Following the recent announcement that the nation’s largest electric freight and bus manufacturing plant, run by Lion Electric, will be operating out of Joliet, residents, workers, and youth from across the warehousing, distribution, and logistics industry are coming together to demand that the local businesses throughout the I-55 industrial corridor be some of the first to purchase Joliet-made electric vehicles.

Lion Electric, which expects to build 20,000 electric vehicles annually, has set up shop in one of the nation’s largest hubs for distribution. Will County is a major warehousing and distribution hub for the continental United States. Home to hundreds of global companies, warehouses in the area include Amazon, Target, Home Depot, Walmart, Mars, IKEA, and many more. Altogether 3.5% of the country’s GDP now moves through the area’s surrounding warehouses, rails, highways, and rivers of Will County. The I-55 industrial corridor is a highly profitable area for the massively wealthy national warehousing and logistics industry, and it is time they invest their profit back into the safety of the communities and workers who keep the industry moving. Warehousing, logistics, and distribution centers in this region are essential to the national movement of goods, and we can make these crucial jobs better, greener, and more safe for the workers, residents, and environment alike.

The community-led push for electrification is a nationwide response to critical concerns about the environmental degradation and devastating health impacts of heightened diesel pollution in the predominantly Black & Brown and working-class communities located nearest to these major industrial hubs. Illinois can be a leader in a just transition to electrification by supporting workers and communities in and around the logistics industry by investing in quality workforce training that will ensure better, greener jobs, starting in the I-55 industrial corridor. By raising industry standards and providing quality workforce training, Illinois can be a leader in a just transition in the logistics industry by centering the needs of warehouse workers, truck drivers, and manufacturing workers while creating better, greener jobs for our future.

We urge our Governor, local elected officials, and local industries to commit to a future with higher labor standards and clean air for the above reasons. We want Illinois stakeholders to take charge for clean air and good jobs by taking the following actions:

1. We urge Governor J.B Pritzker to commit to a complete transition of Medium-Heavy Duty fleet vehicle sales to zero-emission vehicles by 2050. To accomplish this, we ask Governor Pritzker to sign on to the multi-state NESCAUM MOU and direct the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to adopt the Advanced Clean Trucks and Heavy-Duty Omnibus rules no later than 2022, to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles while addressing fossil fuel truck pollution in the near-term.

2. We ask our local industry to commit to purchasing union-made electric vehicles manufactured by high-road contractors and call on our local city and county-level electeds to put pressure on local warehouses receiving massive tax breaks at the local level to invest in these vehicles. We hope Lion Electric will soon make substantive commitments to good jobs and equity and be a leader in this area, so local businesses can buy union-made electric vehicles from right here in Joliet.

3. We call on our local, city, and county-level officials to fund green training programs in collaboration with local colleges, as well as MHD EV truck purchasing programs, to facilitate a just transition for diesel truck drivers and mechanics.

4. We demand the industry prioritize workers by raising industry standards across the entire warehousing and distribution supply chain, including for warehouse workers, truck drivers, sanitation workers, and Lion manufacturing workers. We want the local industry to make an immediate commitment to the demands and priorities of worker-led governing bodies or structures, including task forces, unions, and community benefits agreements.

Thank you for your consideration.