According to new research from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute (MEPI) and the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI), three of the nation’s leading producers of renewable energy are poised to lead a clean energy boom as the region works to recover from the economic fallout of COVID-19. Click here to view the study.
Local 49 Business Manager Jason George released the following statement:
“The transition to green energy will no question create jobs. But the infrastructure must be built by skilled union trades men and women that will inevitably be displaced from the fossil fuel industry. Local 49 has led this fight, and we will continue to demand that green energy developers meet the same safety, skill, wage and benefit standards set by the fossil fuel industry if they are going to build their projects here.
We will never support a transition that doesn’t meet these standards and doesn’t ensure that our members build the next generations infrastructure. We are making progress. Recently, a couple projects that were going to be built by non-union out of state workers were turned around and are now going to be built with Local 49 members.
But we must be vigilant, we must be vocal, and we must demand that our elected officials hold these renewable energy developers accountable to local workers.
Local 49 will continue to lead this fight, and we will fight to win.”
