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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: Green Economy Brings PA Job Security

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Wednesday, June 4, 2008   

Pittsburgh, PA – More than a half-million jobs in Pennsylvania could see growth or higher pay if the economy gets "greener," according to a new report from the Blue Green Alliance, a national strategic coalition of conservation and labor groups led by the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers union.

As Congress debates the future of the country's climate change policies this week, some argue that restricting greenhouse gases and mandating cleaner industry will lead to higher energy costs and, in turn, job loss. But Randy Francisco with the Blue Green Alliance of Pennsylvania says research done by economists shows just the opposite: more jobs and more money. The "green economy" jobs, he adds, would be available for employees of all skill levels.

"The lowest wage in Pennsylvania was about $12 an hour, and that's the lower end of the spectrum. These are jobs that pay good wages, that will put money in people's pockets."

Francisco points out that people who work for fossil fuel-related industries already have the skills to transition to green jobs, working in a variety of capacities that reach beyond traditional manufacturing.

"If you're an accountant working for a firm doing something for a business building solar panels, you've got a green job. If you're pouring steel to build the tower for the windmill, that's a green job."

The report also suggests that greater energy efficiency in businesses could lead to job security, as companies' overhead costs are trimmed. Critics of the report argue that it doesn't document jobs related to oil-based industries that could disappear.

The report is available online at www.bluegreenalliance.org.



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