By Holly Mills
Missouri Sierra Club sent a delegation representing different regions of the state to the May 9-10th Blue Green Alliance Good Jobs Green Jobs conference in Detroit. Participants included Mike Diel from Macon, Ray Anderson from Auxvasse, Patricia Schuba from Labadie, Tom Kutscher from KC, John Hickey from St. Louis, and myself, from Springfield.
The conference brought together many different stakeholders from all over the Midwest including union workers, Sierra Club members, attorneys, citizens and students getting ready to enter the workforce. This gave us the unique opportunity to get one on one time with people who have successfully created a system where good jobs ARE green jobs.
During plenary sessions we heard from United Autoworkers President Bob King, Senator Stabenow, Congressman Dingell and many more. United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard said, "When I think about the way I grew up, I came to realize that the same people telling us you couldn't have jobs with good wages were the ones who said we couldn't have good jobs and a clean environment," said Gerard. "We can and must have both or neither."
Several of the workshops addressed the strategy and success of wind technology across the Midwest. There are several organizations including, P.E.A.R. (Pollin Energy and Retrofits), that provide funding, education and guarantees for multifaceted clean energy projects. Other workshops included women in the green workforce and social justice in the digital technology as applied to the green movement. These are only a few of the initiatives seen throughout the Midwest. I am excited to be a part of the movement in Missouri.