THE ALLY FOR OCTOBER 2017

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Welcome to The Ally—the BlueGreen Alliance's monthly newsletter.

October 17, 2017

CLEAN AND FAIR ECONOMY SUMMIT

Nearly two hundred people attended the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation’s highly successful Clean and Fair Economy Summit in Olympia, WA on September 14 and 15. This energizing event featured inspiring presenters and meaningful discussions focused on building an unstoppable movement nationwide–as well as field trips and an awards ceremony that demonstrated how the power of blue-green collaboration is creating jobs and increasing prosperity in Washington’s communities. Keynote speakers included Governor Jay Inslee, Senator Jeff Merkly, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and Congressman Denny Heck. Watch video and see photos.

OHIO USW LEADERS HEAD TO DC TO STAND UP FOR STRONG FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS

U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan (OH – 13) joined two leaders of the United Steelworkers (USW) from the Akron-Cleveland area before they traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearing on fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for vehicles. The leaders— United Steelworkers Local 2 President Jack Hefner and United Steelworkers Local 979 President Dan Boone—urged the EPA to retain strong fuel economy standards for model year 2022-2025 light-duty cars, trucks, and SUVs to protect the jobs of thousands of Ohio workers building components for today’s rapidly innovating auto industry. Read their testimony.

MAKING THE GRADE 2.0

Last month, leaders from the BlueGreen Alliance were joined by U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D – DE) and Tammy Duckworth (D – IL) and U.S. Representatives. Cheri Bustos (IL –17) and Debbie Dingell (MI – 12) to release a new report that analyzes the jobs and environmental impact of raising the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Infrastructure Report Card grades—which gave the U.S. an overall “D+” grade—in a variety of sectors to “B” grades over the next decade.

The report, entitled Making the Grade 2.0: Investing in America’s Infrastructure to Create Quality Jobs and Protect the Environment, found that investing an estimated $2.2 trillion in America’s infrastructure in these sectors over the next decade to improve them from a “D+” grade overall to a “B” grade—coupled with investments in our natural gas distribution systems—has the potential to support or create an additional 14.5 million job-years across the U.S. economy over that time span, versus a business as-usual approach. A job-year is a job that employs a person full-time for one year. Find out more.

MAKING NAFTA A FAIR TRADE DEAL

In August, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D – PA) joined a diverse group of labor, environmental, and civic leaders at a forum in Pittsburgh to discuss how trade policy can be transformed to lift up workers and communities, while protecting the environment. The forum was held at the United Steelworkers (USW) headquarters and featured a panel of labor and environmental leaders focused on making sure that a renegotiation deal would be a fair one for America’s workers and the environment. Read The Road to Fair Trade Deals.

PROTECTING PUBLIC LANDS

The BlueGreen Alliance sent a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke urging him to support reasonable best practices for the oil and gas program on public lands. These policies, which are being reconsidered by the Bureau of Land Management, ensure responsible production and transparent and fair leasing decisions when it comes to oil and gas development on U.S. public lands. Read more.