Walsh, Rezin push for clean-energy jobs with worker protections

State lawmakers representing Will County are backing legislation that aims to get Illinois to a 100% clean-energy economy while providing help for workers affected by the transition.

The legislators presented the basic tenants of the proposal, the Climate Union Jobs Act, during a virtual news conference on Monday.

They said the bill includes a goal to set labor standards for clean energy companies, preserve the state’s nuclear generation facilities, and provide a “just transition” for workers and communities which rely on existing fossil fuel generation. Lawmakers collaborated with the Climate Jobs Illinois coalition on the proposal.

State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., D-Elwood, said he believes the legislation will “set the standard” for how the state moves forward on tackling energy issues while protecting workers.

“We do realize that we have to find a cleaner way of generating electricity and to focus ourselves on this climate issue we are dealing with,” Walsh said. “But to do that, we just can’t shut the switch-off and go to something else.”

The proposal includes $50 million to invest in job-training programs and establishes a “Displaced Energy Workers Bill of Rights” to provide advanced notice of plant closures, employment assistance, scholarships, health insurance coverage and other benefits.

The legislators also pointed to data showing that the majority of utility-scale wind farms and solar projects are built without union labor. Their proposal includes provisions designed to ensure that employers remain neutral on employee efforts to organize unions.

State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, praised the proposal’s goal to save the jobs of 28,000 workers at nuclear plants around the state, including those in her district.

“The three nuclear power plants near my constituents employ thousands of workers directly and many, many more indirectly,” she said. “And without those plants, our state and our local communities would lose millions (of dollars) in tax revenue.”