Union Energy gets Pa. families to work during green energy transition

Angela Ferritto, President of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and Union Energy, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss her journey in the labor movement and how that has helped her provide educational opportunities to women in the unions across Pennsylvania. She also discussed Union Energy and providing families a pathway to join a union and enjoy the union benefits during the transition to renewable energy.

Ferritto discussed how she became the first female president of the PA AFL-CIO. Along her journey, Ferritto has been called the most powerful labor leader in the state, and was unanimously elected to a second term as the organization's president earlier this year. In her role, she has worked on giving back and educating women and young people about the labor movement, leadership and service. In 2023, Ferritto was selected to be part of the Women’s Global Leadership Program, a program run in conjunction with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Among her numerous other positions, Ferritto serves as President of Union Energy (UE), a collaboration between the PA AFL-CIO and the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council. UE has partnered with the Climate Jobs National Resource Center and Cornell University to create a sustainable and innovative energy economy in the Keystone State. Ferritto discussed how the partnership will help families in the Commonwealth have an opportunity to work in union jobs during the transition to renewable energy. 

As more job opportunities have been created due to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and American Rescue Plan, Union Energy was created to help get Pennsylvania. families to work on good union jobs. Ferritto discussed the two-year effort and what they are doing to provide that pathway to a job with fair wages and union benefits. Among the efforts, she discussed the campaign to bring about an equitable clean energy future that began Monday and will include events through Labor Day.

If you want to hear about Union Energy and the work being done by Ferritto and the PA AFL-CIO, please listen to the show above, then visit the Union Energy website.