“By failing to take action on these important clean energy policies, we are missing a huge opportunity to create good jobs now,” said Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America, a BlueGreen Alliance partner. “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 tour, union members and environmentalists will stage 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 21st century broadband network, building a smart grid transmission system and making homes and commercial buildings more efficient, to name a few.
“We can re-energize our economy by re-energizing America,” said D. Michael Langford, national president of the Utility Workers Union of America, a partner of the BlueGreen Alliance. “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.”
The tour includes Los Angeles; Albuquerque, N.M.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Little Rock, Ark.; St. Louis; Indianapolis, Dayton, Ohio; Detroit; Madison, Wis.; Minneapolis; Pittsburgh; and Richmond; Va.
“We can’t afford to watch on the sidelines as other countries like China reap the jobs that come from building a global clean energy economy,” said David Foster, executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance. “The job is not done, and we urge the Senate to move forward now with critical clean energy legislation that will create good jobs across America and ensure that our country is a global leader in the production of clean energy technologies.”
For more information, visit http://www.bluegreenalliance.org.