DETROIT, MI (May 11, 2012) Senator Debbie Stabenow and Congressman John Dingell today received the 2012 Green Jobs Champion Award today at the 2012 Good Jobs, Green Jobs Midwest Conference. The two-day conference brought together business, environmental, labor, nonprofit and elected leaders from across the Midwest to discuss getting Americans to work in good, green jobs.

“Senator Debbie Stabenow and Congressman John Dingell are champions of working people and the environment,” said David Foster, President of the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation. “Their voices have helped frame our nation’s discussion about manufacturing and environmental protections. With their help, I am certain we can create good, family-sustaining jobs here in Michigan and throughout the rest of the country.”

“New clean energy technologies are transforming Michigan’s economy, spurring new job growth and reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil. Michigan businesses and entrepreneurs are leading the nation in clean energy patents and advanced battery research and production. I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the highly-skilled, hardworking men and women across our state,” said Stabenow.

“As we work to improve our fragile economy, it is important that we support businesses so they can have the tools to create and maintain jobs and put Americans back to work,” said Dingell, a senior member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. “However, it is also important that we not cede ground in our efforts to keep our air clean and our environment viable for the future; the health of our citizens is too important.”

The Green Jobs Champion award has been given out at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference since 2009, and it recognizes individuals for their hard work and dedication to moving America to a cleaner, more efficient economy with good jobs that are also good for our environment. 

The ceremony took place during the final day of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Midwest Conference in Detroit, the final of four regional conferences held this year. The other conferences were held in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. 

Congressman Hansen Clarke kicked off Good Jobs, Green Jobs Midwest’s second day as a keynote speaker with a fiery speech, "Minute by minute our planet is getting hotter and hotter. We do not have time. You've got to demand that we take action now; fight and change the system, we can create these green jobs together."

Clarke said grassroots efforts are needed to create the change we need to move America forward to a cleaner energy economy.

The Congressman's hard-charging speech excited the hundreds gathered, and garnered a huge ovation.

Autoworkers Fighting For Good Jobs

United Autoworkers President Bob King talked about the auto recovery, and how good jobs are being created up and down the supply chain right now in the U.S. making fuel-efficient vehicles.

"One of the top customer demands, thankfully, is for more fuel efficient vehicles," said King. "Company after company, factory after factory, jobs are being created today making new technology."

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The afternoon plenary session of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Midwest Conference opened with White House Council on Environmental Quality Deputy Director Gary Guzy talking about the promise of American manufacturing to build a cleaner, more efficient economy.

"It's critical that we continue to invest and we don't ceed our leadership to other countries," said Guzy.

Guzy focused on the efforts to make vehicles more fuel efficient, which will save consumers money — the 54.5 miles per gallon fuel standard for light-duty vehicles saves an estimated $8,000 in gas over the life of the vehicle — as well as how more fuel efficient cars are reducing pollution and creating jobs here in the U.S.

"We need more jobs, and we need more progress," said Guzy.

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There could not have been a better way to kick off the 2012 Good Jobs, Green Jobs Midwest Conference — the last Good Jobs, Green Jobs Regional Conference for 2012 — than with a poem and song from “The Lady Achievers,” a choir from the local Detroit School of Arts. Their uplifting song echoed in the ballroom here at the Detroit Marriott Hotel at the Renaissance Center.

The Deputy Director of the BlueGreen Alliance, Margrete Strand Rangnes, provided brief, but fiery remarks, leading into a speech by Dr. Bertram Marks, a pastor and lawyer in Detroit. Rev. Marks said, “Just like being a lawyer and pastor are not mutually exclusive, liking manufacturing and caring for the environment aren’t mutually exclusive.”

United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard spoke of the importance of the bond between environmentalists and union members to creating a lasting impact on our country.

“When I think about the way I grew up, I came to realize that the same people telling us you couldn’t have  jobs with good wages were the ones who said we couldn’t have good jobs and a clean environment,” said Gerard. “We can and must have both or neither.”

“We have a tremendous opportunity by doing what’s right, by creating and maintaining good jobs,” said Gerard, calling for greening schools and public buildings to create good jobs and make buildings energy efficient and healthy.

Michael Brune, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club, took the stage and said the vision of the partnership between environmentalists and union workers was simple. ““The Sierra Club, at its core, stands for people and the planet. There’s far more that unites us than is pulling us apart.” He focused on the work being done to make vehicles more efficient and the positive impact on the environment and jobs that the new fuel efficiency standards will create.

Jim Harrison, the President of Utility Workers Union of America Local 223 in Michigan, took the stage next and called for a just transition for workers as we reduce carbon and ensure the jobs we create by doing so are good jobs with fair pay and good benefits for workers.

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Some of our most popular workshops at the first Good Jobs, Green Jobs Regional Conferences have been those discussing how to engage America’s youth in the green economy. Whether it was the story of the Green Bronx Project — a local initiative that has turned a few seeds in a classroom into six acres of community farms across the Bronx — or the Student Conservation Association — an organization providing college and high school-aged students “with hands-on conservation service opportunities in virtually every field imaginable — it is inspiring to see projects that are exciting young adults.

We have another opportunity for you to learn about these efforts at Good Jobs, Green Jobs Midwest May 10-11. During Engaging Detroit Youth as Leaders in the Green Economy, leaders from the WARM Training Center’s Detroit Youth Energy Squad will talk about how D-YES is training 16-24 year olds to provide weatherization and energy education to over 1,500 households in the Detroit area.

The Good Jobs, Green Jobs East Conference in Philadelphia on April 3 and 4 was a huge success. People from throughout the East — and much of the rest of the country — gathered together to share their stories and hear the stories of others working right now to build a green economy with good jobs. Thank you to the sponsors, conveners, volunteers, and participants for making this a great event!

The first day of the Conference, we held two plenary sessions. The morning session featured Hillary Bright, the BlueGreen Alliance's Regional Program Manager for Pennsyvania, BlueGreen Alliance Foundation President David Foster, United Steelworkers International Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson, Sierra Club President Robin Mann, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, Philadephia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, and a plenary panel on transportation investment driving good, green jobs.

Check out the video below.

The afternoon session featured White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, BlueGreen Alliance Foundation President David Foster, United Steelworkers International Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson, Union of Concerned Scientist President Kevin Knobloch, Congressman Chaka Fattah, Sierra Club President Robin Mann, and a panel on building sustainable cities with experts from throughout the East.