Former President Bill Clinton yesterday singled out the efforts of the union movement in creating massive numbers of jobs through union pension fund investments. Speaking yesterday at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), Clinton praised the AFL-CIO and AFT for already providing $1 billion in pension fund investments to improve infrastructure and increase energy efficiency. (Watch the video of the event here. )

The BlueGreen Alliance says that reauthorizing the fully funded Surface Transportation bill that President Obama today urged Congress to extend is “an incredibly important step in achieving our number one national priority: putting America to work.”

This is a cross-post from the Metropolitan Washington (D.C.) Council, AFL-CIO. The Metro Council’s Community Services Agency (CSA) Building Futures pre-apprenticeship training program has won a $900,000 grant as part of the Jobs for the Future consortium. Says CSA Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy: This is a big deal. We will get nearly $1 million over three years in partnership with the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region and Wider Opportunities for Women to keep our pre-apprenticeship training program going.

Here’s some good news on the trade front: U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk announced today that China has ended certain wind power equipment subsidies that gave its companies an unfair advantage in the global market.

The BlueGreen Alliance and Apollo Alliance today announced a merger to strengthen and unify the movement to build a clean energy, good jobs economy to fuel U.S. job creation. The newly unified organization will call on Washington to focus anew on creating good jobs, securing America’s energy future and preserving the environment for future generations.

In honor of Earth Day today, Jennifer Wright Dorr at Union Plus sends us this feature about the Union Plus Green Minute video series.

This Earth Day and everyday, you can learn how you can go green and save green at the same time with the Green Minute video series from Union Plus. From installing a programmable thermostat to buying union-made green light bulbs, you can learn more with your Union Plus Green Minute.

Latinos face tremendous challenges that threaten their prospects for a better life, according to new report.

The report, “Latino Workers in the United States 2011,” released this week by the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), provides an in-depth look at the state of Latino workers.

Because of the activism by young people like the 10,000 environmental Power Shift activists who traveled to Washington, D.C., to the tell Congress it’s time to force the corporate polluters to pay up and clean up, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says:

We’re moving past the same-old tired debates and toward jobs and a clean, green future.

South Seattle Community College’s Georgetown campus is creating new training programs to meet the growing needs for job training with a focus on environmental sustainability. The Georgetown campus also houses the largest regional apprenticeship training program in the Pacific Northwest, representing more than 25 programs with strong labor and management commitment.

This is a cross-post by Barb Kucera, editor of Workday Minnesota.

Viking Drill & Tool employee Doug Sachs says the transition to more environmentally friendly production at the St. Paul company has benefited management, workers—and their wallets. “When you say green, people think cash,” he said.