This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” features Emily Pritzkow, executive director of the Wisconsin Building Trades Council.
The returning guest discusses a recent pledge from the state’s major utilities to use local union labor on clean energy projects in Wisconsin — something she describes as the first of its kind in the nation.
“What you’re seeing with the appearance of this pledge here in Wisconsin is kind of the fruit of seeds that have been planted through a number of ways,” she said. “We’re talking about a longstanding relationship between the state’s largest utilities with union labor … but also policies that have been enacted at the national and state level.”
The pledge involves Alliant Energy, Madison Gas & Electric, WEC Energy Group and Xcel Energy, which collectively pledged to “ensure that our renewable energy projects in Wisconsin employ local union workers and are built according to recognized, competitive labor standards.”
Pritzkow points to the “rapid expansion” of clean energy infrastructure in the state, noting labor groups are working to train workers for the jobs needed to facilitate that transition.
“We are putting people on as quickly as we possibly can,” she said. “If there’s any sector that can handle a tall order like this one, it is the unionized building trades … We are very good at training people, at giving them the skills they need.”
But she acknowledged the union workforce isn’t “immune” to the workforce challenges facing virtually every industry.
Still, Pritzkow touted the future impact of the pledge, noting “projects like these, when they’re done with local labor, reap benefits many times over to local communities and businesses.”
Listen to the podcast below, sponsored by UW-Madison:
