Energy Action Northwest proudly participated in a rally on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol Building in Salem on Wednesday, February 10. This critical event was sponsored by the Oregon AFL-CIO and the Columbia-Pacific Building Trades Council.

The rally aimed to galvanize attention on job creation bills now before the Special Session of the Oregon State Legislature. We must join together to show our legislators that family wage Oregon jobs NOW are a priority for all Oregonians.

Until a flaw in state permitting regulation is corrected, critical infrastructure projects such as roads, sewers, electricity lines and utility pipelines are unreasonably burdened in the critically important early stages of the permitting process. This creates needless delays in project implementation and significant delay in job creation that is so desperately needed to revive Oregon's economy.

Energy Action Northwest supported the labor rally for two reasons:

1)     To support urgently needed job growth in Oregon
2)     To help correct disinformation from certain fringe environmental groups and NIMBYs opposing new infrastructure projects that SB1020 is intended to limit property rights.

Jobs NOW!

Energy Action Northwest knows it takes energy to create jobs.

With the Northwest’s unemployment rates at historic highs, Energy Action asks a simple question:

Where will the jobs come from? 

Fortunately, our business and labor coalition can answer the question just as well as ask it.  Politicians and talk-show hosts talk and talk – and talk – about the need “to do something big.” 

How about this: The energy-infrastructure projects currently working through accepted channels toward approval will employ hundreds of Oregonians and Washingtonians and thousands more as part of a ripple effect. Ready to roll within months, these projects will put people back to work immediately, act as an engine for economic development and move us toward the environmentally responsible energy future we all want. 

What kinds of energy infrastructure projects do we need to meet our future needs? According to every available projection, we need all of them. Wind. Solar. Natural gas. All of them. And each one will put hundreds more of our citizens to work in family-wage jobs.       

Energy Action’s job is simple.     

We’re here to send this message loud and clear all over the Northwest. To educate the public about what a clean energy future really means. To balance the arguments of opponents who prefer to do nothing. To make it clear to our legislators that the solution – the ‘something big” they seek – is right in our backyard.

Your job is simple, too.    

Amplify our voice by joining Energy Action Northwest. Support our efforts to create more jobs. You’ll find the membership fee to be minimal, but the payoff enormous. Click here to join now. 

News NOW!

To read the latest issue of our e-newsletter or subscribe to our e-mail list, click here. 

SIGN OUR PETITION! Become an official supporter of Energy Action's mission and guiding principles.