Groups Call on AFL-CIO to Support Green New Deal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter sent to the authors of a joint resolution, one-fifth of the unions that make up the AFL-CIO energy committee commented on the Green New Deal. The letter was made public Tuesday.

In response to the letter, Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement:

The AFL-CIO’s energy committee is out of touch with the present, not to mention the future, of energy in America. Friends of the Earth believes in creating well-paying union jobs for the future and investing in just transitions for workers that will be displaced as we phase out fossil fuels.

America cannot build a livable future on the coal, natural gas and oil that have already destroyed our communities. We need a Green New Deal that will protect our climate and provide sustainable jobs.   

Avoiding climate catastrophe means there is no room for natural gas or dangerous and expensive ideas like carbon capture and sequestration and nuclear energy. With the energy committee’s position, the AFL joins climate deniers like the Koch brothers, the Republican Party and Big Oil. We encourage the AFL and other unions within it to rethink this position

Communications contact: Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]