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Bronson announces $3 million for green energy jobs institute

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Bronson announces million for green energy jobs institute

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Assemblyman Harry Bronson celebrated a $3 million investment from the state into Cornell University’s Climate Jobs Institute at the IBEW Apprenticeship Training Center in Rochester on Monday. 

Bronson, D-Rochester, is the chair of the Assembly Labor Committee. The funding will help the institute’s objective to transition the state’s workforce from a fossil fuel to renewable energy.

IBEW apprentices were on-hand for the announcement; the apprenticeships are 5-year programs and split between on-the-job training and classroom time. “We’re trying to make sure that we have a just transition,” Bronson said. “Just for the folks who are currently employed, so that it can transition into these emerging workforces and just for folks who have been left on the economic sidelines for far too long and bring them into these emerging workforces.” 

Bronson was one of 14 elected or staff members of the state Legislature who traveled to Sweden with the institute in September to view the country’s decarbonization efforts. 

A statement from Dan Kuntz, business manager for Laborers’ Local 435, praised the state’s contribution to the institute. “This funding will help prepare the members of Laborers’ Local 435, along with our other trade partners, to lead the way in building the clean energy infrastructure of tomorrow,” Kuntz’s statement said.

What is the Climate Jobs Institute?

Founded as part of the Cornell School of Industry and Labor Relations, the Climate Jobs Institute was launched in January 2023 with a focus on research, nationwide government policy development and creating union jobs. The same guiding principles the school was founded with, including close ties to organized labor, remain a priority in the new climate-focused offshoot.

“We wanted to make sure that the work and the jobs that we’re creating in this new economy are high quality new careers,” said Laura Skinner, the institute’s executive director. “And so we wanted to make sure that we were providing the research, policy training and education support to make that happen here in New York.”

— Steve Howe reports on weather, climate and the Great Lakes for the Democrat and Chronicle. An RIT graduate, he has covered myriad topics over the years, including public safety, local government, national politics and economic development in New York and Utah.

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