Hundreds of Green Jobs Advocates Lobby for Comprehensive Clean Energy and Climate Change Legislation, Chemicals Reform and Clean Transportation

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 6, 2010) Hundreds of people went to Capitol Hill today to lobby members of Congress for comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation, chemicals reform and clean transportation as part of Green Jobs Advocacy Day. Organized by two dozen labor unions, environmental organizations and trade associations, the effort was a conclusion to events surrounding the 2010 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference.

“Today is an opportunity for people from around the country to lobby their members of Congress to create clean energy jobs now by passing comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation, chemicals and OSHA reform, and expansion of cleaner, more efficient modes of transportation,” said David Foster, Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance. “We need to create good, clean energy jobs now, and we need action from our members of Congress to make that happen.”

“We need the Senate to act immediately to create good, clean energy jobs across America, and they can do that by passing comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation,” said Mark Gruhot, a member of Communications Workers of America Local 7304 who works at New Flyer Bus Co. in St. Cloud, Minnesota, a manufacturer of hybrid buses. “But that is just the beginning. We need to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act and invest in clean and efficient transportation options because these policies will create jobs and make our communities safer and cleaner.”

The 2010 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference, hosted by the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation, drew nearly 3,500 people over two and a half days to turn ideas into action and build a new, green economy that creates good jobs, reduces global warming and preserves America’s economic and environmental security. The Conference, which featured House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator John Kerry, also included more than 100 workshops on topics ranging from green manufacturing to transportation to environmental and occupational health and safety to state and local initiatives.

“Last year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act set in motion the foundation for a new, green economy in the United States that creates jobs while confronting our environmental challenges,” continued Foster. “This year’s Conference focused on turning that foundation into long-term economic growth in the clean energy economy.”

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The BlueGreen Alliance is a national partnership of labor unions and environmental organizations dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the clean energy economy. Launched by the United Steelworkers and Sierra Club in 2006, the BlueGreen Alliance now includes the Communications Workers of America, Natural Resources Defense Council, Laborers’ International Union of North America, Service Employees International Union, Utility Workers Union of America, American Federation of Teachers, Amalgamated Transit Union, and the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.