 
Green Crossroads
Edwin D. Hill editorial from the February 2009 issue of the Electrical Worker
 Thumb through the pages of any recent IBEW publication, and you’ll see that the union hasn’t been waiting for Congress or the president to act before getting on board with the green revolution.
In this issue alone, you’ll see reports from locals across North America – from Utah to Ontario – that are running solar and wind turbine installation trainings, and we’re seeing more and more of them each month.
For the IBEW, the importance of the new green economy is more than just the work it provides our members. Done correctly, green energy – everything from retrofitting buildings and installing a smart grid to wind, solar, biofuels, hydroelectric and nuclear – offers the possibility of recreating the balanced economy of the post-World War II era. Back them technological innovation drove domestic job growth and economic opportunity for working families while building North America’s industrial base.
The post-World War II period saw the greatest growth of productivity in our history, before or since, which translated into a massive expansion of the middle-class and a rising standard of living for most North Americans.
The last 30 years have seen a reversal of the post-war consensus by business leaders and politicians as deregulation, anti-unionism and free-trade fundamentalism have taken hold, resulting in an eroded manufacturing base and shrunken middle class, but the potential of a new energy revolution holds out the opportunity of changing course.
Kicking our dependence on foreign oil requires an active partnership with governmental leaders and private companies to invest in millions of new jobs and a renewed industrial base.
There is no reason those jobs can’t be decent American and Canadian ones that come with a good paycheck and benefits. But to make sure that happens will take aggressive leadership on our part.
The temptation of some self-described green companies to fall back on old ways of doing things, like outsourcing work to developing nations, paying subsistence wages or fighting unions instead of finding out how to partner with them is still there.
The shared prosperity of the post-war world wasn’t just granted from up high; it was fought for by the labor movement. And green power won’t translate into good jobs and new model of shared economic growth without the IBEW continuing the take the lead through our training programs, grassroots political action and our continuing commitment to excellence on the job.
Return To
Working Green Analysis...
|
Related Articles
