Testimony of Dean Hubbard 

Director, Sierra Club Labor Program 

EPA Public Hearing on the Clean Power Plan 

Tuesday, July 29, 2014 

EPA Headquarters, William Jefferson Clinton East Building, 

1201 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 

Good afternoon. My name is Dean Hubbard, and I'm the Director of the Sierra Club Labor 

Program. I've spent nearly three decades in the labor movement as a union organizer, lawyer and 

educator. 

During these hearings, some people are arguing for protecting the environment, while some 

people are arguing for good jobs. These two things are not in conflict—the Clean Power Plan 

lets us support both. 

From a union perspective, the Clean Power Plan presents a tremendous organizing opportunity to 

create good, family-sustaining jobs in every state of the nation. That's because the EPA has 

structured the plan to give states enough time to comply in a way best suited for their local 

economies, meaning they can create their own plans to protect existing jobs and spur the creation 

of new ones, all while reducing pollution. In fact, states have unti12015 to put a plan in place, 

until between 2020 and 2029 to meet reduction goals, and until 2030 to meet final targets, 

meaning they have plenty of time to make adjustments to accommodate local needs. 

We should use the next two years to come together, talk through our differences, and find 

common ground to get this done in the best way possible. That's because the Clean Power Plan 

is not about "jobs vs. the environment"-- It gives us a chance to work together to create good 

jobs in healthy communities on a living planet, as we protect workers and communities affected 

by America's transition to clean energy. 

Under the Plan, the tools states can use include increasing renewable energy sources, and 

increasing energy efficiency. Renewable energy and energy efficiency investments create far 

more jobs per dollar spent than fossil fuels -- including natural gas. Specifically, a clean-energy 

investment agenda generates more than 3 times the number of jobs in the United States as does 

spending the same amount of money in the fossil fuel sectors, including the natural gas sector. I 

Even better, median salaries for clean jobs are nearly $8,000 higher than wages across the 

broader economy. 2And, the clean energy sector is growing at a rate nearly double the growth 

rate of the overall economy. 3If done properly, retooling our economy for clean energy –which 

the Clean Power Plan will help do -- will lead to a massive expansion of good jobs 

We know the market alone will not protect workers or create a fair and just clean energy 

economy. That is why the Sierra Club and our partners support a strong and just Clean Power 
Plan. That means we are asking the EPA and all relevant federal and state agencies to work 

with us to ensure that 

Workers and communities affected by the phasing out of fossil fuels are treated fairly and 

justly; 

The jobs the Plan creates are family-sustaining union jobs; 

Disadvantaged communities receive equitable access to clean energy-related economic 

opportunities; and 

Clean energy is affordable. 

Most of all, the labor and environmental movements need to continue working together, and 

refuse to be divided by their common opponents. Beyond some unions that have legitimate 

concerns about their members, the attacks on the Clean Power Plan are coming from the same 

anti-union corporate polluters that have sought to destroy the labor movement and fought any 

attempt to address global climate disruption for decades. 

In the last few years, climate disruption contributed to damaging floods, widespread wildfires, 

record drought, and Superstorm Sandy, which together cost Americans hundreds of lives, 

thousands of jobs, and hundreds of billions of dollars. We can't afford to wait any longer to act. 

For the well-being of America's workers, for the nation's economy, and for the health of our 

planet, now is the time for the labor and environmental movements to come together for a Plan 

that dramatically reduces pollution from America's power plants, increases good jobs, and 

reduces the threat of climate disruption. 

' Robert Pollin, James Heintz, and Heidi Garrett-Peltier, "Clean Energy Investments for the U.S. Economy," 

discussion paper for 3/22/10 Surdna Foundation Conference, Table 2, "Total Employment Creation through 

Alternative Energy Sources: Direct, Indirect, and Induced Effects for $1 Million in Spending." Available online at 

http://www.peri.uniass.edu/flleadiiiin/pdf/coiiference papers/Surdna/Pol l in-Heintz-GarrettPeltier paper for Surdna Conf---3-16-IO.pdff , 

ZAdam James, Fact Sheet: 6 Things You Should Know About the Value of Renewable Energy, Climate Progress 

(2012). Available online athttp://tliinkpro:;ress.orgJclimate/2012/03/28/453122/fact-slieet-6-things-you-shouldkn ow-about-the-val ue-of-renewab le-enerw/ . 

3Muro, Rothwell and Saha, Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment, 

Brookings Institution (2011). Available online at http://www.brookings.edtuJresearch/reports/2011/07/13-cleaneconomv. 

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