| Work Detail |
An official of a U.S. union whose members work in construction and maintenance said the union supports a moratorium on tariffs on certain imported solar panels as domestic panel production increases to preserve opportunities in construction and installation. of solar energy.
Two-thirds of jobs in the solar industry are in construction and installation, compared to 13% in manufacturing, a union leader said in a webinar hosted by the American Clean Energy Association (ACP).
“Were a little concerned that the tail of manufacturing may wag the dog, said Jeff Soth, legislative and political director of the International Union of Operating Engineers, referring to his unions support for a moratorium on tariffs for solar panels that support national solar energy manufacturing. “We have adopted the ACP stance,” he said.
For his part, Bill Parsons, senior vice president and political director of American Clean Power (ACP), said that Soth had “articulated a really important principle, which I think our member companies would subscribe to, which is a very strong desire and commitment to offshoring.” as much of the supply chain as we can, as quickly as we can, consistent with the rollout.”
“If you cut off” the supply of foreign solar panels “too quickly,” Parsons said, “you havent really helped anything. You have only slowed down construction work and the benefits for the network and for the economy.” Parsons said companies face a dilemma, “the choice to buy things that dont exist yet.”
Two-thirds of exploitation engineers work in construction, Soth said, typically operating equipment such as cranes and backhoes, while one-third are maintenance engineers. Operational engineers work in all energy industries, he added.
Union support for projects
Regarding the possibility of unions supporting new projects, Brad Markell, director of Clean Energy Labor Advisors, said that “you see some opposition” to both utility-scale solar projects and of transmission. However, “local unions, which are everywhere, are a key place for local participation,” he said. Unions can provide added value “from the beginning of community participation, because their members live in those communities and, once they understand that there is a potential project in their area that they would like to work on, they become advocates.”
Soth explained that three unions had responded to a petition from the solar industry, which led to a tripartite agreement between unions representing “the three trades essential to building solar generation,” namely operating engineers, electricians and laborers. “Were in the business of meeting the needs of property owners and developers,” he said, “and they demanded, frankly, a streamlined project labor agreement with the three essential trades, and thats what we gave them.”
Wages, learning
“The skills and productivity” of union members, Soth said, give the union “a competitive advantage and, frankly, allow us to impose at the bargaining table the type of wages and benefits our workers receive.”
Noting that the prevailing wage requirement is a condition of receiving energy tax credits, Soth said the requirement “provides some support for our role in the workplace and ensures that the green jobs of the future are, in fact, good jobs.” The clean energy industries have had difficulty, she said, “in being able to demonstrate that these are jobs that support families, particularly in the solar industry, historically, and that is a function of residential deployment, of small projects.”
Noting that women make up less than 25% of construction workers, Soth said her union is “doing everything we can” to recruit women and people of color into the trade, including marketing apprenticeships to high school students. The union of operating engineers offers training and apprenticeship programmes.
“Apprenticeship is the main route into the machinist profession,” Soth said, adding that apprenticeship is “the best kept secret in vocational training.” He suggested it would be worthwhile for the government to invest in apprenticeship training, for example by giving young people “an introduction to the variety of craft unions that exist and the opportunities there are in the construction business.” |
