Labor Leaders Push for Bold Climate Action and a Just Transition in NYS Climate Plan
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: June 8, 202
Contact: Lala Peñaranda | lala@nyrenews.org | (301) 526-1312
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
Climate and labor advocates rallied and released a sign-on letter representing over 904,000 workers committed to Climate Action, Energy Security, and Good Union Jobs
New York, NY - Under a blazing sun, trade union leaders and workers, joined by climate action advocates, held a press conference and released a letter signed by twelve unions representing nearly one million workers across New York and the country in support of stronger labor and environmental justice priorities for the climate implementation plan of New York State. The event took place in front of the CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College, home of the largest public solar panel project in Manhattan.
The letter, viewable here and addressed to the Climate Action Council (CAC), demands that a set of guarantees be included in the Final Scoping Plan, including better protections for existing and new workers alongside better pathways to support jobs growth and workforce development.
At the press conference, Maritza Silva-Farrell, Executive Director of ALIGN and member of the NY Renews Steering Committee and Just Transition Working Group, contextualized the fight of the climate and labor movements for a Just Transition. “In 2019, we passed the groundbreaking Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the most aggressive climate law in the country. We envisioned a new green economy for New York—one where our children can breathe clean air, where we invest in our neighborhoods with green infrastructure, and where we create career union jobs for communities most impacted by climate change. We can do it, and it’s going to take all of us, to build our future and ensure no one is left behind.” Her comments were echoed by the other trade union labor leaders representing essential sectors including energy, healthcare, transportation, education, manufacturing, and communications.
Union leaders spoke about the readiness of workers to assume leadership in the challenges ahead, including ramping up renewable energy production from New York’s current composition of just 4% solar and wind to 70% in just eight years, by 2030. Meeting the CLCPA-mandated targets is projected to add at least 211,000 new jobs total, or 189,000 net jobs in NYS, according to the CAC. For more figures on the challenges and opportunities ahead, please view our factsheet on the NYS Just Transition.
Sponsored by ALIGN and NY RENEWS, the press conference took place within the Climate Action Council public comment period, underway since January 1, 2022, and which is scheduled to end on July 1, 2022. Over 18,000 written comments and hundreds of in-person testimonies have provided feedback to the CAC on its 340-page draft plan which outlines how to implement New York’s flagship climate law, the CLCPA. Please find press conference photos here and the livestream on ALIGN’s Facebook.
QUOTES
James Shillito, President of Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 said, “The working men and women of Utility Workers of America (UWUA) Local 1-2 stand ready and willing to do our part for a sustainable future. Our members are the best candidates to operate the generation and transmission infrastructure necessary to power New York’s future, and we look forward to collaborating with our partners to keep good jobs at the forefront of this transition.”
“Transportation is one of the leading causes of climate change and is in fact responsible for nearly one-third of greenhouse gas emissions in New York State,” said Deborah Wright, Political Director, United Auto Workers 9A. “Our members are ready to take on the challenge of creating the zero-emission cars of our future, helping to stop the climate crisis in its tracks while protecting the health of our disadvantaged communities. We are looking to the State and the Climate Action Council to fulfill the promise of a just transition, to ensure that our members can continue in their careers, that we have access to adequate resources to retrain and reskill our workforce, and that create even more high-paying jobs in the green economy down the line.”
“CWA District 1 has long been on the front lines of New York’s fight for ambitious climate action that brings climate justice and good, green union jobs. We were proud to join the fight to pass the CLCPA in 2019, and now as New York moves forward with the implementation of this essential legislation, we will continue to hold the line in advocating for a just transition for our workers and their communities. The Climate Action Council must hold corporations accountable, not only to the promise of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions but also to the promise of keeping and developing good union jobs in New York across its renewable energy economy," said Dennis Trainor, Vice President of Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 1 and NY Renews Steering Committee member
“As a strong labor union that believes in fairness and equity, NYSNA will always advocate for a real just transition. One in which workers have direct access to good, green jobs and are treated with dignity and respect. Wage replacement and pension support must be on the table. We also need to ensure that expanded funding exists for fossil fuel-dependent communities,” said Flandersia Jones, RN, MPH, Director at Large of New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and NY Renews Steering Committee member
“With members across all of New York State, UUP recognizes the critical importance of implementing the CLCPA in the fight against climate change. Preparation and innovation are important to prevent climate disasters, but the impacts of an extractive, wasteful economy are felt hardest in marginalized communities. The CLCPA provides a just transition, not only for workers in the energy and building trades, but also for our most vulnerable New Yorkers. We are proud to stand with NY Renews and our union family to support the full implementation of the CLCPA,” said Frederick E. Kowal, Ph.D., President of United University Professions (UUP) and and NY Renews Coalition member
Nancy Romer, Chair of the Environmental Justice Committee of the Professional Staff Congress-CUNY (PSC), said, "The Professional Staff Congress of the CUNY, representing 30,000 faculty and professional staff at the City University of New York, stands in support of the Green Healthy Schools campaign, the State-wide Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and Local Law 97. Our scientists tell us that we must transition away from fossil fuel use and to a renewable economy in the next 8 years or we will be reaching climate tipping points that will lead to climate catastrophes over the years ahead. We cannot let that happen. We stand behind strong, sweeping, climate legislation that creates a healthy planet with a just transition for workers and climate justice for communities most affected by pollution and global warming. Acting boldly now will protect us in the future; inaction today will cost us more--financially, socially, personally, and politically--in the future. We stand with our students, our fellow workers, and our communities committed to a healthy sustainable future. We must make that a reality through bold climate legislation now."
“We are proud of our plans to transform Ravenswood Generating Station into a hub of renewable energy, serving as a model for a transition that is inclusive of our union workforce and our community,” said Clint Plummer, CEO of Rise Light & Power. “A just transition to a sustainable grid cannot exclude those who have kept the lights on for generations and can also offer real economic opportunities for our neighbors.”
Stephan Edel, NY Renews Coalition Coordinator, said, “New York is at a crossroads with an opportunity to ensure that we serve communities impacted by pollution and disinvestment, meet the challenge of climate change, and support the workers who keep our society working. We need to make sure not only that we’re creating new good union jobs but that those workers who have been creating the energy we use and serving our needs in the current energy economy have the support they need for a truly just transition.”
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ALIGN is a longstanding alliance of labor and community organizations united for a just and sustainable New York. ALIGN works at the intersection of economy, environment, and equity to make change and build the movement.
NY Renews is a coalition of over 300 environmental, justice, faith, labor, and community groups, and the force behind the CLCPA, the nation’s most progressive climate law.