Biden Falsely Claims Boilermakers Union Endorsed Him

Biden Falsely Claims Boilermakers Union Endorsed Him
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden participates in an ABC News town hall event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Oct. 15, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Allen Zhong
10/17/2020
Updated:
10/18/2020

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden falsely claimed last week that the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers union endorsed him for the November election.

The former vice president said that the boilermakers are overwhelmingly endorsing him, during a town hall with ABC News, when he was pressed to clarify his stance on hydraulic fracturing, a technique designed to recover gas and oil that’s more commonly known as fracking.

“I’m telling [you] the boilermakers overwhelmingly endorse me, OK?” he said. “So the boilermakers’ union has endorsed me because I sat down with them and went into great detail earlier to show their leadership exactly what I would do.”

However, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers says in a statement on its website that it hasn’t endorsed any presidential candidate for the 2020 election.

Instead, the union, which represents 50,000 workers in heavy industry or related industries, encouraged members to vote based on “where candidates stand on issues that are important to you and your family.”

Last month, the boilermakers union’s Local 154 in Pittsburgh endorsed President Donald Trump for reelection.

“Your administration has convinced my members that you will protect the future of our industry,” business manager John J. Hughes wrote in a letter (pdf) on Sept. 3.

“Boilermaker jobs specifically rely on coal-fired power generation and we strongly encourage the advancement of carbon capture technologies which can secure jobs for our members,” he added.

The Biden campaign and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers didn’t immediately respond to requests by The Epoch Times for comment.

A fracking rig in a rural area of Pennsylvania, on July 11, 2013. (James Smith/The Epoch Times)
A fracking rig in a rural area of Pennsylvania, on July 11, 2013. (James Smith/The Epoch Times)

Hydraulic fracturing involves deeper drilling with higher pressure and volume than conventional wells to access oil and natural gas. It has become a hot campaign topic in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state, which reportedly represents the largest natural gas reserves in the world.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, there are 10,000 natural gas wells in the state that use the technology of fracking.

Biden has offered an inconsistent stance on fracking during his bid for the White House. He said during a July 2019 Democratic presidential debate that he would ban fracking, but he recently walked back that statement.

During the town hall on Oct. 15, he told moderator George Stephanopoulos that he won’t ban fracking, but will stop subsidizing the industry instead.

“I would stop giving tax breaks and subsidizing oil,” he said.

Allen Zhong is a long-time writer and reporter for The Epoch Times. He joined the Epoch Media Group in 2012. His main focus is on U.S. politics. Send him your story ideas: [email protected]
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