It was negotiated by NABTU president Sean McGarvey, who says the deal “pulls the curtain back” on how the renewable industry can turn a profit while paying its builders a fair wage—and, in turn, rally support for the transition to green energy among the workers who will need to build out the infrastructure.
McGarvey says his members are fully capable of pivoting to building green energy components—”We build data centers, nuclear power plants, bridges, hospitals, you name it, we have the skill set”—but will require some training to adapt to new settings.
McGarvey acknowledges that one advantage of working with Ørsted is the company’s European roots—where workers often have seats on company boards and even have partial ownership in the companies they work for through pension investments.