Trade unions said Wednesday that they were very unhappy with President Obama's decision to hold up approval of the Keystone XL pipeline intended to bring oil from Canada to refineries in the United States.

Obama has pledged to reduce unemployment, Building and Construction Trades Department President Mark H. Ayers said, but "one clear opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to unemployed Americans was the approval of the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline."

The Building and Construction Trades Department is an alliance of 13 national and international unions that collectively represent over 2 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada

Obama said he could not make a proper decision within a time limit Congress imposed, so he was disapproving the project.