Texas unions, faith community call for transparency and labor standards in hydrogen energy planning

By Veronica Serrano - Texas Climate Jobs Project, October 11, 2023

TEXAS UNIONS, FAITH COMMUNITY CALL FOR TRANSPARENCY AND LABOR STANDARDS IN HYDROGEN ENERGY PLANNING

Department of Energy expected to announce next steps for $8 billion program on Friday

Union members and community activists took part in a banner drop to bring attention to lack of transparency, commitment to strong labor standards around a planned hydrogen hub in the Houston area 

Action follows concerns raised by Texas congressional delegation

Houston, TX — Union members and community activists gathered near the outside of the Hydrogen North America conference and dropped a 15-foot banner from a Houston overpass and picketed, demanding transparency and a commitment now to strong labor standards from HyVelocity Hub planners.

The HyVelocity Hub is applying for taxpayer dollars to build a clean hydrogen hub in the Gulf as part of the Department of Energy’s $8 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub program. HyVelocity states its vision for a Texas hydrogen economy “could add an estimated $100 billion to Texas’ GDP.”

“The HyVelocity Hub is seeking taxpayer assistance for this project, and we have a collective responsibility to ensure that our dollars result in high-paying jobs performed by skilled union workers, and that safety is at the forefront,” said Bo Delp, executive director of Texas Climate Jobs Project. 

The Biden Administration is expected to announce the winners of the grants on Friday. In August, a group of plumbers and pipefitters raised questions at an industry-organized event about the absence of adequate labor commitments in the HyVelocity Hub application to the Department of Energy (DOE)—part of the DOE’s $8 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub program. 

“We know that Texas leads in worker deaths. Unions provide safer worksites with fewer OSHA violations than non-union sites,” said Hany Khalil, executive director of the Texas Gulf Coast AFL-CIO. “HyVelocity needs to talk to workers, commit now to labor peace agreements and community workforce agreements, and show that it’s willing to make worker safety a top priority in the Gulf Coast.” Labor Peace Agreements allow workers to organize as a union in their workplace without the fear of retaliation and Community Workforce Agreements ensure that projects train and hire people in the communities in which these projects are located.

A significant contingent of the Texas Democratic Congressional Delegation have also called on the Department of Energy to prioritize H2Hub applicants who commit to creating high-quality union jobs in a letter to DOE Secretary, Jennifer Granholm.

"As we saw during the last legislative session, Texas workers are under attack. HyVelocity should welcome union workers to the table, and have the discussions needed to ensure that the hub offers workers not only fair wages, but also a safer job site,” said the Rev. Dr. Colin Bosson, senior minister at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston. “Our community should be a place where everyone can thrive. Safe union jobs are essential to making that happen.” 

In conjunction with today’s action, the Texas Climate Jobs Project also launched a new website, LightsOnH2.com, exposing the HyVelocity Hub for its secrecy around its plans for the project. These concerns around hydrogen hubs have been seen in other regions as well, like Appalachia and the Midwest. 

The Texas Climate Jobs Project (TCJP) is a coalition of unions from across Texas united to fight climate change and reverse income inequality. Learn more: www.txclimatejobs.org.

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.