IUPAT Applauds Historic Nuclear Projects in Ontario and Georgia
Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
IUPAT APPLAUDS HISTORIC NUCLEAR PROJECTS IN ONTARIO AND GEORGIA
August 3, 2023
Our union, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, is thrilled to see the first newly constructed nuclear reactor being deployed in the United States in over 30 years, while Ontario begins work on its own first large-scale nuclear build in the province in over 30 years. Plant Vogtle Unit 3 in Georgia went online this week and will be able to power 500,000 Georgian’s homes with clean, reliable energy for at least 60 years to come. Once all four units are online at Plant Vogtle, it will be the largest nuclear power station in the U.S. and the nation’s largest generator of clean energy. Our District Council 77 proudly had our industrial painters, drywall finishers, wall coverers, and signmakers all work on this project to completion.
IUPAT DC 77’s Director of Service Juli Prill said the following after Unit 3 went online, “We are proud of the work we performed at Vogtle Unit 3. Not only did IUPAT members apply coatings that provide beautification, safety and equipment identification but most importantly they played a crucial role in the plant’s equipment reliability with application of protective coatings. This was all achieved while meeting and exceeding safety, quality and nuclear procedure requirements.”
In Canada, Ontario’s Bruce Power facility is set to become the world’s largest nuclear power site, a monumental achievement. We are also excited to see Ontario Power Generation announcing the construction of three small modular reactors at their Darlington nuclear plant. These projects will be built in part by our DC 46 members and we look forward to working on them for decades to come.
Nuclear energy is critical in the fight to combat climate change, and nuclear plants provide stable, family-sustaining union jobs for decades. Rather than going from job to job, these plants offer stability that is all too rare for trades workers like our union workers. Anyone who is serious about trade unionism, environmentalism, and providing sustainable electricity for all should be looking at Ontario as a model to be used throughout North America. Working in cooperation with unions like ours, we can and must build many new nuclear plants that help workers and our planet thrive. Let Ontario be a guidepost for how we can ensure that green jobs are always good-paying union jobs, like the work our members will be doing building and sustaining these new nuclear plants for decades to come.
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THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES (IUPAT)
Represents a growing community of over 140,000 active and retired craftspeople in the United States and Canada. The IUPAT membership extends far beyond the workplace. Recognized as one of the most active unions in the labor movement, IUPAT members help shape their communities in many ways: through an abiding commitment to service, by fighting passionately for workers’ rights that benefit all working families, and through effective worker education and mobilization.