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Made in America Jobs Tour: Investing in Green Economy Creates Jobs |
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Workers, union leaders and business executives joined Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson today to deliver the message that investing in clean energy not only is good for our environment but also would create millions of good green jobs to rejuvenate the economy and rebuild the nation’s middle class.
Jackson spoke at a rally in Gary, Ind., as part of the nationwide Made in America Jobs Tour sponsored by the Blue Green Alliance and the Alliance for Climate Protection’s Repower America campaign. The tour kicked off Aug. 20 in Cleveland and will involve more than 50 events in 22 states, including rallies in St. Louis, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Gary.
The tour is crossing the country to show America that moving to a clean-energy economy offers huge opportunities to revive American manufacturing and rebuild the nation’s economy.
Says United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard, whose union is a Blue Green Alliance member:
Building a clean-energy economy can revitalize American manufacturing, but only if we commit to using domestically produced components. In confronting the challenges of recession, global warming and energy independence, we have an opportunity to transform our economy and create good jobs that truly are “made in America.”
A recent report by the Blue Green Alliance found that if the United States instituted a national renewable energy standard, more than 850,000 manufacturing jobs at firms already in existence across all 50 states could be created to make the parts for wind, solar, geothermal and biomass power.
A Center for American Progress report also found that investing $150 billion a year in America’s clean-energy economy could create 1.7 million jobs, which could include jobs like retrofitting and constructing new energy efficient buildings and manufacturing next-generation, plug-in hybrid and electric cars.
Here’s David Foster, executive director of the Blue Green Alliance:
We can create millions of jobs building the clean-energy economy, whether it’s manufacturing the parts for windmills, building hybrid car batteries or weatherizing homes to make them more efficient. By transitioning to a clean-energy economy, we can revitalize America’s manufacturing sector and boost our economy for the long run by creating jobs “Made in America.”
Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council adds:
At this critical moment—when Americans need to get back to work and the impacts of global warming are already being felt—we need our elected officials to act on legislation that will unleash investments that will create jobs and move America to a clean-energy future.
The AFL-CIO has created the Center for Green Jobs to help pave the way to good union jobs in a variety of the country’s unionized and greening industries. The center also will spread the lessons of AFL-CIO affiliates who have successfully joined the green economy, especially in manufacturing.
Green products are not the only things that need to be made in America, says Gerard. In a column in today’s Los Angeles Times, Gerard, along with businessman Leo Hindery and former Sen. Donald Riegle (D-Mich.), point out that the governments of most major developed countries support their own industries and, in these tough economic times, it only makes sense for Washington to do likewise.
Although federal government purchases make up about 20 percent of the U.S. economy, the United States is nearly alone among the major developed nations and China in not having a significant “buy domestic” government procurement program. Gerard, Hindery and Riegle say:
No single economic stimulus initiative would do more in the short and long term to resuscitate U.S. employment, especially manufacturing employment, and to materially reduce our economy-zapping massive trade deficit than a fair “buy American” program.
They criticized Congress and the Obama administration for not strongly backing “buy American” provisions in the economic recovery package. They also point to recent actions by the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative to waive or water down “buy American” rules.
The three endorsed the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act , which would revamp U.S. trade policies.
The bottom line, they say, is:
“Buy American” is neither un-American nor anti-globalization. It is simply good, necessary, balanced and reciprocal economic policy.
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