Union leaders and labor advocates from across Wisconsin held a virtual press conference today to speak out against President Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

The bill threatens clean energy and manufacturing investments and tax credits revitalizing local economies around the state. If signed into law, this legislation would kill most of the federal incentives that support clean energy deployment and advanced energy manufacturing in Wisconsin, putting jobs at risk and raising costs for taxpayers. The bill puts $8.6 billion in private investments and more than 7,000 jobs at risk in the Dairy State.

“Wisconsin’s clean energy boom isn’t an accident—it’s the result of a workforce that our unions have spent years developing into the most skilled in the nation combined with smart federal policy,” said Emily Pritzkow, Executive Director, Wisconsin Building Trades Council. “Repeal those policies, and you repeal those Wisconsin jobs.”

Several of the speakers noted that tax credits accessible to tax-exempt organizations through “direct pay” are at risk and would have negative impacts across communities in Wisconsin. Direct pay made tax exempt entities like public schools and municipalities eligible to use clean energy tax credits to offset the costs of projects such as solar and battery storage. School districts and other such entities throughout the state have used the provision to upgrade schools, save taxpayers money, and lower electricity bills.

“Direct pay and 179D have been transformative measures for investment in clean energy technologies,” said Andy Buck, Director of Governmental Affairs, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 7 and President of the Northeast Wisconsin Building Trades Council. “Direct pay not only reduces investment costs but also drives down energy costs—saving taxpayer dollars.”

Across the country, an estimated two million jobs in the manufacturing employment footprint are at risk, including nearly 300,000 direct manufacturing jobs, with losses concentrated in clean energy and electric vehicle industries.

“The availability of these tax credits to tax-exempt entities like schools and municipalities was a real game changer. It opened the door to projects that were out of reach before,” said Josh Birong, Business Manager, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry (UA) Local 118, Racine. “Voting to repeal the clean energy tax credits and cut off access to tax exempt entities is going to cost people their jobs, it’s going to raise costs, and it’s going to hurt our local economy.”

“The investments and tax credits that are under threat right now are saving families money across the country and right here in Wisconsin,” said Garrik Harwick, Assistant Business Manager, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 890, Janesville. “Repealing the tax credits would strain our existing energy supply and raise the cost of expanding it—unequivocally increasing energy costs to both households and businesses.”

“Federal investments on the chopping block in this budget have already sparked major private investment in Western Wisconsin,” said Matt Ganhs, President of the Western Wisconsin Building Trades Council and President of Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association (OPCMIA) Local 599. “This funding is creating real jobs and boosting local economies—and Republicans are willing to throw it all away, putting our communities and livelihoods at risk.”

“This isn’t just about upgrading our overused and aging electrical grid, it’s about creating good-paying jobs and forging real economic opportunity right here in Wisconsin and across the nation,” said Matt Van Der Puy, Business Representative for Fond du Lac/Manitowoc/Sheboygan, International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 18. “We have an opportunity to solve both—we must prioritize the opportunities critical to job creation and meeting infrastructure improvements and energy demand.”

“It is clear that the GOP prioritizes tax cuts to billionaires over investments for hard-working Wisconsinites,” said Carly Ebben Eaton, Wisconsin State Policy Manager, BlueGreen Alliance. “Instead of protecting progress in the state, Republicans chose to sacrifice our clean energy future along with the well-being of the people they were elected to serve.”