Jeff Rickert, Field Director for the Apollo Alliance, presented attendees of the Union Label Educational Conference held April 30 in Portland, Oregon with a Ten Point Plan for America’s Energy Independence.  Endorsed by the AFL-CIO AND 23 International Labor Unions, including the UAW, the coalition hopes to achieve energy independence while promoting union jobs and products.

The Apollo Alliance is developing Education Campaigns and Communication Strategies to link allies and build a new national constituency for a bold, broad-based, and immediate program of public policy to this end.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy inspired Americans to pursue a goal that seemed beyond our reach:  To land a man on the moon within a decade.  Eight years later, Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface – proof we can succeed when we apply our expertise, innovation, and can-do spirit to a single national endeavor.

Now the U.S. has an Apollo Project for the 21^st Century.  Our challenge is to realize energy self-sufficiency in one generation.  A Ten Point Plan, outlined below, will bring our country together to rethink and reshape our energy future, create a stronger economy, a safer world, and a cleaner environment.  The coalition’s goal of energy independence by 2015 can be attained by:

1.      Promoting advanced technology and hybrid cars

2.      Investing in more efficient factories

3.      Encouraging high-performance building

4.      Increasing use of energy-efficient appliances

5.      Modernizing electrical infrastructure

6.      Expanding renewable energy development

7.      Improving transportation options

1.      Reinvesting in smart urban growth

2.      Planning for a hydrogen future

3.      Preserving regulatory protections

The U.S. has less than 3% of the world’s oil reserves, but accounts for more than 25% of global demand.  Approximately 2.7 million private sector jobs have been lost since January 2001, and more than 75% of those have been high-wage, high productivity manufacturing jobs.  Energy-efficient building and appliances have higher labor content than traditional technologies, replacing wasted energy with high-skill jobs.

The new Apollo Project will pay huge dividends: 

·        Millions of high-value-added jobs

·        Lower utility bills

·        Increase productivity and competitiveness

·        Cleaner air and water, and

·        Improve public health

·        It will produce substantial energy cost savings across the economy and dramatically reduce our oil imports.

Unlike tax cuts that reward those least in need, or offshore tax havens that siphon investment capital overseas, an aggressive plan will directly channel money to the purchase of durable goods, creating well over 3 million high-wage jobs.  Apollo will go beyond reducing our dependence on oil; it will also rejuvenate our economy.  We must do it – not because it is easy, but because it is hard and necessary.

P.J. Storm

Union Label Committee