Achievements and hopes celebrated at state building trades gathering

 

More that 110 people at the Joint Statewide Building and Construction Trades Council meeting June 8 showed cautious optimism about the future – a feeling bolstered by a series of elected officials who’ve championed worker-friendly initiatives.

The biggest news – at least, the biggest potential for union jobs – came in a presentation by GreneLily Energy & Water and the Renewable Energy Alliance, which outlined a current project, a second plant in development, and the possible need for hundreds of union workers.

“The [state’s] proposed carbon-capture [process] would sequester, which is a total waste,” said GreneLily Business Development head Debra Wold. “Instead, we will capture CO2 and turn it into diesel fuel.”

Active in Aurora, Naperville and Winnebago County, the alliance and GreneLily are building a renewable gas power plant to do that. In the planning stage is a nearby Green Waste-to-Renewable Energy plant to transform 400,000 metric tons of wastes into diesel and jet fuel.

Similar projects are active in Europe, and GreneLily wants to build throughout the western hemisphere, Wold said. In the Midwest, the alliance expects to bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the region’s economy, and will need between 900 and 1,200 workers to build the projects, which will create up to 400 permanent jobs.

A daughter of an Iron Worker, Wold said the jobs will be union.

Briefly adding to Wold’s comments was Laborers activist and retiree Tom Delsanto, who said, “This isn’t a ‘concept.’ This is a fact; this works.

“We could have 40 plants just in Illinois,” he said. “It’s a good thing, and good for our members.”

Other labor leaders and allies speaking at the day-long gathering at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 137 hall offered updates on progress and developments throughout the state affecting unions and everyday working people. Reports included:

* Remarking about the Prevailing Wage law, Mike Macellaio, from the Chicago/Cook County Building & Construction Trades and the Illlnois Prevailing Wage Council, said, “Illinois is the only state in the nation to have such a strong law.”

* Illinois Department of Labor Director Jane Flanagan reported that IDOL is refining its records to enable people to download unredacted certified payroll records through Freedom of Information requests, and noted that Illinois OSHA is now offering free on-site safety consultations separate from enforcement work.

* Climate Jobs Illinois staffers Chynna Hampton and Mia Korinke spoke, with Hampton explaining outreach efforts to community organizations to help with workforce development, especially eliminating barriers that job candidates may face to get in to long-term careers. She also announced a June 30 Zoom meeting about union jobs in clean energy. (Email Hampton at champton@afl-cio.org for access information.)

Korinke focused on clean energy in schools. Already working in pilot projects with districts in East St. Louis, Harvey and Thornton, the program addresses “outdated, inefficient school buildings,” she said, in three main ways: energy audits, assisting administrators with renewable energy credit opportunities for solar energy, and switching to electric buses – “all while promoting labor standards.”

* Illinois AFL-CIO Political Director Bill Looby reported that work on the June 28 primary election included 100,000 pieces sent to 34 [state] districts, “plus digital,” and for the November election, the federation is concentrating on voter registration (“We need to maximize our effort to get members registered and voting”); and targeting 20 counties where 85% of Illinois unionists live, including Peoria, McLean and Tazewell in central Illinois. Also, the state AFL-CIO will be offering assistance for union groups to mail area union members, paying for printing of approved content, so Locals pay only for bulk-mail rates.

* State AFL-CIO Legislative Director Magda Derisma applauded the passage of several measures in Springfield, notably House Bill 5412, which fights wage theft by ensuring that all workers are paid what’s owed them for work they do on construction projects, and commented that there will be an outreach program for “tips of violations.” Also, lobbying continues for the Offshore Wind Pilot Program and the Hazardous Materials Workforce Training Act.

* Andy Drea, an aide to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (who was isolating after a positive test for COVID), said six lawyers and two professionals now work on workers rights issues, and the AG has successful litigated antitrust violations concerning temp agencies and supported the successful claim that some Southwest Airlines workers are exempt from federal arbitration mandates.

* U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s Illinois state director Cameron Joost Stevens praised the first-term senator, who backs workers rights and is now working on attempts to address price-gouging, which contributes to inflation. Duckworth is running for her second term, Stevens added, “and we’re not taking anything for granted.”

* Democrat Nikki Budzinski, candidate for the 13th Congressional District, reminded the crowd that she was instrumental in Illinois restoring Project Labor Agreements on state projects, on raising the state;s minimum wage, and on the capital bill. She thanked the building trades for backing her so “we can finally flip this seat to union blue.”

* Samantha McClain, State Director for “Vote Yes for Workers Rights” said organizers anticipate big-money attack ads against the Workers Rights constitutional amendment on the November ballot. (Days later, Politico reported that Vote Yes for Workers Rights already is getting donations – some $4.7 million from unions and labor allies.) AFL-CIO president Tim Drea interjected, “We’re going to win this with hard work.”

Asked about opponents tying workers rights to indicted ex-Speaker Mike Madigan, the group suggests responding that “the amendment holds politicians – Democrats and Republicans – accountable, and an amendment stops them from going after workers. Politicians caused the state’s fiscal problems, not workers.”

* Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza said she was happy to “stand up to Bruce Rauner. My goal was to beat him up, kick him out and fix things. We’ve made amazing progress,” she continued. “Under Rauner, Illinois had eight consecutive credit downgrades. Now we’ve had six straight credit upgrades. We did have  $16.7 billion backlog of unpaid bills; that’s gone. Now we pay our bills on time – and that happened before we received a penny from the [federal] American Rescue Plan. We’re preparing not for surviving, but for thriving.”

* following Mendoza’s upbeat and fiery remarks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker was subdued and warm, commenting, “I came here to thank you. In the earliest moments [of the pandemic], we made it clear: You are essential.

“It hasn’t been an easy couple of years, but many Illinoisans are safe and healthy and alive, whether leaders of a household or a Local,” he contined. “And we had to reverse the damage from Rauner’s anti-worker agenda. Now, the state is up and running, even during this challenging time. Springfield is back on the side of working people – the backbone of the middle class.

“We have a $45 billion capital bill, $17 billion more coming from Washington, and we’re building 4,000 miles of roads and 400 bridges,” he added. “Illinois now has 13 million people, according to the Census – we’re growing, and we have to think of every single one of them. We have about 200 Project Labor Agreements, the first in the nation – three times all the states combined. And we need the Workers Rights Amendment. We can’t go backward. If Illinois again ends up with a governor who doesn’t care about workers, workers rights will be in the constitution.

“With me, you’ll always have an ally in the governor’s office,” he concluded. “It’s been my honor to be your partner.”