Green Collar Jobs
 OVERVIEW
Prodded by rising energy prices, the role of “green collar jobs”
and the “green economy” is now a common theme in community development
circles. This section explores three key questions:
- How should one define the “green economy” and “green collar
jobs”?
- How many green jobs are likely to be generated in the next 10 years—and
for whom?
- And, most important, will green jobs build wealth and assets for low- and
middle-income Americans and help make a dent in our nation's growing
wealth inequality?
A much cited definition has been articulated by Raquel Pinderhughes, Director
of the Urban Studies Program at San Francisco State University and author of
Alternative Urban Futures: Planning for Sustainable Development in Cities: “blue-collar
work force opportunities created by firms and organizations whose mission is
to improve environmental quality.” Among the types of green jobs she identifies
are: recycling and reuse; hazardous materials clean-up; building retrofits to
increase energy efficiency and conservation; housing deconstruction; solar installation;
urban agriculture; and manufacturing of items related to the green economy (e.g.,
solar panels). As Pinderhughes points out, many of these jobs have limited educational
requirements, making green collar jobs natural replacements of traditional manufacturing
jobs. Van Jones of Green for All also notes that many of these jobs are place-based
– installing solar panels on a building in Oakland must be done on site;
it can't be outsourced to another country.
A number of factors are leading to an increase in green collar jobs, including:
- Activism stemming from the movement against environmental racism;
- Passage of policies related to zero waste, energy and water conservation,
solar energy, local procurement, open space, strengthening local food systems,
and so on;
- Rising consumer demand for environmentally friendly goods and services;
- Increased costs for non-recyclable “fossil fuel” sources of
energy; and
- Heightened concern over global warming and a desire among city governments,
businesses, and large anchor institutions to shrink their “carbon footprint.”
The movement for green jobs received an enormous boost in December 2007, when
Congress passed and President Bush signed into law The Green Jobs Act of 2007.
The Green Jobs Act is an initial pilot program to identify needed skills, develop
training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of industries –
including energy efficient building, construction and retrofits, renewable electric
power, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, and manufacturing that produces
sustainable products and uses sustainable processes and materials. The Green
Jobs Act became Title X of the Energy Independence and Security Act (often referred
to as the "2007 Energy Bill"). The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
will administer the program in consultation with the Department of Energy (DOE).
Particularly notable is that 20 percent of the up to $125 million in annual
spending authorized in the Green Jobs Act will be awarded in the form of competitive
grants to training partnerships that serve individuals under 200 percent of
the federal poverty line or a locally defined self-sufficiency standard. The
partnerships must include community-based organizations, educational institutions,
industry, and labor. In awarding grants, priority will be given to partnerships
that target low-income adults and youth and plan to implement various strategies
that enable access to, and successful completion of, training, including ensuring
that supportive services are delivered by organizations with direct access to
and experience with targeted populations.
The growing “green economy” is already big business. A study by
the American Solar Energy Society estimated that as of 2006 there were 196,000
jobs in the United States in renewable energy with a gross value of $39.2 billion.
It is worth noting, too, that recyclable energy tends to be more labor-intensive
than traditional energy sources, thus being a potential job creator. A 2004
University of California, Berkeley study estimated that if the United States
achieved the goal of 20 percent of its electricity coming from renewable energy
by 2020, this would employ between 163,000 and 188,000 people, while traditional
fossil fuel strategies would employ fewer than 90,000.
From a community wealth building perspective, a critical issue is whether
the green economy will simply be business as usual (albeit more environmentally
friendly) or whether green jobs will actually build assets and wealth for American
families.
To date, most green jobs are seen as simply a new employment strategy for inner
city residents and a new workforce development opportunity. The jobs that are
envisioned are little different from any other job offered by a standard American
company. If this trend continues, there is little reason to think that green
jobs (even if targeted at low-income Americans) will be any better at supporting
workers to build wealth and assets than other jobs available to low- and moderate-income
people.
That said, a few promising approaches are emerging that represent an important
opportunity for those wishing to employ community wealth building strategies
that develop community ownership and community jobs at the same time. In particular,
community groups have been active in employing green collar job strategies by:
- Forming cooperatives to buy and/or produce renewable energy;
- Creating alternative energy-focused worker cooperatives;
- Organizing employee-owned green businesses to provide goods and services;
- Developing green job corps apprenticeship programs;
- Creating nonprofit social enterprise “deconstruction” businesses
that salvage materials from existing businesses;
- Developing “urban agriculture” programs that sell locally grown
organic produce;
- Creating energy efficient green affordable housing, thereby saving energy
while also reducing residents' utility payments; and
- Shifting existing manufacturing businesses toward hybrid vehicles
and other alternative technologies.
The sections which follow identify the many organizations involved in doing
support and policy work and research on these issues, as well as examples of
innovative on-the-ground efforts. Given that this sector is newly emerging,
there are relatively few mature models and much still to be done. Nonetheless,
the promise of green jobs as an economic development strategy for local communities
is clear, and we anticipate continuing innovation and growth in the years ahead. |
