FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2025
Labor, Climate, and Elected Leaders Lay Out Plan for Climate Action that Delivers for Working People
Climate Week event panelists included John Podesta, U.S Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S Representative Nikki Budzinski, and Rhode Island AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley.
NEW YORK, NY – On Tuesday, September 23, Climate Jobs National Resource Center hosted prominent national leaders at SEIU 32BJ’s headquarters for a panel discussion, Facing Challenges, Seizing the Moment: A Climate Action Agenda for Working Families. The conversation, moderated by Heatmap News, laid out a vision for climate action that centers affordability and union jobs to meet the current political moment.
Too often, climate policy does not do enough to deliver for people where it matters most: at the kitchen table. In this time of rising costs and surging energy demand, we need a new, labor-led agenda: one that tackles climate action in a way that cuts costs and creates high-quality union jobs, so people feel the benefits in their bills, their paychecks, and their communities.
Patrick Crowley made news at the event, announcing that unions in Rhode Island and Massachusetts had just signed a first-of-its-kind Labor Peace Agreement with SouthCoast Wind to ensure labor protections for operations and maintenance workers on the 2.4 gigawatt project. This historic agreement is the first in the nation to reach beyond offshore wind construction jobs, marking a new step toward raising the quality of the permanent operations and maintenance jobs and ensuring these workers have a voice on the job and receive fair wages, healthcare, retirement security, safety protections, and rigorous training.
“The historic Labor Peace Agreement on SouthCoast Wind’s operations and maintenance work shows exactly how the clean energy industry can create good jobs for working families. This is the kind of climate policy we need nationwide – actions that tackle the climate crisis while lowering costs and creating good jobs for working families,” said Patrick Crowley, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and Co-Chair of Climate Jobs Rhode Island. “For climate policy to be durable and equitable, it needs to deliver for working people with good jobs and more affordable energy.”
The panelists also detailed how states can step up as climate leaders in this moment, and articulated where there is room for bold policy on climate action, jobs, and affordability. “Climate change is a defining crisis of our time, but it also offers an opportunity, necessitating us to build a massive clean energy industry from the ground up. Clean energy can be our pathway to hundreds of thousands of good union jobs, lower energy bills, and a fair economy that treats workers with dignity and makes life more affordable for all,” said John Podesta, Chair of the Center for American Progress, and Board Member of the Climate Jobs National Resource Center and Action Fund. “We must be clear-eyed that the current federal administration is not friendly to this vision, but there is work to be done by states and cities that want to seize the opportunity. Now, it’s more important than ever for states to take action and local labor unions to lead the way toward a clean energy economy that delivers for working people.”
“From rising insurance premiums to higher energy and grocery bills, workers and families across the country are already paying more because of climate-flation. The costs of inaction are only going to get worse, as climate change threatens an economic crisis that could dwarf the Great Recession. Smart, strategic investment in clean energy can stave off the worst economic harms and create American jobs, rather than surrendering our global leadership and ceding our economic future to China,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Ranking Member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) stated, “I’ve always said we need to get back to focusing on the issues that keep people up at night – and right now, that’s the high cost of living. We have an opportunity to take on this challenge while also confronting the climate crisis and creating good-paying, union jobs along the way. Today’s discussion focused on exactly that. It was an important step in our efforts to harness investments in clean energy to lower costs while delivering lasting benefits for families across the country.”
“Whether it’s a superstorm or a global pandemic, 32BJ members are there. As a union of essential workers, our members are the most impacted by climate change and other emergencies, but they are also committed, trained and ready to adapt to the needs of the day. From mobilizing to support New Yorkers displaced by Hurricane Sandy to leading the charge to cut carbon emissions in buildings across the city, 32BJ members are leading the way when it comes to environmental justice. Workers on the frontlines will continue to lead by this kind of example, building solidarity and fighting for climate solutions that have real impact for everyone’s lives. We’re proud to be working with Climate Jobs New York and the Climate Jobs National Resource Center to build a stronger, worker-led climate movement across the country at a time when now, more than ever, we need labor and workers to lead,” said Manny Pastreich, President, 32BJ SEIU.
“Today’s event showed there is a path forward on climate progress, and it must be forged for and by working people,” said Mike Fishman, President of the Climate Jobs National Resource Center and Action Fund. “Climate Jobs National Resource Center started with a simple proposition: that working people are facing two crises – climate change and inequality – and that to solve either, we must tackle both. The rationale for that idea has never been stronger – energy costs are skyrocketing, we’re falling behind on our climate targets, and rising inequality means that working people are rightly consumed with questions about paying bills and taking care of their families, not theoretical emissions reductions. This requires us to deliver climate progress that makes a real difference in people’s everyday lives. We heard many ideas today on how to do that, particularly via state-level action. With labor leading the charge, I have great hope that we can drive ambitious, new models for climate action that deliver real benefits for working people.”
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About Climate Jobs National Resource Center: The Climate Jobs National Resource Center (CJNRC) and Climate Jobs National Resource Center Action Fund (CJNRCAF) are labor-led organizations that work to educate workers about and advocate for climate policies that will build a clean energy economy at the scale science demands, create good union careers, and reverse racial and economic inequality.