Vineyard Wind promises hundreds of union jobs for workers in Mass.

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Vineyard Wind has signed a labor agreement promising 500 jobs for unionized workers in Massachusetts, as the company prepares to build the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States.

The company announced the deal with the Southeastern Massachusetts Building Trades Council, a labor organization that represents thousands of pipe fitters, electricians, carpenters and other tradesmen from the South Coast, Cape Town and Islands, at an event at the terminal in New Bedford shipping trade on Friday. .

The President of Southeastern Mass. Building Trades Council David Araujo (left, seated) shakes hands with Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pedersen after signing a working agreement on the project at the New Bedford Marine Trade Terminal. Miriam Wasser, WBUR

U.S. National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey and Massachusetts Secretary of Energy Kathleen Theoharides attended the event, along with representatives from Labor and members from Massachusetts.

Union leaders and workers welcomed the announcement.

“Over the years, we’ve had the wrong choice of choosing between renewable energy or traditional energy with good salaries and benefits,” said Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council. “We have shown today that this is not true, that we can have both.”

“It’s good for the unions because it’s going to put a lot of people to work, but it’s also to prove a point,” said Joshua Grigsby, a stake pilot with Local 56 in Boston. “It’s a new source of energy that is healthy for the environment. It doesn’t hurt anyone.”

Joshua Grigsby, a stake pilot with Local 56 in Boston.  Miriam Wasser, WBUR
Joshua Grigsby, a stake pilot with Local 56 in Boston. Miriam Wasser, WBUR

The $ 2.8 billion Vineyard Wind project will be the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, located approximately 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The project is expected to provide electricity to more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts and reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million tonnes per year.

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