Labor-Environmental Partnership Urges Senate to Pass Comprehensive Climate and Clean Energy Legislation to Create Jobs and Make America the Leader in the Global Clean Energy Economy

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 12, 2010) The BlueGreen Alliance issued the following statement from Executive Director David Foster on today’s release of the American Power Act:

“The BlueGreen Alliance – uniting eight major U.S. labor unions and two of America’s largest environmental organizations with more than eight and a half million members and supporters – commends Senators Kerry and Lieberman for introducing the American Power Act.

“We urge the Senate to act immediately to revitalize our nation’s economy with millions of clean energy jobs. Every day that we fail to act is another day that we fail to establish the United States as a global leader in the race for clean energy.

“The BlueGreen Alliance strongly believes that properly crafted comprehensive climate change legislation will achieve the critical goals of creating good jobs, reducing carbon emissions and increasing our nation’s energy independence.

“While many provisions we believe essential to creating good clean energy jobs are addressed, we must strengthen critical areas of this legislation. By continuing to constructively work with the U.S. Senate, we can achieve a stronger American Power Act that achieves our goals of creating millions of clean energy jobs – putting people back to work manufacturing the parts for clean energy, weatherizing our homes and retrofitting our buildings, building and operating transit and freight rail, and maintaining energy-efficient buildings across the country, all while ensuring that these jobs are quality, good-paying jobs.

“We urge Congress and the President to move forward immediately, and we look forward to working with Senators Kerry and Lieberman, Majority Leader Reid, and the rest of the Senate to ensure that final legislation is focused on creating and maintaining millions of good jobs in every community in America.”

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The BlueGreen Alliance is a national partnership of labor unions and environmental organizations dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the clean energy economy. Launched by the United Steelworkers and Sierra Club in 2006, the BlueGreen Alliance now includes the Communications Workers of America, Natural Resources Defense Council, Laborers’ International Union of North America, Service Employees International Union, Utility Workers Union of America, American Federation of Teachers, Amalgamated Transit Union, and the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.