Unions and Solar Power

There’s been some heat in the news recently, brought front and center by the New York Times, about the trouble solar giant Ausra has faced getting approval for a solar power plant in California. California Unions for Reliable Energy stonewalled the approval process with concerns for the negative impact the plant would have on desert wildlife. However, the same union made no move to stop the approval process for a BrightSource solar power plant that would also be in the desert, and also affect wildlife. Ausra’s take on this scenario–and pundits seem to have taken up the call–is that unions are putting pressure on companies to use union labor in the construction of their solar energy plants. If, like BrightSource, a company announces its plans to use labor from the outset, no problems seem to arise. This reflects what the state has seen as a trend in the utility industry, according to the NYT:

At proposed fossil-fuel power plants, the union group has long been accused of exploiting environmental laws to force companies into signing labor agreements. The tactic is a subject of perennial discussion in the California legislature, which has considered, but never passed, bills to strip labor of its right to participate in environmental assessments.

So on the one hand, maybe it’s nice that solar power plants are finally getting the attention they deserve from all quarters (however unwelcome). On the other hand, does this pose a serious hurdle to the future of solar power plants in California, and nationwide? Maria Elena Durazo, chief of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, feels strongly that jobs in solar and other renewables should be unionized. She says:

If we do not have new rules about union organizing…I can guarantee you that these new ‘green’ jobs, these new technology jobs are going to be low-end, poverty-level jobs. (LAT)

Poverty level? That seems a bit extreme for jobs that by default require a high degree of training and specialization. Even in a weak economy, solar workers represent a premium segment of the workforce. Not that they always make tons of money. On a small business rather than utility level scale, solar installers will often sacrifice profit for competitive bids. This happens across the construction industry, and it’s no picnic for those contractors who can’t afford to slash their profit margin. But business is business, and unionizing solar labor might put a real wrench in competitive pricing.

Not that I’m shouting down the unions. Solar workers have as much right to have secure jobs and healthy wages as any other laborers. But using the weight of the union to expedite or hinder the construction process of new solar power plants in order to put pressure on certain companies, if that’s what truly is going on, is a bullying tactic that could hurt solar and economic growth in California. These facilities create jobs and revenue for the state in a time when both are sorely needed.

This opinion article in the Seattle Times, along with its comments, is a great argument for why a unionized solar workforce is ideal. It focuses on the idea of “respect”: and that’s what the unions should be showing to the solar industry in turn. There must be a solution that does not involve slowing or halting progress on the constructon of new solar power plants, one of the most vital elements in the continued health of the solar industry.