New Mexico is experiencing a green job boom with over $15 billion in large-scale clean power generation investment through 2030- but we need those jobs to be good union jobs and a pipeline that makes them accessible to young workers of color and women.
The green energy transition presents an incredible opportunity for us to bring good union jobs to our communities. Over the next several years there will be thousands of new jobs being created to build transmission lines, maintain green energy projects, and to manufacture needed green energy products such as semiconductors and solar panels. This investment will launch us into the green economy with transformative workforce development opportunities to create a new generation of skilled workers to lead the way and build generational wealth for communities of color and Native communities in the heart of the fossil fuel industry.
It’s up to us to make sure these jobs are quality jobs and that they reach our communities where we know they are needed.
With our collective power, we can work with state and local governments to strengthen their worker standards and have strong enforcement through project labor agreements. Getting these jobs is only the first step, we need to make sure that our neighbors working these jobs have sufficient protections so their bosses can’t take advantage of them - the kind of protections offered by good union jobs. We want everyone to be included: young workers, indigenous workers, BIPOC workers, and veteran workers who are looking to reskill - because we all deserve good jobs and a clean future.
Together we can make sure New Mexico is at the forefront of our clean energy future, build a reliable energy grid to lower rates, keep our lights on,create economic opportunity, and become a truly climate resilient nation.