Address Climate Change and Energy Development
The New York State AFL-CIO supports our affiliates in addressing climate change and supporting the use of cleaner, more affordable, and renewable energy in a responsible way. Our work includes supporting measures that would protect current jobs and ensure that newly created jobs are good union jobs.
Policy Positions
• Support capital funding, bonding authority, grants, and technical assistance for a Carbon Free and Healthy Schools Bond Act that will facilitate clean energy, decarbonization, energy efficiency, sustainability, and improved air quality in schools and colleges across New York State.
• Comprehensive labor standards and protections including prevailing rate, project labor agreements (PLAs), bona fide apprenticeship/pre-apprenticeship programs and Buy American provisions, on all energy development, including nuclear and renewable generation, transmission, and storage.
• Labor peace for workers who manufacture, operate, maintain and repair generation, storage and transmission systems.
• Prohibit the displacement of public sector employees and require the prompt rehire of displaced private sector employees with the same or better pay and benefits while maintaining their choice of collective bargaining representative.
• Support impacted affiliates and their members who work at utilities and generation, transmission, manufacturing, and smelting facilities to make them more efficient and to keep them operational.
• Support development of low-carbon energy systems that will help the State achieve its goal of net zero-emission energy production by 2040.
• Support workers and communities impacted by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act by requiring extended unemployment insurance payments, COBRA subsidies, educational grants, and a bridge to retirement.
• Support the development of thermal energy networks, nuclear, solar, wind, energy storage and other forms of renewable and net zero-emission energy, generation storage, and transmission technology.
• Oppose importing cheap energy from out-of-state that is generated without adherence to the same climate and emissions requirements that in-state power producers do.
• Support funding for resiliency projects, dams, drinking water, sewer systems, storm preparedness, and other climate-related infrastructure improvements.
