(KNSI) — Two days after President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address, Vice President Kamala Harris came to St. Cloud to tour New Flyer and highlight the administration’s investments in electric vehicles.
CWA Local 7304 Union President and welder Matt LeLou walked Vice President Harris through the plant and said having her come and spotlight the company and the work there was a wonderful opportunity, “highlighting the clean electric buses that we sell to all of America. Not everyone gets the opportunity to have such a high ranking official come to hang out and highlight our product. I think it’s going to be fantastic for our community and the people that work here.”
He said he feels the work being done at New Flyer is hugely important right now and for the future “to have a green energy climate, to reduce carbon [emissions] to help the climate recover from some of the pollution. Down to the local level, not having diesel buses running through communities is a good thing. That exhaust doesn’t do any health benefits for anybody.”
There are 30,000 New Flyer buses on the roads today.
CWA Local 7304 Union Vice President Wade Walwatne said Harris’s visit “speaks volumes about the quality that we do at New Flyer. We have plenty of competitors, and of all the shops, she chose to have her picture taken with our buses. That speaks volumes as far as how they feel about our product, and how we’re going to go on to build plenty of buses. We’re going to keep continuing creating all of these jobs, and it really is all about the future. We have a strong team of engineers, we’ve been spending a lot of money in development and trying to stay on top of the technology of batteries. That’s something that’s always changing.”
He said it’s “incredible to have her come here. She chose us. With the infrastructure bills, and the money that they put into transportation in general, has really puhed the edge on all electric buses, they’re the future.” Walwatne says the plant will be busy as the order sheets are filling up “at a really fast rate for all buses, frankly, but especially electric buses. We build the best buses.”
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KNSI News Reporter Jake Judd contributed to this story.
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