LMCT Executive Director hypes Climate Jobs Illinois on labor podcast

With the new year approaching, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management and Cooperative Trust Executive Director Pete Ielmini explained the importance of a new job-creating climate initiative on a labor-focused podcast.

As a regular, monthly guest on America’s Work Force Union Podcast, Ielmini has the chance to speak on behalf of the LMCT to any of the issues affecting it.

In his Dec. 23 appearance, Ielmini touted Climate Jobs Illinois. The initiative has been brought by a coalition of labor organizations who seek to create good-paying, union jobs, while making a meaningful attempt to combat climate change.

Ielmini was excited to say that the initiative will create approximately 300,000 union jobs. Many of these jobs will be in the building trades and will appear in the next ten years. He also said many of these jobs will be building trades jobs.

The ultimate goal of Climate Jobs Illinois is to eliminate the use of fossil fuels and reduce emissions to zero percent by 2050 while creating jobs along the way. Ielmini said electricians and supporting trades will gain work in solar panel and wind turbine installation, while other trades will work to restore nuclear power plants.

Another objective of the initiative is to modernize schools and other public buildings in order to maximize efficiency. This will create work for members of the Insulators Union.

He said the best way to maximize efficiency of buildings is to implement mechanical insulation, which many do not have or have an outdated mechanical insulation system.

While much of this work will take place in the next decade, the work outlook will be strong. Ielmini hopes this will attract people to the Insulators registered apprenticeship program as well as to other trades.

While Illinois is one of the first states to be targeted with such an initiative, Ielmini believes Climate Jobs Illinois will create a roadmap that can be adopted and followed by other states, creating building trades jobs throughout the country.

You can listen to him explain what Climate Jobs Illinois is, what they are seeking to accomplish and how it will impact insulators below: