I am proud to be the Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 53, representing construction workers in the finishing trades in parts of Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky, Virginia, and right here in West Virginia. 

Workers in our state have a long and storied history of working hard, organizing for our rights, and contributing to the entire nation’s energy stores and economy. We are also no stranger to changing industries and, unfortunately, to job loss. But our state’s workers are some of the most determined and resolute in the country, and they deserve more and better opportunities to contribute to our communities and to provide for their families.

I know talking about renewable energy can get many of our hackles up. We’re a coal mining state, and proud of it. But our state has a lot to offer outside of coal, and we were lucky to be on the receiving end of some powerful tax credits for energy development. These tax credits were created to support good, local jobs for West Virginia’s working families on a broad range of energy projects, like geothermal, nuclear, carbon capture, battery storage, hydropower, solar, and wind projects. And in “energy communities,” which are places that are disproportionately affected by the decline of the fossil fuel industry, anyone making investments in green energy got an extra 10% tax incentive. Almost the entire state of West Virginia is considered an energy community, and our communities need these jobs.

Since the creation of these tax credits, there have been seven new clean energy projects created in our state, totaling nearly $100 million in investment and creating almost 6,000 new jobs for West Virginians. These projects, supported by federal tax credits, plan to diversify our state’s energy sources, and just as critically, put West Virginians to work — including the most trained, skilled, and efficient glaziers, painters, drywall finishers, and hydroblasters in our state. But unfortunately, these jobs are at risk — President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” plans to slash the federal tax credits that made them possible.

I represent a lot of different workers and I know we all have different political views. But at the end of the day, our members work difficult and dangerous jobs to provide for their families and to help build and maintain the infrastructure that makes West Virginia “almost heaven.” As a union leader, my members and their jobs are my number one priority, and I have to defend them. Our union has 1,500 hydroblasters that do industrial cleaning in energy facilities. Hydroblasting is extremely risky and hazardous work — but it’s honest work, and it allows them to care for themselves and their kids. My role is to protect that work, and that’s why I am writing today.

These projects are not just a win for the workers on them, but for every consumer in our state. Between 2008 and 2020, the average retail electricity price increased at five times the national average, and increased faster than in any other state. We can’t afford not to invest in our state’s energy resources, our workforce, and all of our communities. The Bill has passed the House and is now in the Senate, being discussed and debated on by our state’s Senators. I hope Senators Justice and Capito see how badly our state needs these jobs and lower energy costs, and choose to invest in our state’s energy sources and workforce. Let’s keep these tax credits, and let’s get to work!

Brian Stanley is the Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer of IUPAT District Council 53 in Charleston.