The Laborers' International Union of North America announced today that it was exiting the BlueGreen Alliance in a dispute with some members over their opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline.

In a statement, LIUNA General President Terry O'Sullivan said environmentalists and other labor groups in the alliance that opposed the pipeline were working to kill green jobs. Citing a recent comment from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka that there was a "divide" in the labor movement over the controversial pipeline, O'Sullivan said it was necessary for the group to leave the alliance.

"That divide is as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon," O'Sullivan said. "We're repulsed by some of our supposed brothers and sisters lining up with job killers like the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council to destroy the lives of working men and women."

"We believe in protecting the planet, but we must also care about the people on it," O'Sullivan added. "We believe green jobs must put green in workers' pockets."

The BlueGreen Alliance -- which brings together environmental groups and organized labor to promote green infrastructure and jobs -- confirmed LIUNA's departure today, but left the door open for future collaboration.

"The BlueGreen Alliance regrets the decision of the Laborers' International Union of North America to leave our strategic partnership of labor and environmental organizations," said BlueGreen Executive Director David Foster. "We deeply respect the contributions of LIUNA over the last several years to advance the passage of comprehensive climate change legislation and to expand the number and quality of jobs in the clean energy economy, particularly in residential weatherization programs."

LIUNA has long fought for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would send oil sands from Canada to refineries in the U.S., and its members booed environmentalists at an October State Department hearing on the project (Greenwire, Oct. 7, 2011). However, the labor movement is split on the project, with large unions like the Amalgamated Transit Union coming out against it.

LIUNA -- which represents more than a half-million members in the construction industry in the United States and Canada -- argued that the pipeline project would have created thousands of construction jobs. However, environmentalists came out against the project, citing the environmental impact of oil sands.

President Obama rejected the pipeline project Wednesday, saying a deadline from congressional Republicans left the administration little time to study the impact of the project.

LIUNA said in its statement that the exit was only over Keystone and that the union had no problems with the staff or leadership of the alliance.

The BlueGreen Alliance includes green groups like the Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists and NRDC, as well as labor groups including the United Steelworkers, Service Employees International Union and United Auto Workers.

Separately, the White House today encouraged Congress to not include any efforts to revive the pipeline in a payroll tax cut bill, as has been speculated.

"We anticipate and hope that Congress will, and Republicans in Congress in particular will approve this extension without drama, without arbitrary, ideological fights," Obama spokesman Jay Carney said today.