Making Our Wind & Solar World is Work: 5 Clean Energy Labor Groups & Resources

Organizations & Tools to Get the Clean Energy Job Done

Photo by Marcus Spitske on Unsplash

5 Clean Energy Labor Groups & Resources

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1. BlueGreen Alliance

The BlueGreen Alliance unites labor unions and environmental organizations to solve today’s environmental challenges in ways that create and maintain quality jobs and build a clean, thriving, and equitable economy.

Creating Good Jobs, a Clean Environment, and a Fair and Thriving Economy

Let policymakers know you support Solidarity for Climate Action, our plan to put working people front and center as we create a new economy: one that values our work, our families, our communities, and our environment.

We are guided by the principle that we can no longer choose between good jobs and a clean environment—that the actions we take to create quality jobs and to protect working people and the environment must go hand-in-hand, and that together, we will build clean, thriving and fair economy.

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2. American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE): National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance

The National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance is a cross-sector effort to improve clean energy education, training, and job placement outcomes—and ensure that expanding clean energy job opportunities are inclusive of diverse candidates and underserved communities. Since January 2022, the Alliance has been virtually convening more than 500 employers, training providers, community-based recruitment and support organizations, and energy justice organizations.

The National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance is a cross-sector effort to improve clean energy education, training, and job placement outcomes—and ensure that expanding clean energy job opportunities are inclusive of diverse candidates and underserved communities. Since January 2022, the Alliance has been virtually convening more than 500 employers, training providers, community-based recruitment and support organizations, and energy justice organizations.

IREC is committed to a 100% clean energy future that is reliable, resilient, and equitable. Our work falls under three complementary pathways: Building the workforce, local community initiatives, and the regulatory space.

Through structured and intentional meetings, the Alliance is collectively identifying and sharing resources and information, with a focus on concrete solutions to shared workforce challenges.

Key Recommendations: Cultivating a Diverse and Skilled Talent Pipeline for the Equitable Transition

Reporting Resource: National Solar Jobs Census— U.S. Solar Jobs Grow 3.5% in 2022, Clean Storage Jobs Up 5%

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3. Labor Network for Sustainability

Voices for a Sustainable Future: Labor Network for Sustainability is a project of Voices for a Sustainable Future. VSF brings together science, art, and economics in an effort to achieve a sustainable future for planet and people.

We formed the Labor Network for Sustainability as a vehicle through which we could press for bold climate action in ways that address labor concerns without sacrificing what science is telling us is necessary, and what’s needed to address income inequality and worker power. LNS was founded on the belief that the crises of income inequality and climate change can and must be addressed at the same time, and in so doing we will advance the goals of both movements and offer the best hope for averting climate catastrophe.

The Green New Deal from Below Means Jobs

Mission Statement of the Labor Network for Sustainability: To be a relentless force for urgent, science-based climate action by building a powerful labor-climate movement to secure an ecologically sustainable and economically just future where everyone can make a living on a living planet.

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4. Department of Energy: Clean Energy Corps

DOE’s Clean Energy Corps is comprised of the staff from more than a dozen offices across DOE—current staff and new hires—all working together to research, develop, demonstrate, and deploy solutions to the world's greatest challenge. The Clean Energy Corps is a diverse group of talented individuals committed to public service and with a mission of supercharging the clean energy revolution.

Addressing the climate crisis will require a large, ambitious, and talented team of America’s best and brightest. The Clean Energy Corps is dedicated to fighting climate change through public service and supporting American competitiveness on a global scale. To meet this challenge, DOE is hiring a team of industry veterans, experienced technical experts, and the next generation of climate leaders. We’re looking for individuals who are ready to act at this critical moment, we need YOU.

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5. Tower Climbing Grease Monkeys

In 2012 I had a crazy idea to create a Facebook Group called the Tower Climbing Grease Monkeys. A place where wind turbine techs from all over the world could share their knowledge and experiences. I invited all of my friends in the industry, they invited their friends, then they invited more friends. The group grew in popularity and was a great source for techs to talk shop, solve issue, talk about best practices and equipment.

The name is just a slang term we used in the industry to poke fun at ourselves even though we knew we were much more

Windfarm Photos captured by Techs worldwide

towerclimbinggreasemonkeys

A post shared by @towerclimbinggreasemonkeys

That’s it, thanks for reading! 💚

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Stay clean-energy-cool & plugged-in:

Let me know what other groups & what related resources you come across:

Finally—THANK YOU, for all you do! For tomorrow, today— the future thanks you, too.

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RELATED:

Report: The Clean Economy Revolution Will Be Unionized

Article: Labor and Environmental Groups Have Learned to Get Along. Here’s the Organization in the Middle

Partnership Group: AFL-CIO Labor Energy Partnership

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