IUOE Project Shows Union Workers Ready for Green Jobs
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Many of the green jobs of “the future” already exist and are performed by union members who make energy-efficient products and teach others how to conserve energy.
Take Operating Engineers Local 49, which represents workers in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Members of the local recently built a wind turbine farm in the small town of Chandler, Minn. Crane operators from the local union hoisted the turbines into place as other members dug trenches for the transmission lines and did the grading.
Glen Johnson, business manager for Local 49, tells the Operating Engineers (IUOE) magazine, International Operating Engineer:
We’re green. We’ve been green a long time. When our operators are building roads and bridges, key environmental factors must be met.
Get Economic Recovery Information at the Working for America Institute
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With billions in federal economic recovery funds available for job training and education, the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute is the go-to place for union leaders seeking the latest information on training and workforce development opportunities. Through a series of Web announcements, webinars and conference calls, the institute is keeping the union movement abreast of the opportunities to better educate the nation’s workforce and rebuild the middle class.
The institute offers a practical new guide to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For example, the latest posting announces some $220 million in new training grants for health care and high-growth industries. The U.S. Labor Department defines high growth and emerging industries—in addition to health care—as fields such as information technology, advanced manufacturing, wireless and broadband deployment, transportation and warehousing and biotechnology.
