The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected the PACCAR (operating as Kenworth) facility in Renton, Wash., which employs approximately 300 members of IAM Union District 160, as a recipient of its Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program, which supports the transition to zero-emission vehicles.
“This funding support will have a massive impact on IAM Union members in Washington state,” said IAM Union Western Territory General Vice President Robert “Bobby” Martinez. “Not only will we be working with other unions and PACCAR to preserve our workforce in the facility, but we will develop the skills of existing members, strengthening our position in the burgeoning electric vehicle industry.”
The DOE is investing over $1.8 billion by way of the Inflation Reduction Act, a part of former President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, to support the conversion of 13 closed or at-risk auto manufacturing and assembly facilities across Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, and Washington state to manufacture electric vehicles and their supply chains.
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