New England labor unions sign first-in-the-nation labor peace agreement with Southcoast Wind
At a panel discussion entitled Facing Challenges,
Seizing the Moment: A Climate Action Agenda for Working Families, Patrick
Crowley, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, announced that unions in
Rhode Island and Massachusetts had recently signed a first-of-its-kind Labor
Peace Agreement with SouthCoast Wind to ensure labor protections
for operations and maintenance workers on the 2.4 gigawatt project.
The agreement is the first in the nation to reach beyond
offshore wind construction jobs, marking a new step toward raising the quality
of the permanent operations and maintenance jobs and ensuring these workers
have a voice on the job and receive fair wages, healthcare, retirement
security, safety protections, and rigorous training.
SouthCoast Wind signed the agreement on June 30 with the R.I. Building and Construction Trades Council, Rhode Island AFL-CIO, Massachusetts Building Trades Unions, Southeastern Massachusetts Building Trades Council, and Massachusetts AFL-CIO.
Offshore
wind construction is heavily unionized in the U.S., but now, this agreement
will also bring long-term operations and maintenance work into the security of
a union. When SouthCoast Wind is running, it will have the potential to
generate enough low-cost, clean energy to power over one million homes in New
England.
A domestic and unionized offshore wind industry in New
England has the power to address the region’s rising cost of living and utility
bills. This agreement comes when the federal
administration is working to dismantle offshore wind energy for
political gain.
“This agreement marks a historic milestone for Rhode Island workers and for our clean energy future,” said Crowley. “By ensuring labor peace on the SouthCoast Wind project, we are guaranteeing that all jobs, including operations and maintenance, created by this project are family-sustaining union jobs that strengthen our communities.”
The agreement, said Crowley, “shows exactly how the clean
energy industry can create good jobs for working families. This is the kind of
climate policy we need nationwide – actions that tackle the climate crisis
while lowering costs and creating good jobs for working families. For climate
policy to be durable and equitable, it needs to deliver for working people with
good jobs and more affordable energy.”
“This agreement is a win for Rhode Island’s workers and for
our state’s clean energy future,” said Michael Sabitoni, General
Secretary-Treasurer of LiUNA and President of the R.I. Building
and Construction Trades Council. “SouthCoast Wind continues to build on Rhode
Island’s commitment to offshore wind, and this labor peace agreement guarantees
that highly skilled union workers will be the backbone of operations and
maintenance throughout this project.”
Other panelists detailed how states can step up as climate
leaders, and articulated where there is room for bold policy on climate action,
jobs, and affordability.
“Climate change is a defining crisis of our time, but it also offers an opportunity, necessitating us to build a massive clean energy industry from the ground up,” said John Podesta, Chair of the Center for American Progress, and board member of the Climate Jobs National Resource Center and Action Fund.
“Clean energy can be our pathway to hundreds
of thousands of good union jobs, lower energy bills, and a fair economy that
treats workers with dignity and makes life more affordable for all. We must be
clear-eyed that the current federal administration is not friendly to this
vision, but there is work to be done by states and cities that want to seize
the opportunity. Now, it’s more important than ever for states to take action
and local labor unions to lead the way toward a clean energy economy that
delivers for working people.”
“From rising insurance premiums to higher energy and grocery
bills, workers and families across the country are already paying more because
of climate-flation,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, Rhode
Island), Ranking Member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works. The
costs of inaction are only going to get worse, as climate change threatens an
economic crisis that could dwarf the Great Recession. Smart, strategic
investment in clean energy can stave off the worst economic harms and create
American jobs, rather than surrendering our global leadership and ceding our
economic future to China.”
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