It is critical we ensure the safety of workers on the job in the face of COVID-19, whether they are nurses on the frontlines, workers in warehouses, utility workers keeping the lights on across the country, or manufacturing workers building essential products. Congress has taken significant steps to protect workers, and must continue to prioritize the most vulnerable; safeguard working peoples’ jobs, homes, and livelihoods; shore up essential public services; and protect the health and safety of frontline workers.

The BlueGreen Alliance and national labor, environmental, and public officials joined U.S. Sen. Tina Smith for a virtual town hall focused on the BlueGreen Alliance’s manufacturing agenda and the actions we need to take now to rebuild American manufacturing and good jobs in communities across the nation. Speakers included: U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) United…

The following is a statement from the BlueGreen Alliance, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Health Strategy Center, Maine Conservation Voters, Maine People’s Alliance, Natural Resources Council of Maine, and Sierra Club Maine, who are standing in solidarity with the workers on strike at Bath Iron Works:

As Senate Republicans focus on legislation that would shield companies from legal accountability for endangering workers on the job during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined leaders from the BlueGreen Alliance in calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to take up a COVID-19 relief bill that establishes an enforceable temporary Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard to protect working people on the job during this pandemic.

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act. The bill includes substantial funding for and support of natural infrastructure solutions for climate resiliency as well as affordability provisions for vulnerable communities.

This new paper looks at how the coronavirus pandemic has upended lives. The enormity of this pain, however, has not been borne equally. Latinx and Black Americans are three times as likely to become infected as their white neighbors and nearly twice as likely to die from the virus as white people.

BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director Jason Walsh today testified at a virtual hearing of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis titled “Solving the Climate Crisis: Building a Vibrant and Just Clean Energy Economy.”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans today unveiled the broad strokes of a COVID-19 relief package, which would shield corporations from liability if their employees contract COVID-19 on the job, among other provisions.

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the first “minibus” spending bill for fiscal year 2021. The package includes funding for a number of departments and programs including the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.

This Policy Toolkit provides information to decisionmakers on a series of policies and measures, including Project Labor Agreements (PLAs), Prevailing Wage and Worker Benefits, Local Hire and Targeted Hire measures, and Organizing Rights and Negative Determination that can be used to ensure the creation of good, union jobs in the clean economy. 

This toolkit is intended to represent policy responses to COVID-19 that can help workers affected by the coronavirus, using examples drawn from state executive orders and legislation.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill) today introduced a bill aimed at supporting communities and workers impacted by the nation’s transition to cleaner cheaper fuels. The bill, entitled “the Marshall Plan for Coal Country Act,” will provide healthcare for coal workers, establish a plan to stabilize coal communities’ economies when a plant or mine closes, and provides access to free higher education to coal workers and their families.