GWA in the News, in DC and in the Field!

GWA has been very active in recent weeks! GWA member and wind tech Joe Zimsen was featured in a CNN article today about the impact of the Trump administration's assault on the wind industry. Joe highlighted the risks posed to this growing workforce and the importance of his work building offshore wind projects. “It’s extremely frustrating. It feels like the rug can get pulled out from under our feet at basically any moment. The president has a vendetta against wind. The industry is being singled out,” Zimsen said.

We also defended renewable energy jobs in D.C. GWA member and wind tech Jonathan Powell joined over 70 members and allies of the national group People's Action to advocate for the Inflation Reduction Act and oppose cuts to critical social programs. "I was inspired by how many people showed up to do the same, as well as call and email Congress members," Jonathan said. "I met with three Congress members from Maine along with two others from our group. They all listened to our stories, and even the Republican Senator opposed stripping programs like Medicaid. However, she still voted for the recent budget proposal after assuring People's Action lobbyists that she would not. It's tough most days, but I still have hope that they will keep their word to support the programs we pay for as the funding negotiations continue."

Jonathan also joined Representative Rashida Tlaib at a rally at the offices of the American Gas Association, where he demanded it support the transition to renewable energy. "I love my job not only because it suits my strengths but because I get to provide access to cheaper, cleaner electricity to people all over the country by making sure these machines run and run well. Many of my coworkers over the years faced hardship as opportunities in the oil and gas industry dwindled. They were able to pull themselves out of it by transitioning to wind and solar, faster-growing energy sectors with no cost fuel sources," Jonathan said, ending with the call, "We need to stop sending billions of dollars of taxpayer money to utilities to keep oil and gas on life support. American Gas Association: support renewable energy now!"

And finally, we traveled the length of Texas visiting renewable energy sites after our national meeting in Houston. From Alice and Corpus Christi to Dallas, and on to Snyder, organizers Nico Ries and Maria Garza visited with GWA leaders and other renewable energy workers. A highlight of the tour was when they spoke with dozens of workers at a solar job fair in the tiny West Texas town of Denver City. Some workers traveled over eight hours for job interviews there. In Spanish and English, they took time in the freezing cold to speak with Maria and Nico, as we spread the word about the work GWA is doing to improve conditions in the renewable field.

These are challenging times, but renewable energy workers are coming together to chart a better future. We are proud that GWA is helping lead that fight.

GWA Rockets into Houston 🚀

GWA’s fourth national meeting, held last week in Houston, was a great success! Fourteen GWA leaders convened for two days to review our progress in 2024 and plan for 2025, hear from government officials and allies, and learn about the history of worker organizing in America’s fourth-largest city.

One of the highlights was our conversation with the OSHA directors for the Houston region. Members had numerous questions for the directors about safety in wind and solar, and the OSHA staff provided valuable feedback on how we can address safety issues in the field. This sparked spirited discussions among GWA leaders about the best ways to campaign for improved conditions.

We always make a point of learning about past and present organizing in the city where we meet. We heard from local allies Amy Zachmeyer of NEW Houston and Ginny Goldman of Organizing Resilience. We also learned about the Houston janitors’ organizing campaign from GWA organizer Maria Garza, who worked on the effort, and toured several downtown sites where they organized.

We also discussed our 2025 campaigns, such as our effort to save the Inflation Reduction Act. Because we know the importance of renewable workers’ personal stories when we talk to politicians and the press, members wrote their “story of self,” which we will use in our upcoming lobby visits and public outreach on the issue.

Members came from all over the country, including Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, New York and Tennessee. This was the first national meeting for some, while others attended prior meetings in DC, Atlanta, and Chicago. One of the most gratifying aspects of these events is the opportunity for GWA leaders and staff to spend time together. We enjoyed some of that over Tex-Mex, barbecue, po-boys, and Shipley’s Donuts (a personal favorite from my time as an organizer in Houston 😉). We were joined by other GWA members in town and allies from groups like the Texas Campaign for the Environment.

Ford Foundation Highlights the Work of GWA

We are excited to present the Ford Foundation's article highlighting the efforts of GWA to enhance conditions in the renewable energy sector. The article features solar worker and GWA activist DaShawn Beaulieu, along with other inspiring leaders from four grantees, who are employing innovative strategies to organize workers in temporary and similarly precarious jobs.

DaShawn spoke about the problems of the employment model in his field. “There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity within solar, but it’s very rough work, and there’s always a threat of imminent danger. It’s a free-for-all with no protection; if someone gets injured at work, there’s nobody to call... To eliminate a bunch of that liability, the companies always go through a temp agency.” I was also quoted in the piece, laying out the stark choice facing this industry: “There are two paths forward. There’s continuing on this race-to-the-bottom path, where work in this industry and others is being done by folks who are taken advantage of as long as the companies can get away with it. And the other path is to come up with a high-road model: helping people with issues on the job, building worker power. That’s the start to transforming this industry.” And that is precisely what GWA is doing!

We are grateful for the Ford Foundation's support and leadership on these issues and excited to learn from the efforts of the Model Alliance, Grassroots Law & Organizing for Workers (GLOW), Worker’s Justice Project, and For the Many, all of which were featured in the article.