Labor & Employment Law

Blue-Green Alliance Bus Tour to Demand Action on Clean Energy Jobs

By James Parks

To remind lawmakers that Congress has stalled on legislation that would create and save millions of jobs across the country by building a  clean energy economy–while nations like China are forging ahead–the BlueGreen Alliance today kicked off a three-week, 17-state, 30-city bus tour. The ?Job’s Not Done Tour,? began in Los Angeles and will end Sept. 3 in Richmond, Va.

 Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), says:

 By failing to take action on these important clean energy policies, we are missing a huge opportunity to create good jobs now. Currently we are 16th in the world in the percentage of citizens with access to broadband. Expansion will not only create jobs, save Americans money and make our country more efficient, it will lead to the sustainable communities that are such an important part of our future.

Throughout the bus tour, union members and environmentalists will hold a series of roundtable discussions, press conferences and other activities to demonstrate nationwide support for creating clean energy jobs, including manufacturing clean energy technologies, building the 21^st century broadband network, building a smart grid transmission system and making our homes and commercial buildings more efficient.

The tour also will travel through Albuquerque and Santa Fe, N.M.; Little Rock, Ark.; St. Louis; Indianapolis; Dayton, Ohio; Detroit; Madison, Wis.; Minneapolis; Pittsburgh; and Richmond. For more information, click here.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said earlier this month that our nation needs a comprehensive approach to energy and climate issues,

one that will invest in our future and create good jobs. It is vital to the national security, economic, and environmental interest of the nation.

“We can re-energize our economy by re-energizing America,” said Michael Langford, president of the Utility Workers.

Building a smart grid that transmits cleaner, renewable energy will create good jobs, and we need to take action to make those jobs a reality now.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on August 16, 2010 (boomark / email).