Leaders from the BlueGreen Alliance today during a virtual press briefing called on Congress to quickly pass the historic Build Back Better Act and released new data estimating the job creation potential of several of the investments included in the bill.  Leaders from the United Steelworkers union (USW), National Wildlife Federation (NWF), IUPAT, and the Sierra Club joined the BlueGreen Alliance on the call to present the data and urge Congress to act.

“The Build Back Better Act is a jobs bill that will strengthen the American economy, create new and support existing good jobs, and ensure that we all are able to live in a clean and healthy environment,” said BlueGreen Alliance Executive DirectorJason Walsh.  “It’s our partnership’s belief and guiding principle that Americans shouldn’t have to choose between good jobs and a clean environment—we can and must have both. We now have an unprecedented opportunity to see that principle realized in federal legislation and to truly build back better.”

During the call, the groups released new data estimating the job creation potential of several portions of the Build Back Better Act. For example, the data presented reveals that manufacturing and industrial investments included in the Build Back Better Act would support 1.27 million jobs over 10 years. They would also create or sustain hundreds of thousands of long-term jobs at thousands of factories established, expanded, or retooled with federal support and more throughout the economy.

The Build Back Better Act makes long overdue investments in American manufacturing, infrastructure, and communities. The investments are designed to make the U.S. a leader in manufacturing the clean technology of the future and fill critical supply chain gaps and modernize essential energy intensive  industries to make them the cleanest and most competitive in the world.  And, it ensures that investments in clean energy and clean vehicles come with the labor and domestic content standards necessary to grow and sustain good-paying jobs and boost domestic manufacturing across the clean economy.

“The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Biden signed this week represents monumental progress toward rebuilding our nation and revitalizing our manufacturing base,” said USW International Vice President Roxanne Brown, “but it’s just the beginning. The Build Back Better Act will not only deliver needed resources to workers and their families, but will also provide significant investments in the future of manufacturing. Congress must act quickly on this vital legislation to help ensure that American workers will continue to supply our nation for many years to come.”

The Build Back Better Act makes additional investments across a range of clean energy and infrastructure sectors that will make our communities cleaner and healthier while creating good jobs. The group modeled several of these key investments in the bill. They found:

• Lead service line replacement would result in a total of 133,800 jobs over 10 years;
• Funding for America’s transit systems would result in a total of 264,256 jobs over 10 years;
• Energy efficiency, resiliency, and renewable energy upgrades for public buildings as well as non-profit buildings would create a total of 33,450 jobs over 10 years;
• Updating and modernizing our transmission infrastructure would create a total of 52,000 jobs over 10 years; and
• Investments in community and worker resilience programs would result in a total of 602,899 jobs over 10 years.

More information about the investments included in the Build Back Better Act and the new data estimating how many jobs would be created by those investments can be found online here.

“The Build Back Better Act and infrastructure bill will help replace over 5 million lead service lines to deliver clean water to communities nationwide,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. “It shouldn’t matter what the color of your skin or how much your parents make or what zip code you live in—everyone should have access to clean, safe drinking water. Build Back Better will target the investments where they are needed the most to help address long-standing inequities.”

“Build Back Better will create good jobs. It’s focus on collective bargaining as a tool that will ensure gender and racial equity and increasing protections for marginalized communities is vital to the future of the labor movement and our nation,” said IUPAT General President James A. Williams, Jr. “Build Back Better is vital to ensuring that everyone gets a fair shot and that workers’ rights are protected. That is a critical part of this bill and one that our union is proud to support.”

“The Build Back Better Act shows we don’t have to choose between a healthy environment and jobs, clean water and productivity, and thriving wildlife and growing opportunities,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “The benefits are clear—good paying jobs, lower costs, healthier communities, greater resilience—while the cost of inaction is staggering. We, at the National Wildlife Federation, are proud to stand with our brothers and sisters in organized labor to urge Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act as soon as possible.”

You can view the event on YouTube or download the video here.