A coalition of Pennsylvania unions has launched Union Energy to ensure that workers benefit from the state’s shift to clean energy while advocating for unionized jobs in emerging industries.
Pennsylvania’s fossil fuel industry is shrinking, and clean energy jobs have yet to fully replace lost positions.
Union Energy, led by the AFL-CIO, aims to secure good-quality union jobs in the clean energy sector.
Training programs are also being created to help workers transition into new roles, such as cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells.
Key quote:
“We want clean air, we want clean water, we want to be able to see our children and grandchildren run atound the earth like we did as children.”
— Angela Ferritto, president of Pennsylvania's AFL-CIO
Why this matters:
As Pennsylvania transitions to clean energy, ensuring that jobs are unionized and well-paid is crucial for workers' economic security. Collaboration between unions and environmental groups could accelerate this shift.
Signaling the growing importance of ties between labor and environmental organizers on climate change, the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s third-ranking official has announced that he was leaving to join Greenpeace USA.
Unions representing other workers affected by climate legislation have struck deals, but opposition from coal miners has persisted, complicating the path to enactment.
