Union construction contractors, concerned about the availability of jobs in retrofitting and servicing the nation’s fleet of coal-burning power plants, are doing a slow burn over the Obama Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule curbing carbon emissions from those plants. And they’re not the only ones.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, a former United Mine Workers President, issued the following statement on June 2 when the Obama administration unveiled its proposed rule for cutting carbon emissions from coal-fired electric power plants:

Except for United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts,selected union leaders endorsed the Obama Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule ordering existing coal-fired power plants to cut their carbon emissions by 2020.