The union today supported Jennifer Granholm for the Secretary of Energy.
USW International President Tom Conway wrote to the U.S. Senate, "Our union also represents several thousand members engaged in clean-up activities at Department of Energy sites across the country. Strong leadership at DOE is critically important to ensuring that those workers continue to have the resources to safely clean up our nuclear fuel and weapons legacy. We are confident that Granholm will work to ensure that these workers are fairly treated and compensated by the contractors at DOE sites."
Here is the full text of the letter, which can be downloaded for printing here:
Via Email
U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20515
January 27, 2021
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the members of the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW), I write to support the confirmation of Jennifer Granholm as Secretary of Energy.
Our union represents a wide variety of workers in the energy and manufacturing sectors. As we look to economic recovery and the technologies of the present and future, the Department of Energy (DOE) will play a critical role in the research, development, deployment, and manufacture of technologies that ensure that the United States remains globally competitive.
In her hearing, Granholm said, “We can buy electric car batteries from Asia, or we can make them in America. We can install wind turbines from Denmark, or we can make them in America. We can allow other countries to corner the market on carbon reduction technologies like carbon capture utilization and storage, or we can put our workers in good-paying jobs manufacturing and installing those solutions in America, and we can export them all as well.”
Energy independence of the future means that we must work to maintain and grow domestic manufacturing jobs in clean technology supply chains. If confirmed, former governor Granholm will come to the role of Secretary of Energy as an experienced leader who helped rebuild the auto industry. We are confident that Granholm knows that domestic manufacturing must be a priority and that it is necessary to balance environmental progress with preserving and growing union manufacturing jobs.
Our union also represents several thousand members engaged in clean-up activities at Department of Energy sites across the country. Strong leadership at DOE is critically important to ensuring that those workers continue to have the resources to safely clean up our nuclear fuel and weapons legacy. We are confident that Granholm will work to ensure that these workers are fairly treated and compensated by the contractors at DOE sites.
USW urges you to promptly vote to confirm Jennifer Granholm as the Secretary of Energy.
Sincerely,
Thomas Conway International President