As a union member for nine-plus years, I know the difference a well-paying, pro-worker job can make.
I am a proud member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which is working to protect members’ rights and improve working conditions in the current technological and economic revolution. The Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy plan is sparking a new generation of well-paying union jobs that are good for our communities and planet.
But like everything today, the plan has been swept up in political games. However, there is nothing controversial about creating more good jobs and giving Americans more energy choices.
Thanks to the clean energy plan, businesses across the country have already announced more than 300,000 clean energy jobs, and they expect to create millions more over the next decade. Here in Michigan, more than 120,000 people currently work in clean energy, and more than 167,000 more jobs are projected. Nationwide, it’s also a top state for clean energy investments, with a combined $25 billion of investment since August 2022.
The clean energy law incentivizes companies to create workforce development and apprenticeship programs that can raise workers’ pay, allowing them to earn $300,000 more in wages and benefits throughout their careers. And 75% of these new jobs won’t require the cost of a four-year degree.
As someone who first earned a four-year degree before joining the IBEW, I know first-hand the opportunities that are provided by the IBEW far exceed the options I had after graduating from college. Jobs created by the clean energy plan are not only unionized at higher rates than the overall energy workforce, but they also have prevailing wage requirements that protect the gains won by unions and help close racial and gender pay gaps.Investing in renewable energy also helps families save money on electricity bills, by getting tax credits and rebates for installing solar panels and switching to energy-efficient appliances. And, often, the labor is done by union workers. It’s a win-win.
Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy plan, I know jobs like mine will be around for the next generation in every corner of the country — especially in communities that need good jobs and cheaper energy the most.
If we keep investing in renewable energy, solar and wind power are only going to get cheaper and more accessible.
At the IBEW, we will continue to demand a just and pro-union future and fight for leaders who are working hard to support this mission. Failure to support Biden-Harris’s clean energy plan would let America fall behind, and we need to move forward, not backwards.
Jeffery O’Donnell is the registrar for IBEW Local 58 in Detroit.