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New Maine Labor Climate Council Calls for Jobs Protecting the Climate
By staff - Labor Network for Sustainability, March 2022
A dozen Maine unions launched a new coalition this March to push for pro-labor environmental initiatives. The coalition, called the Maine Labor Climate Council, includes:
- Amalgamated Transit Union Local 714
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 490, 567, 1253, 2327 and 104
- International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornament & Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 7
- International Union of Operating Engineers Local 4
- International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 35
- North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Locals 349 and 352
- Laborers’ International Union Local 327
- Maine AFL-CIO
- Maine Education Association
- Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council
- Maine Service Employees Association SEIU 1989
- Southern Maine Labor Council
According to Maine AFL-CIO President Cynthia Phinney, “The twin crises of climate change and inequality demand bold and urgent action.”
We believe that the choice between good jobs and a livable planet is a false one, and our report lays out a path to head in the direction of both. The Maine Labor Climate Council is committed to tackling inequality and climate change together and being laser focused on creating good jobs as we develop Maine’s clean energy economy.
The Council issued a “Maine Climate Jobs Report” which recommends that the state:
- Install 25,000 Public EV Charging Stations by 2030
- Transition 50% of Maine’s School Bus Fleet to Zero-Emission Electric Vehicles by 2025 and 100% by 2030
- Double and Electrify City Bus Operations by 2030
- Construct High-Speed Rail to Bangor, Maine
- Retrofit and Install Solar on All K-12 Public Schools by 2035
- Net-Zero Emissions for New Construction by 2030
- Retrofit 50% of Residential Units by 2040
- Build 19,000 Affordable Units by 2040
- Provide 100% Renewable Electricity By 2035
- Plan and Fund a Just Transition
- Ensure High-Quality, Union Jobs in Maine
Read more:
- Read the full Maine Climate Jobs Report here.
- Read Maine AFL-CIO’s President Cynthia Finney’s Bangor Daily News guest column “It’s time for climate policies that put working people first”
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author.
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