ENR hearing examined pathways to reestablish U.S. global leadership in nuclear energy and received testimony on S. 903, the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act  

To watch a video of Senator Manchin’s opening remarks, please click here.

To watch a video of Senator Manchin’s questioning, please click here.

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, questioned Mark McManus, General President of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, about how unions are preparing their workforces for our changing energy industry. 

“As we grow older, we have people in all different types of industries that are retiring. Do you think we will have a challenge in terms of having a workforce that is capable of the growth needed in the nuclear energy industry?” Senator Manchin asked.

“Right at this moment, we have the largest workforce we’ve ever had in 130 years. We’ve been growing for the last five years. We have 353,965 people and growing at about 700-800 members a month. Active to retirees is a growing demographic we look at through our pension funds and we are continuing to lower the retiree to active so we are a prosperous, growing organization. That’s due in part to national recruitment and as well as our devotion to training. $220 million in private sector funds that we spend on training. We are also moving into virtual reality, augmented reality,” Mr. McManus said. “As we sit here right now, we are meeting the needs.”

Senator Manchin also highlighted the critical importance of nuclear energy to reduce global carbon emissions and address climate change. The hearing also featured testimony from representatives from Idaho National Laboratory, Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Nuclear Energy Institute and the Honorable Jeffrey S. Merrifield, a former Commissioner on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  

To watch the hearing in full, please click here.  

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