FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2009
CONTACT:
Brian Kennedy (202) 346-8826
Chris Tucker (202) 346-8825

Labor Unions Say “Green Jobs” Don’t Pay

“Green Job” Subsidy Supporters Face Opposition from Traditional Allies

Washington, D.C. –Institute for Energy Research (IER) president Thomas J. Pyle released the following statement today marking “Green Jobs Advocacy Day” in Washington, an event organized to push massive government intervention in the energy sector in the name of creating jobs–even as Senator Stabenow (D-MI) and Representative Inslee (D-WA) issued a report this week showing the poor quality of green jobs already in existence:

It’s hard to make a case for quality green jobs on the same day your own allies admit there’s no such thing. The Stabenow-Inslee Report admits that the President’s heavily touted green jobs will be low-paying and below union leader’s expected standards. If the green job advocates on Capitol Hill today really want energy independence and to create long-lasting, high-paying, high-quality private sector jobs, they would urge Congress to support responsible development of America’s homegrown energy resources—not a $1 trillion boondoggle. When even big labor says that not every ‘green’ job is a good job, you know it’s time reevaluate your plan.

IER economist Robert Murphy today blogged on the faulty economics behind the Obama green jobs plan, citing the Stabenow-Inslee report. You can also access IER’s Green Jobs, Fact or Fiction report here.

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the well-being of individuals and society.

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www.InstituteforEnergyResearch.org