Union Members Continue Cross-Country Tour to Urge Action on Clean Energy Jobs

CLEVELAND, OH – A bus tour highlighting the potential to create good American jobs by passing comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation in the U.S. Senate stopped in Cleveland today to urge Senators Brown and Voinovich to support action on comprehensive legislation that will create and save millions of American, clean energy jobs, including up to 61,000 jobs in Ohio.

“Nearly 1 out of 10 Americans are still out of work and we need action now to create and preserve millions of jobs across the country,” said David McCall, District 1 Director of the United Steelworkers. “We have a solution right at our fingertips — we can create good jobs here in Ohio with clean energy.”

“Expansion of clean energy and the technologies required to make our country more efficient — like broadband — will create good jobs save Americans money and make our country more efficient while protecting the environment and building stronger communities,” said Ron Gay Jr., Vice President of CWA Local 4300 in Youngstown, Ohio.

The Job’s Not Done tour is traveling to 17 states — with more than 30 stops along the way — and features clean energy workers, union members and environmentalists urging Senate action on important job-creating clean energy legislation. Workers on The Job’s Not Done Tour worry that China will take the millions of potential jobs that will result from the transition to a clean energy economy.

“Instead of importing clean energy technologies, we should develop and manufacture the technology to harness American energy here at home,” said Mark Mullholand, a member of USW Local 1915 in Fremont, Ohio. “We can’t afford to let other countries like China take the millions of jobs that could be created in America by transitioning to clean energy.”

The tour will continue to Pittsburgh through Richmond, Virginia on September 3. For more information, visit www.bluegreenalliance.org.