For a long time, partisans from the right and left told us that you could care about the environment or you could care about jobs, but you could not do both.

The IBEW has been busy shattering that myth. As President Biden said at this year's Construction and Maintenance Conference, "When I think of climate, I think of union jobs." And I could not agree more with the president.

Just look at what our brothers and sisters out of Kennewick, Wash., Local 112 are doing. East of the Cascade Mountains, Local 112 members built the first-ever generation site to have wind, solar and battery storage in one facility. (Read more in this issue's cover story.)

The Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility, co-owned by Portland General Electric and NextEra Energy, will help Oregon meet its aggressive clean energy goals and greatly benefit the renewable industry.

Most importantly, Wheatridge put about 2,000 Local 112 members to work, with more work to come, propelled by the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Biden in 2022.

This project is just the latest example of how the transition to renewable energy is creating hundreds of thousands of good, union jobs. Energy sources like solar and wind that were barely on the map 20 years ago continue to see strong growth, while new climate-friendly technologies like EVs, advanced batteries and carbon capture are putting IBEW members to work across North America.

Now, this energy revolution didn't happen overnight. It took a concentrated effort by industry, elected officials and organized labor to will it into being. And there was no guarantee that any of these investments would lead to good, union jobs.

It took the IBEW working with lawmakers to pass some of the strongest pro-union standards ever. Project labor agreements, prevailing wages and apprenticeship requirements were put in place with our guidance to ensure that skilled union workers will transition America to a clean-energy future.

And throughout that process, we had no stronger ally than Joe Biden.

There was pushback in Congress to the pro-worker language in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. But Biden stood firm and refused to compromise.

As he has said many times, he would only sign off on any bill if the IBEW was good with it first. That is just another reminder that elections matter. And why the IBEW endorsed President Biden and Kamala Harris for reelection.

The future looks bright, not just for the renewable energy industry but for the labor movement.

Getting here took leadership on the jobsite, in our communities, in city halls and statehouses across the U.S., and in Washington, D.C. The result has been good IBEW jobs in every energy sector.

It is incumbent on every IBEW leader to seize every opportunity to grow our union in today's changing energy landscape.

That starts with knowing who our friends are and making sure Biden and Harris are reelected this November.

The jobs are here, and more are coming, but only if we stay the course.

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