The COP28 Climate Summit recognized that we are at the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era and that we need to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. But union busting by renewable energy companies, including Long Island’s top solar power company, threatens to slow that momentum.
Renewable energy is big business in the United States, supported by tens of billions of dollars in federal funding. But insiders say renewable energy companies are often in disarray, with low wages, demoralized employees, unsustainably high turnover rates, and difficult and dangerous working conditions. I know. The median income for a solar installer is just under $45,000, making him 40% less than a fossil fuel worker. To move away from fossil fuels, we need to solve labor issues in the renewable energy industry, and that requires unions.
Historically, organized labor has grown alongside the fossil fuel industry. At its peak, 60% of his autoworkers were unionized. It is now about 16% and 17% for the fossil fuel sector as a whole. But only 4% of U.S. solar workers and 6% of wind workers are unionized, reflecting how vehemently opposed renewable energy companies are. There is.
Huge federal subsidies and tax credits further complicate the problem. Renewable energy companies are exempt from prevailing wage and other labor requirements under the Inflation Control Act (IRA) if they remain below the scale of their operations (25 megawatts per year). So the more they cut costs and squeeze workers, the more money they have for the IRA and the easier it is to spend on union-busting. This is a perverse incentive that effectively diverts public resources to private profit, while harming workers and limiting the rate of growth of renewable energy.
EmPower Solar, a Bethpage, New York-based solar power company serving Long Island, is a case in point. Instead of paying workers a fair wage, they pay lawyers and lobbyists to prevent them from organizing. It hired National Labor Relations Advocates, a lobbying firm based in Cincinnati. The company touts a 90% success rate in helping clients “avoid any threat of unionization in their business” and charges high fees for its services.
Empower is facing unionization over its labor practices. In addition to low base wages, installers are paid opaque bonuses for each panel. Typical monthly take-home pay is about $2,500 plus his $1,200 bonus, but you can’t count on the bonus. They may fall during the calm season and be moored frequently for reasons such as breaking lamps. In some cases, bonuses have suddenly dried up, forcing installers to rely on friends and family for rent and food. Some people lose weight by skipping meals. Many installers end up in debt because they don’t earn enough to live on this job.
EmPower foremen earn slightly more than installers and often take on side jobs such as driving for Uber. While they worry about the safety of crew members on rooftops around high-voltage equipment, they also worry about car payments. When accidents occur, foremen are made scapegoats and face penalties such as demotions and pay cuts, as if it were the supervisor’s fault rather than dangerous company practices.
Salaries are quickly reduced, but Empower is slow to raise salaries. A lack of clear and accountable compensation structures, delayed performance reviews, and high turnover rates mean that workers who remain on the job often remain at or near entry-level salaries. Repayments for the cost of driving to the work site have also been delayed.
EmPower hires employees during the summer peak season and then fires them, often a month later, sometimes as little as two weeks later. Workers are so stressed and anxious about being laid off that they are afraid to take lunch breaks and refuse to take on dangerous jobs they shouldn’t take. When they raised their concerns with management, union-busting lawyers gave them a routine discussion instead of taking action.
Finally, after seeing Sean Fein and the UAW stand up and get results for autoworkers, EmPower workers reached out to UAW Local 259, which agreed to represent them. . The company filed an election filing with the National Labor Relations Board last month. This Friday, Empower workers will vote on unionization.
Since filing, the company has changed its strategy. He said that in consideration of workers’ concerns, layoffs have been stopped and compensation issues have slightly improved. But this only happened when workers became organized. This appears to be tactical and aimed at stripping unions of support to vote against them.
Another tactic is EmPower’s false claim that the UAW is “inadequate” because its employees aren’t building cars. But the truth is that the company intends to fight any union. The UAW’s famous success with the Big 3 auto companies is a misconception for consolidation unions in an old fossil fuel-based manufacturing economy. These are more relevant and needed than ever for the high-tech economy and the spread of renewable energy. His current UAW represents engineers, National Institutes of Health scientists, defense workers, business workers, environmental workers, and more. What we have done for auto workers, we can and should do for renewable energy workers.
Working in the renewable energy sector can be a great job, but the industry needs a healthier balance of power between management and workers to achieve sustainable growth. These are the jobs of the future. They should be paid a living wage, be safe and unionized.
In solidarity,
Daniel Lozano, Installer, EmPower Solar
Michael DiGiuseppe, Local 259 Vice President