Necessary, welcome or dreaded? Insights on low-carbon transitions from unionized energy workers in the United States

Abstract

The Green New Deal resolution in 2019 focused the United States on the need to quickly phase out fossil fuel use. Unionized energy workers, important actors in low-carbon energy transition, are theorized as being concerned about the environment and much affected by the energy transition, but US energy workers are understudied and their concerns and needs are not well understood. In this study, part of a larger project on labor and energy, we focus on in-depth interviews conducted in 2019 and 2020 with 48 labor union members and leaders in varied occupations from eight national unions located in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Energy workers' views on climate change were varied, but contrary to stereotypes about blue-collar workers “climate skeptic” views were held by only a few. Despite political polarization in the US, energy workers' political identity did not seem to be as important regarding what type of energy system they thought the US should adopt. Energy workers' views on how they would be affected by low-carbon energy transition varied according to the degree to which their skills were a good match for skills needed in renewable energy industries and whether their bargaining power was enhanced or disempowered by conditions in renewable energy industries. Our findings emphasize the need for the Multi-Level Perspective to incorporate a way to examine power relations in renewable energy industries. We argue that the needs and opinions of these workers should be central to deliberations and planning for energy transition in the U.S.