US senator Edward Markey has written to several offshore wind developers calling for them to enter into project labour agreements (PLA) for all planned developments off Massachusetts and the larger east coast of the country.
The Democrat senator for Massachusetts wrote to Vineyard Wind, Orsted, Mayflower Wind and Equinor saying that a PLA would ensure that newly created jobs in the offshore wind industry are good-paying, safe and filled with a highly skilled local union workforce.
He said: “The introduction of offshore wind facilities off the coast of Massachusetts is poised to create tens of thousands of new jobs across the region
“All offshore wind projects off the coast of Massachusetts should enter into project labour agreements to make sure that local, highly skilled workers can have good-paying and safe jobs in this important new industry.
“Massachusetts labour unions stand ready to tackle the opportunities and challenges of projects like Vineyard Wind, and can train and develop the local workforce to meet the demands of the offshore wind industry.”
Markey is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and co-author of the Green New Deal resolution.
In June last year, Markey, together with Senators Tom Carper (Democrat-Delaware), Susan Collins (Republcan-Maine) and Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat-Rhode Island) introduced legislation to expand offshore wind educational and career training.
The legislation would direct the US Department of Energy to work with stakeholders to identify the offshore wind industry’s educational and career training needs before setting up a grant programme to address those needs.
Labour unions and institutions of higher education would be eligible for these grants.
Also last June, Markey and Whitehouse and Congressman Jim Langevin reintroduced legislation aimed at boosting the growth of offshore wind energy in the US by extending tax credits for the renewable energy industry through to 2025.