Making electric vehicles more accessible
In making investments and passing legislation toward expediting transportation electrification, national and state elected leaders are making the commitment toward combating climate change. From the Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill allocating billions to transit systems to the recently signed Climate and Equitable Jobs Act here in Illinois, they are laying the foundation to make electric vehicles more accessible.
These are just the first steps that we need to take toward electrification, and more importantly, offer a path forward to regrow the American middle class.
With recent data showing that transportation emissions have become the single biggest source of carbon emissions and a major source of air pollution, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles pollute the atmosphere with greenhouse gases and our communities with harmful pollution at higher rates than cars.
By pushing American manufacturers to make clean electric vans, trucks and buses, we can drastically cut their pollution. Additionally, we can ensure that manufacturing these vehicles brings well-paying union jobs to American workers, and fight for procurement incentive programs that raise workplace standards across the entire supply chain, including for warehouse workers and truck drivers.
Labor, Transportation and Environmental organizers from across Chicagoland are coming together this weekend to envision this future at the Charged Up. Festival in Joliet, IL. With Lion Electric now building the largest electric truck and bus manufacturing facility in North America, Joliet is looking to become the center for a green economy. Come learn about the new electric vehicles and how we can push local warehouses toward procuring them while adopting better labor standards for their workers this Saturday from 1pm-5pm at the Joliet Junior College. The event is being hosted by Warehouse Workers for Justice, a 501(c) (3) fighting for better wages and working conditions for IL workers in logistics and distribution centers.
Dany Robles, Energy Policy Coordinator
Illinois Environmental Council
Chicago