Steel Workers See Green Jobs

 In a partnership that illustrates the powerful currents at work in today’s environmental movement, the United Steel Workers labor union has joined with the American Wind Energy Association and BlueGreen Alliance, an organization that includes other labor unions, the Sierra Club and the National Resources Defense Council, to produce a blueprint for new green jobs in the wind power industry.


In pushing hard for green jobs, this diverse labor-industry-environmental group puts itself squarely on the side of the U.S. military’s push for alternative energy in the interests of a strong national defense. It also joins a growing number of leading U.S companies calling for national climate legislation and green jobs, in yet another sign that the dominance of fossil fuels is rapidly coming to a close.

The report is titled Winds of Change: A Manufacturing Blueprint for the Wind Industry.
Basically the report details how the wind energy industry has been growing and creating new jobs even without all of the advantages accorded to fossil fuels, such as billion-dollar subsidies and supportive national policies.  More support for alternative energy has been forthcoming from the Obama administration, and the report calls ramping up those efforts through, among other things, a stronger Renewable Electricity Standard of 25%, more tax credits for the renewable energy industry, and strong national climate legislation.  All of these measures would be geared toward creating more jobs in the U.S. wind industry, rather than shipping in components from overseas.

 "Moving to clean energy is just one piece of the puzzle — we need to ensure that America's clean energy economy is built by U.S. workers, and creates good manufacturing jobs," said Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers. "By including common-sense policies like a 25 percent Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), and an extended Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit, in comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation, we can build a wind energy supply chain in the U.S."    Read Full Story






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