Let me be clear: The New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council remains opposed to the Climate Superfund Act, A3735, in its current form.
There should be no confusion about where New Jersey’s construction unions stand. Although some labor organizations outside the construction industry may support the legislation, no construction union affiliated with the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council supports the measure in its current form.
Our opposition does not reflect indifference toward climate change or the need to protect New Jersey’s communities. The Building Trades support responsible investments in flood mitigation, infrastructure hardening, environmental stewardship, energy reliability and climate resilience. Our members build the infrastructure needed to protect communities and support a modern, cleaner and more reliable economy.
However, A3735 is not the right approach.
The legislation would establish a $50 billion climate adaptation fund through retroactive assessments imposed on certain fossil fuel companies. While supporters contend that the financial responsibility would remain with those companies, economic costs rarely stay confined to the businesses against which they are initially assessed.
Higher costs can ripple throughout the economy in the form of increased fuel, utility, freight, manufacturing and construction expenses. Those costs are ultimately borne by employers, contractors, consumers and taxpayers. When the cost of infrastructure increases, projects are delayed, reduced in scope or abandoned altogether. Every additional dollar spent on energy, materials and transportation is a dollar that cannot be invested in schools, roads, bridges, water systems, public transit and other critical priorities.
Our members also understand that industrial investment does not happen in a vacuum. New Jersey competes every day with other states for advanced manufacturing facilities, energy projects, logistics operations, data centers and other large-scale developments.
Businesses considering those investments evaluate taxes, energy prices, operating expenses, permitting requirements and the predictability of a state’s legal and regulatory environment. A novel retroactive liability program creates another layer of uncertainty for companies making investment decisions that may extend decades into the future.
That uncertainty directly affects working people.
Industrial facilities, manufacturing operations, utilities, refineries, logistics centers and energy projects support thousands of union construction and maintenance jobs. These projects create thousands of family-supporting jobs, sustain apprenticeship and workforce-training programs, and provide family-supporting career opportunities in communities throughout New Jersey.
When investment leaves New Jersey, we do not simply lose a single project. We lose apprenticeship opportunities, workforce training, career pathways and family-sustaining jobs. We also lose the long-term economic activity and tax revenue those projects generate for local communities and the state.
The legislation presents serious legal and fiscal questions as well. Similar laws enacted in New York and Vermont have faced significant litigation involving federal preemption, interstate commerce, extraterritorial regulation and constitutional claims. New Jersey should carefully evaluate those risks before relying on revenues that could be delayed for years by litigation.
The Legislature should not advance A3735 without an independent economic impact analysis, a comprehensive workforce assessment, a fiscal review and a thorough evaluation of the legal risks. Policymakers should know how the proposal would affect energy prices, public infrastructure costs, industrial investment and union employment before creating a $50 billion retroactive liability program.
New Jersey can address climate resilience without undermining economic growth, energy reliability and good union jobs. The Building Trades stand ready to work with the Governor and Legislature on responsible policies that protect our communities while strengthening the state’s economy.
But the Climate Superfund Act, in its current form, does not achieve that balance. That is why the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council and its affiliated construction unions remain opposed to A3735.
William Mullen is the President of the New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council
