Massachusetts labor leaders say the state can meet its ambitious climate goals while creating quality jobs in communities facing the greatest threats from climate change.

A new report details how investments in electric rail networks, renewable energy and high-efficiency buildings can reduce emissions and help build a diverse, equitable workforce.

Ryan Murphy, executive director of Climate Jobs Massachusetts, said those most at risk of sea level rise or worsening air quality should benefit from the jobs the projects will bring.

"We have a real opportunity to create thousands and thousands of great careers," Murphy pointed out. "That not only benefit the environment and fight climate change, but also helps reduce inequality."

Murphy noted energy jobs have long provided strong wages, health care and pension plans, and argued the green jobs of the future should do the same. The state aims to cut its emissions in half by 2030, with a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The state's energy transition will require a steady pipeline of highly trained construction workers, electricians, plumbers and more. Murphy suggested the state should boost investments in quality pre-apprenticeship programs and increase spending on outreach services to help low-income workers gain better access to union jobs.

He emphasized ensuring strong labor standards and contractor agreements to support apprenticeships on state-funded projects will help build equity.

"The more that we can invest in this infrastructure -- making sure that money is going back into Massachusetts communities -- that's, to me, where the largest investment would be most critical," Murphy stressed.

Murphy added it is important for the state to support workers displaced by the clean energy transition. The report suggested the creation of an apprenticeship program fund to train fossil fuel workers in alternative energy careers, while clean energy employers hiring the workers could receive tax credits as incentives.

Low-wage workers in Pennsylvania haven't seen a minimum-wage increase in more than a decade, but a new bill with bipartisan support would change that.

The Raise the Wage Act of 2025, introduced in both chambers of Congress on April 8, aims to gradually raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 per hour by 2030.

Andrea Grove, owner of Elementary Coffee Co. in Harrisburg, said the change would lead to bigger paychecks and boost the economy.

"There has been a lot of movement, a lot of momentum, a lot of bills presented to hopefully get the minimum wage increased, even just incrementally," she said, "and I would really love to see this actually go through this time."

An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute finds that increasing the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2030 would affect one million workers in Pennsylvania and more than 22 million workers nationwide.

Grove said she works with a lot of small and micro-businesses, with most already paying more than the federal minimum wage. She said the minimum wage remaining low results in employers paying less.

"Nine dollars an hour isn't even very good for minimum wage at this point in time," she said, "and if you look at the increase in rising costs and just what it takes for just to live, that's not keeping up, and that's not keeping pace with what just the average person needs to work a 40 hour work week and be able to provide for themselves."

The Pennsylvania House already passed House Bill 1500, which would raise the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. The idea has bipartisan support but the Senate has not yet acted on a similar bill.

Nebraska lawmakers have reached a compromise on a measure to roll back a minimum wage increase but labor group advocates said the deal goes against the will of voters.

Nebraskans approved a measure in 2022 to incrementally raise the minimum wage from $9 an hour to $15 by the beginning of 2026. But Legislative Bill 258, sponsored by longtime grocery store chain owner, Sen. Jane Raybould, D-Lincoln, would reduce the increases to fall below the cost of living.

Now, lawmakers have reached a percentage-based compromise, which still limits wage increases.

Jodi Lepaopao, field director for the advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed, said the deal falls short of what Nebraskans voted for three years ago.

"We are a thumbs down on the compromise," Lepaopao stressed. "We want to be sure that we are upholding the will of the voters and the legislature does that."

Supporters of the compromise said it minimizes financial risk over time and offer as evidence data from the Midwest Bureau of Labor Statistics showing a fixed annual increase would be superior to tying increases to annual cost of living adjustments, which is the approach the current takes.

Lepaopao added the 2022 voter-approved measure was designed to help Nebraskans who most need the wage increase.

"This was to ensure that they were able to continue to meet their needs as costs continue to rise," Lepaopao explained. "This was for the rural workers in smaller communities so they don't lose their purchasing power."

The bill would also create a minimum a $13.50 hourly wage for 14- and 15-year-olds.


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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to cut a cut a majority of jobs at the federal agency responsible for worker health and safety is seen as a direct attack on Kentucky workers by labor unions in the state.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health could be trimmed from around 1,400 employees to fewer than 150. At the state level, House Bill 398 would also have dismantled Kentucky's worker protection standards and requirements.

Dustin Reinstedler, president of the Kentucky AFL-CIO, said similar proposals down the road are now more concerning.

"To think that Kentucky was supposed to fall back on the federal OSHA guidelines, and to think that it's under attack now, it's pretty alarming," Reinstedler stressed.

The federal cuts are expected to include the agency's 9/11 firefighter program, also known as the World Trade Center Health Program. The American Industrial Hygiene Association, the AFL-CIO and Laborers' International Union of North America have all launched campaigns to urge the feds to restore the agency's staff and funding.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reinstedler explained Kentucky relies on its data, research and recommendations to protect workers. He cited personal protective equipment, respirators, and HEPA vacuum systems as standards the agency set to protect workers from silica exposure.

"Myself, as a bricklayer, any time that you're cutting masonry or anything, or cutting concrete, you're throwing up silica into the air," Reinstedler pointed out. "There are guidelines against that."

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health scientists also study Black Lung disease, which affects an estimated 20% of coal miners in Central Appalachia. The agency's mine safety research is regularly used by coal country's key regulatory agency, the Mine Safety and Health Administration.


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