LANSING, Mich.—Union leaders representing over a million Michigan workers stood together on Tuesday to launch the Michigan Climate Jobs Coalition (MICJ), a new alliance dedicated to ensuring that the state’s transition to a clean energy economy is built by and for the working class.
The coalition, announced at a press conference in Lansing, unveiled a detailed 17-point policy blueprint developed with Cornell University’s Climate Jobs Institute. The plan is a direct challenge to corporate-driven climate agendas, insisting that the jobs of the future must be union jobs, and that tackling the climate crisis must address soaring energy costs, inequality, and community health.
“Today, we launched Michigan Climate Jobs to ensure a worker-led clean energy future that puts labor in the driver’s seat to lead on combating the climate crisis, making energy affordable and reliable, and protecting workers today and for generations to come,” said Ryan Bennett, chair of MICJ and president of the Michigan Pipe Trades Association.
“The jobs needed to create the clean energy economy absolutely must be union jobs because it’s union jobs that will deliver family-sustaining wages, good benefits, and safety for workers.”
The coalition brings together a formidable cross-section of the state’s labor movement, including the Michigan AFL-CIO, Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council, IBEW Michigan, Michigan Pipe Trades Association, Northern Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters, Michigan Laborers District Council, Michigan Operating Engineers 324, Michigan Education Association, and AFT Michigan.
Their blueprint calls for upgrading Michigan’s energy grid, decarbonizing public schools and buildings, expanding thermal energy networks, and creating pathways to union careers through apprenticeship programs. It is a conscious strategy to marry “bold climate action” with “economic justice,” the coalition said.
“We’re proud to partner with Michigan Climate Jobs on this new report that details how Michigan unions can drive the development of a clean energy economy that delivers for working families,” said Dr. Lara Skinner, Executive Director of the Climate Jobs Institute. “This plan provides a blueprint on how current and future union workers can build our growing clean energy economy in a way that benefits all working people.”
Tuesday’s launch emphasized that workers are not just stakeholders but rather the active leaders of such a transition. Union members who spoke, from across the skilled trades and public sector, connected the policy vision to the concrete reality of their lives and work.
“Clean energy jobs are our future, and just as important, the careers they create are our future, too,” said Natalya Craig, an Operating Engineers 324 Journeyperson and Graduate Apprentice.
“These projects don’t just produce energy—they produce long-term, skilled careers that allow people like me to support our families, stay in our communities, and build a life with dignity and security. When these projects are built by union skilled trades, they’re done safely, professionally, and in a way that creates real opportunities for the next generation.”
The plan also directly addresses the crisis in public infrastructure, centering the needs of students and school workers.
“Our students deserve safe and healthy learning environments, and that means modernizing Michigan’s public schools with energy efficiency and renewable energy built by union labor,” said Terrence Martin, president of AFT Michigan.
“These investments will also improve working conditions for teachers and school staff and help our public schools save money on energy costs over the long term.”
The coalition builds on Michigan’s legacy of labor leadership, which was instrumental in passing the state’s landmark climate legislation. MICJ’s mission is to hold the line during implementation, ensuring that the promise of high-quality jobs and community benefits is not sacrificed for corporate profits.
“I have seen first-hand how solar projects have changed the lives of our members,” said Armando Ramos, a business agent of Laborers Local 1098. “They want to do this work, and as we continue to build an affordable clean energy future here in Michigan, it must be done with good union jobs that support working families.
For workers on the ground, the coalition represents a unified front to secure a just transition. Justin Steenbergh, a business agent at IBEW Local 58 who attended the press conference, told People’s World that his union cares deeply about “having a just transition to a green, peaceful economy that provides good union jobs where no worker is left behind and where our people and planet can really prosper.”
The launch of Michigan Climate Jobs shows that Michigan’s labor movement is taking the initiative and leadership by refusing to let the shape of the new energy economy be dictated by big business. Instead, they are advancing a worker-led vision for society where fighting climate change and fighting for a better life are one and the same struggle.
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