IBEW members are fighting legislation that will kill energy jobs, hike electricity costs, and endanger grid reliability.
On May 22, a budget bill that repeals tax credits that promote renewable energy projects passed the House of Representatives. Eliminating these tax credits threatens projects that have already put thousands of IBEW members to work.
The debate over the bill occurs just as the country is struggling to meet the skyrocketing demand for electricity. The gap is leading the Energy Information Administration to predict electricity bills will soon increase by 13 to 26 percent.
The day before the House bill passed, IBEW Secretary-Treasurer Paul Noble joined a call with nearly 100 business managers to ask them to oppose the bill. When the bill passed with two Republicans joining House Democrats to vote against it, IBEW’s campaign switched to the Senate.
Locals are encouraged to urge senators to restore the tax credits to the bill. The Government Affairs Department developed a toolkit for targeting senators in 13 key states. The toolkit includes letters, social media posts, requests for in-state meetings, and other grassroots materials to pressure senators to rewrite the bill so it includes the energy tax credits.
Since the Inflation Reduction Act passed three years ago, IBEW members have been in “very high demand as wind, solar, nuclear, and geothermals are seeing massive growth in every state,” said Government Affairs Director Dean Warsh.
But the bill could wipe out nearly 300,000 jobs and more than 280 solar and storage projects across the U.S., said the Solar Energy Industries Association.
“Repealing these tax credits will take energy away from industries that desperately need it,” Warsh said. “Just the threat of cutting these credits is already taking jobs from IBEW members.”
The energy tax credits are tied to prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. Cutting them means halting projects that create good union jobs.
Milwaukee, Wis., Local 494 business manager John Jacobs said the state depends on the union jobs the renewable industry provides.
“The tax credits are an investment in America and Americans,” he said. “These job losses lead to economic instability for families. People’s livelihoods are at stake. This would be a setback for our country’s future.”
Four Republican senators agree. They wrote a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Thune to restore the incentives.
“While we support fiscal responsibility and efforts to streamline the tax code, we caution against the full-scale repeal of current credits, which could lead to disruptions for the American people and weaken our position as a global energy leader,” they wrote.
Senate leaders said they want to pass a bill by July 4. Due to their thin majority, Republicans cannot lose more than four supporters.
