July 19, 2019 3:30 a.m.
On Thursday, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka unveiled the “Good Jobs for 21^st Century Energy Act”.
A release from Merkley called it “major new legislation to create good-paying jobs in the transition to clean energy”. The release said the bill will drive the creation of “good family-wage jobs” as the American clean energy, infrastructure, and technology expands, by giving credits to companies who build out the “new energy economy using strong pro-worker standards”, such as high-quality benefits, living wages and apprenticeship opportunities.
Merkley said as the world transitions to clean and renewable energy, “America has a huge opportunity to lead that transition and to create millions of jobs in the process”. He said that the country needs to make sure the jobs powering the economy for the next century are “good-paying family-wage jobs”.
Trumka said “this is the right bill at the right time to fight climate change”.
The release said companies that meet the standards put forth in the legislation would be eligible for additional tax incentives for their clean energy, manufacturing or energy efficiency projects.
A one page summary of the bill is at: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Good%20Jobs%20for%2021st%20Century%20Energy%20Act%201%20pager.pdf.