WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) pledging to work together to ensure the use of high-road labor standards on DOI and EPA funded projects. Lee Geisse, Ohio Regional Program Manager for the BlueGreen Alliance, joined the event, participating in a fireside chat about the importance of bringing together diverse stakeholders with Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su.

“It was an honor to join Acting Secretary Su for this important conversation,” said Geisse. “We are starting to see the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in Ohio and the MOUs signed today will help us ensure that the historic funding in those laws is supporting the creation of good, accessible union jobs across our state and across the nation.”

The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provide funding for EPA and DOI to pursue projects on a variety of priorities, including abandoned mine land remediation, plugging orphaned wells, and enabling school districts to purchase low- and no-emissions buses. Under the new MOUs, DOI and EPA will work closely with DOL to ensure that as those funds are distributed, strong labor standards are tied to them, ensuring that the jobs being created are high-quality and accessible.

“The BlueGreen Alliance believes above all else that we don’t have to choose between good jobs and a clean environment, we can and must have both. Historically, however, federal environmental work and labor work have often been siloed,” said BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director Jason Walsh. “These MOUs will strengthen the alignment of federal agencies and enable our nation’s best experts on climate change, environmental remediation, and strong labor standards to work together to make sure that we’re getting the very best results from the historic funding the administration has invested in America.”