Led by the Steelworkers, a coalition of 17 unions, top environmental groups and Congressional Democrats is advocating "The Apollo Project," an alternative energy plan they estimate would create 3.3 million jobs over 10 years.
The $300 billion plan, unveiled at a Washington press conference Jan. 14, "would reverse the bankrupt and outdated policies on both jobs and energy" now pursued by the government's ruling GOP, Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said.
"American jobs are being exported with the same blind allegiance to outmoded economics that produced our dependence on Middle Eastern oil...The need for jobs to improve the environment and create greater energy independence demands the active involvement of the federal government," Gerard explained.
Gerard first disclosed the Apollo Project at a conference of progressive activists last June. Then, one congressional backer, Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., tried to round up support for it.
The project calls for investing in improving the present energy system--notably transmission lines--and installing "best available technology" at utilities, among other things. That would create thousands of construction jobs, backers say
The project would also invest in retrofitting old buildings and building new ones in energy-efficient ways and in constructing "renewable energy" facilities, such as wind and solar power plants. It would fund infrastructure improvements, notably high-speed rail, mass transit, and repair of existing highways.
"Energy efficiency is far more labor-intensive than energy generation, creating 21.5 jobs for every $1 million invested, compared to 11.5 jobs for new natural gas generation," the Apollo Project report said.
The report estimates that increased revenue from all Apollo Project new starts--if approved--would more than pay for its cost, generating $307 billion. It would also save energy costs and add $953 billion in personal income over the decade.
The Apollo Project's legislative prospects are unclear. Gerard pointed out it is an alternative to the GOP-pushed, business-written energy plan Congress sidetracked late last year. The White House plans to resubmit that plan.
And while the Steelworkers, the Auto Workers, the Machinists and 14 other unions support the Apollo Project, construction and maritime unions and the Teamsters back the GOP's plan.
The GOP plan, written by a task force led by former energy executives such as Halliburton's Dick Cheney and Enron's Ken Lay, shuns the environment in favor of more energy production. Just one section of the GOP plan--the controversial proposal to open the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling--would create 250,000 construction and maritime jobs, its union backers estimate.
Inslee told the D.C. press conference the Apollo Project would "create new classes of technologies that benefit this new century" while lessening dependence on oil. He recruited 30 cosponsors for the Apollo Project last year, but House Democrats did not adopt it as an alternative to the GOP energy plan.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
For more information
Visit the USWA website, www.uswa.org
Read the Apollo Project report and other analysis at the website of the Apollo Alliance, www.apolloalliance.org
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Led by the Steelworkers, a coalition of 17 unions, top environmental groups and Congressional Democrats is advocating “The Apollo Project,” an alternative energy plan they estimate would create 3.3 million jobs over 10 years.
The $300 billion plan, unveiled at a Washington press conference Jan. 14, “would reverse the bankrupt and outdated policies on both jobs and energy” now pursued by the government’s ruling GOP, Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said.
“American jobs are being exported with the same blind allegiance to outmoded economics that produced our dependence on Middle Eastern oil…The need for jobs to improve the environment and create greater energy independence demands the active involvement of the federal government,” Gerard explained.
Gerard first disclosed the Apollo Project at a conference of progressive activists last June. Then, one congressional backer, Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., tried to round up support for it.
The project calls for investing in improving the present energy system–notably transmission lines–and installing “best available technology” at utilities, among other things. That would create thousands of construction jobs, backers say
The project would also invest in retrofitting old buildings and building new ones in energy-efficient ways and in constructing “renewable energy” facilities, such as wind and solar power plants. It would fund infrastructure improvements, notably high-speed rail, mass transit, and repair of existing highways.
“Energy efficiency is far more labor-intensive than energy generation, creating 21.5 jobs for every $1 million invested, compared to 11.5 jobs for new natural gas generation,” the Apollo Project report said.
The report estimates that increased revenue from all Apollo Project new starts–if approved–would more than pay for its cost, generating $307 billion. It would also save energy costs and add $953 billion in personal income over the decade.
The Apollo Project’s legislative prospects are unclear. Gerard pointed out it is an alternative to the GOP-pushed, business-written energy plan Congress sidetracked late last year. The White House plans to resubmit that plan.
And while the Steelworkers, the Auto Workers, the Machinists and 14 other unions support the Apollo Project, construction and maritime unions and the Teamsters back the GOP’s plan.
The GOP plan, written by a task force led by former energy executives such as Halliburton’s Dick Cheney and Enron’s Ken Lay, shuns the environment in favor of more energy production. Just one section of the GOP plan–the controversial proposal to open the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling–would create 250,000 construction and maritime jobs, its union backers estimate.
Inslee told the D.C. press conference the Apollo Project would “create new classes of technologies that benefit this new century” while lessening dependence on oil. He recruited 30 cosponsors for the Apollo Project last year, but House Democrats did not adopt it as an alternative to the GOP energy plan.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
For more information
Visit the USWA website, www.uswa.org
Read the Apollo Project report and other analysis at the website of the Apollo Alliance, www.apolloalliance.org