Above: LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan, Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope, workers and neighborhood residents talk weatherization
I’ve told you before about how the labor and environmental movements have been working together to create good green jobs weatherizing homes and buildings to maximize their energy efficiency.
This week members of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) demonstrated the power of that collaboration -- by weatherizing a the home of a Washington, D.C. family for free.
Find out how weatherization benefits everybody, after the jump...
What are the benefits of weatherization? Ask D.C. homeowner Amy Vruno:
“It’s incredibly drafty. I mean even when you have the heat full up, you have to put a couple of sweaters on, a couple pairs of socks,” said homeowner Amy Vruno.
In the winter, Vruno’s monthly gas bill adds up to at least $350. “And sometimes we use space heaters as well. That’s just $350 for gas, but there’s additional for space heater electricity.”…
Or ask the workers who pitched in to weatherize Vruno's home:
The union is [weatherizing Vruno’s home] to highlight green jobs and the need for green jobs training. “Basically I can get the skills that I need to provide for my family and loved ones,” said worker Novl Hinton.
Now that he’s trained, Hinton can earn $14 to $25 an hour weatherizing homes. “I enjoyed it. I’m going to make a career out of it.”
Or ask the president of their union:
Union officials estimate there are about 100 million poorly insulated homes in America and by weatherizing just one home, that could save the homeowner an average of $350 per year.
“That’s 3.5 billion dollars that stays in homeowners pockets,” said LIUNA general president Terry O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan says he’s offering a green jobs training program to every mayor and governor in the country. “There simply aren’t the contractors or trained man power to get the job done.”
What would a national weatherization movement mean? It would mean homeowners getting smaller heating bills; workers getting good jobs and a shot at the American Dream; America getting less dependent on foreign energy; and the environment getting cleaner.
That’s a movement everyone can get behind.
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