Clean energy workers disappointed by their employers’ lack of response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade are organizing and pushing clean energy firms to guarantee employee access to abortion and other reproductive health care services.
“We were expecting a strong response like we’ve seen from a lot of companies that came out publicly within a day,” Rebecca Glazer, a senior director at AES Clean Energy and an organizer of the letter, told Canary Media, referring to pledges from major corporations, including BP and Shell, to cover the cost of travel to obtain health care. Instead, most clean energy companies have remained silent. “A lot of folks felt like their companies were not responding,” explained Glazer.
Women are a minority in both the clean energy workforce and its leadership. Among other considerations, the workers’ open letter calls for clean energy firms to clarify whether their employee policies cover travel costs for abortion care, and to actually cover those health care costs.
“If you look at the states where solar is growing rapidly and look at the states where abortion is restricted, there’s unfortunately a pretty large overlap,” SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper told Canary Media. Hopper noted that changes to company insurance policies can take time, but said, “My industry wants a reliable and a growing workforce, and that only happens when we make sure people have access to health care.” (Canary Media)