Flag Array on Mall Calls Attention to Fight for Clean Energy, Green Jobs

Calling for green jobs and a clean energy future, CWA joined with other unions, veterans and environmentalists Wednesday in the shadow of the Washington Monument where 10,000 American flags spelled out "Freedom From Oil."

CWA Senior Director George Kohl, speaking among the sea of flags that volunteers planted overnight, stressed how vital it is to build high-speed broadband networks that will create jobs and "play a critical role in reducing emissions and improving our environment."

"These networks bring vital information and services to our hospitals, schools, libraries and homes," he said. "Yet with all our vast wealth, this critical infrastructure is still out of reach for 100 million Americans."

The June 30 event was hosted by the Sierra Club, one of CWA's partners in the Blue Green Alliance of unions and environmental groups. Other speakers included former Army captain and Iraq veteran Jonathan Powers.

"It is a shame that we will let yet another July Fourth pass us by without ending our unnecessary dependence on oil – a dependence that is funding the bullets that our enemies fire at our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan," Powers said. "It is for that reason, and many more, that the fight for energy independence is being fought here at home, a struggle we hope more Americans will join in support of those who are fighting abroad."