VANCOUVER —The Washington Building and Construction Trades Council (WBCTC) has endorsed the proposed $210 million Vancouver Energy terminal at the Port of Vancouver, and is supporting efforts to seek timely regulatory approval so construction can begin.
Vancouver Energy is “an opportunity for the creation of good, family-wage jobs during both the initial construction and longer term maintenance and operations of the facility and structures,” said Lee Newgent, executive secretary of the WBCTC.
A resolution passed at the Council’s annual convention noted that the current unemployment rate for Vancouver remains above 8 percent, while the project would generate more than 320 full-time jobs during construction and an estimated 176 on-site operations jobs. It will also generate $22 million in local tax revenues during construction and $7.6 million in annual tax revenues once the terminal is fully operational.
Vancouver Energy, the Columbia Pacific Building and Trades Council, the International Union of Operating Engineers, and the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters have all entered into a letter of understanding for a project labor agreement for the construction of the facility.
The WBCTC has nine affiliated local building trades councils representing more than 70,000 members from 60 craft unions across the state.
