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Nuclear Power's Shrewd Move: Co-opting Labor

4:32 PM, May 5, 2008 • By BRIAN FAUGHNAN
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The push to expand use of nuclear power in the U.S. has gotten a favorable reception from those concerned about global warming, but other environmental groups have been cool to the idea. Recognizing that they're more likely to face oppositions from Democrats than Republicans, proponents of nuclear power are lining up an ally with clout in Democratic circles: unions.

As it plots a comeback in the United States, the nuclear power industry is cultivating a critical ally: organized labor.

The reasons are both practical and political. The industry's plan to build dozens of power plants requires thousands of workers, many of them with special skills that have become scarce during a more than 20-year hiatus in major construction. Good relations with unions could pave the way to steady labor supplies, smooth relations with workers, and more training programs to provide skilled labor.

Perhaps more important, the industry could use labor's clout with Democrats to help ensure support in Congress--and in a White House that could soon be home to a Democrat--for the substantial federal backing needed to help get plant construction rolling again.

This is a wise move by the industry, and one that could go a long way to moderating opposition in Congress to future plants. And given the extraordinary need in this country for domestic sources of power, it would be gratifying if one source, at least, can be expanded with relatively minor opposition.

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