate an Alaska construction job.

As the state prepares to build the next pipeline, we should remember the lessons of the 1970s but temper them with the knowledge we’ve gained since then: Local hire is best, but local hire alone won’t build the best pipeline.

This week, we watched as the Alaska Legislature passed a bill that allows non-Alaskans to serve on the board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation.

It’s a smart move: Alaska already allows nonresidents on the boards of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, Alaska Aerospace Corporation and Alaska Railroad Corporation.

Nonresidents serve alongside Alaskans; while Alaskans are experts on what works well here, we use people from the Lower 48 to fill in. It’s hard to find an investment economist in Barrow.

Those corporations have had their hits and misses, but they are run well. Recruiting from the widest possible base makes that possible.

Legally, Alaska has to allow out-of-state workers on big construction jobs. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court said as much when it ruled local hire requirements unconstitutional. The Alaska Supreme Court has repeatedly said so, too.

As Alaska moves toward construction of a trans-Alaska gas pipeline, we should keep the Legislature’s recent decision in mind. The state will need hundreds of surveyors and engineers and thousands of construction workers to turn a paper pipeline into one built of steel and concrete. The Legislature has signaled that it’s willing to look outside Alaska, and Alaskans should be prepared to think likewise.

We prefer that pipeline workers come from Alaska, but we can’t limit ourselves.

If the best pipeline builders in the country are already in Alaska, let’s use them. But if they aren’t, we must prepare to let Outside experts help.

Those Texans and Okies helped Alaska build a great oil pipeline. Let’s build a great gas pipeline, too.

— Juneau Empire,

April 19

More in Opinion

Dawson Slaughter is president of the Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce and a candidate for State House District 6. (Courtesy photo)
Opinion: Children, education, obligation

Our children and the future children of Alaskans must always be the priority and first in our education concerns

The Exxon Baton Rouge, smaller ship, attempts to off-load crude from the Exxon Valdez that ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez, Alaska, spilling over 270,000 barrels of crude oil, shown March 26, 1989. (AP Photo/Rob Stapleton)
Point of View: Exxon Valdez oil spill brought out local heroes

When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound 35 years ago, local people sprang to respond long before Exxon provided any help

Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: No Alaska governor has ever so boldly held schools and students as political hostages

‘Star Trek’ reference looks past real argument for school funding

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, a Soldotna Republican who co-chairs the House Education Committee, speaks in favor overriding a veto of Senate Bill 140 during floor debate of a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature on Monday, March 18, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Rep. Justin Ruffridge: Supporting education

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Rep. Ben Carpenter, a Nikiski Republican, speaks in opposition to overriding a veto of Senate Bill 140 during floor debate of a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature on Monday, March 18, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Rep. Ben Carpenter: Education is too important to keep getting wrong

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Point of View: Some state lawmakers need to embrace reality, not PFD political theater

State revenues minus public services do not leave enough in the checkbook to pay an oversized dividend

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks about teacher bonuses during consideration a bill increasing state funds for public education in the Alaska House of Representatives on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Rep. Ben Carpenter: Holding up a mirror to state government

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in opposition to an executive order that would abolish the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives during a joint legislative session on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Sen. Jesse Bjorkman: Ensuring food security for Alaska

Capitol Corner: Legislators report back from Juneau

Most Read