Climate Jobs NY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 31, 2023
Contact: Lenore Friedlaender, lfriedlaender@climatejobsny.org

CLIMATE JOBS NY ISSUES STRONG SUPPORT FOR ENSHRINING PRO-WORKER CLIMATE ACTION IN STATE BUDGET

NEW YORK CITY—This week, Climate Jobs New York, a coalition of unions representing 2.6 million working New Yorkers, sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie urging state leaders to enshrine strong worker protections and a pro-worker approach to implementing the state’s landmark climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), in the state budget.

In its letter, Climate Jobs NY offers support for the Cap and Invest approach recommended by the Climate Action Council as a “reasonable method” for implementing the CLCPA, and issues strong support for the suite of labor standards put forward by the Senate in its one-house proposal on CLCPA implementation, which include prevailing wage, project labor agreements, labor harmony, Buy American and displaced worker protections, along with supply chain job criteria.

In addition to enshrining these labor standards in state law, which the coalition says will ensure that New York leads the nation in creating a pro-worker climate change law and an equitable clean energy economy with a diverse and inclusive workforce, Climate Jobs NY asks that state leaders take further action to protect the state’s many critical manufacturing union workers by including zero-cost offsets for union manufacturers and requests state leaders to support $5 million in funding for the Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University’s New York State School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR), which conducts applied research, policy analysis, and technical assistance to help meet the state’s climate, job creation, and equity goals and serves as an enormous resource to policymakers as the state seeks solutions on issues like green jobs training and transitioning displaced workers.

The coalition’s letter comes as an annual Cornell ILR Empire State Poll found that a majority (over 68%)) of New Yorkers are concerned about the climate crisis and more than 70% of New Yorkers have been impacted by climate change in the past five years. Concern about the potential impacts of climate change are high across all regions of New York State, with 83% of Long Island and NYC residents; 82% of Central, North Country and Mohawk residents; and 80% of Hudson Valley, Central New York, Southern Tier residents Western NY and Finger Lakes residents expressing concern about the impacts of climate change. The poll also found that nearly 60% of New Yorkers think labor, industry, and government leaders should do more to respond to climate change, including making public investments in renewable energy projects to create high-quality jobs in New York State (65%) and creating a NYS Commission to set a higher minimum wage in the clean energy industry (54%).

"The women and men who build New York's infrastructure are looking forward to playing a crucial role in creating a prosperous and equitable green energy economy. These new industries can provide life changing careers for New Yorkers, as long as we make sure there are strong labor standards,” said Gary LaBarbera, President of the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council. “We are committed to utilizing our pre-apprentice and apprenticeship programs to make the transition to renewable energy an opportunistic one for New Yorkers from all walks of life by ensuring those who need a second chance can pursue lifelong, family-sustaining careers in union construction.”

"New York can be a leader in creating a just transition for working people to a clean, renewable energy economy by ensuring the jobs created are good, union jobs" said Vincent Alvarez, President of the NYC Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. "Renewable energy industries can be drivers of economic growth and New York can become a hub for green technology and responsible green development. Our coalition includes healthcare workers on the front lines dealing with the health impacts of pollution and climate change, construction workers ready to build, manufacturing workers ready to produce the materials, the workers who will operate and maintain the new infrastructure, and workers in our schools and public agencies who see the devastating impact of poverty on families who don't have good jobs."

"New York is the ideal location for thousands of workers to be employed in manufacturing jobs to support the offshore wind and other renewable energy sectors. These new sectors will demand a supply chain of products and services that can be manufactured here in New York with a skilled workforce and proximity to ports. New York can also be the intellectual hub for a responsible green future if we invest in the people and academic institutions like Cornell's Climate Jobs Institute,” said Mike Fishman, President and Executive Director of Climate Jobs National Resource Center and Director of Climate Jobs NY.

“Cornell ILR’s annual Empire State Poll shows that the majority of New Yorkers, in all regions of the state, are concerned about climate change, have been impacted by climate change, and want action to address climate change that includes high-quality job creation and strong worker protections,” said Dr. Lara Skinner, Executive Director of Cornell ILR’s Climate Jobs Institute. “New York has led the nation in tackling the toughest challenges of our time and now is the time for New York to lead the nation in building an equitable clean energy economy that tackles climate change, reverses historic inequality, and creates high-quality, family and community sustaining careers, especially for frontline communities. Strong worker protections, like prevailing wage, project labor agreements, and labor harmony, will ensure that New York builds a strong, fair clean energy economy with broad public support."

Climate Jobs NY (CJNY) is a coalition of labor unions representing 2.6 million working people at the center of New York’s economy. We are united around a shared goal of combating climate change while reversing income inequality. CJNY’s mission is to advocate for a clean energy economy at the scale climate science demands, create good union jobs, and support more equitable communities and a more resilient New York.