The architecture of the green job: economic revitalization and the challenge of social equity

“ Green Jobs and Green Job Training in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The current recession is causing serious hardships for millions of Americans, but it also presents America with an opportunity. In charting our way out of this downturn, we have a chance to not only boost our economy, but to also address our pressing energy challenges by putting Americans back to work in green industries. We can develop new opportunities for today’s American workers and also for their children. ”

“ The nation is depending on you to help us end the tyranny of foreign oil and become energy independent -- by harnessing the wind and the sun, our water, our soil, and American innovation.
That's why I'm proud to join you this afternoon. That's why I am pleased that this department is in the capable hands of my great friend Ken Salazar. And that is why the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act creates jobs by making historic investments in the Department of the Interior. ”

“ They are largely domestic jobs that can’t be offshored. They tend to pay more than other jobs, even controlling for worker characteristics. Moreover, green jobs are an outgrowth of a larger movement to reform the way we create and use energy in both this country and the rest of the world. They represent a growth sector, and one that offers the dual promise of providing good jobs while meeting the environmental challenge to reduce our dependence on finite fossil fuels that generate harmful carbon emissions. ”

“ Building a new power grid, manufacturing solar panels, weatherizing homes and office buildings, renovating schools are just a few examples of ways in which we can create good-quality green jobs to strengthen our economy. ”

“ Green Jobs and Economic Mobility Green jobs can also provide a pathway into the middle class for those who are struggling economically. As President Obama noted at the announcement of the Middle Class Task Force on January 30, the task force’s work will include developing policy solutions for “people who aspire to be in the middle class. We’re not forgetting the poor. ”

“ Having a full-time job that pays above the minimum wage represents economic progress in and of itself for many program participants. Some previously had no income at all, or very meager incomes from public assistance; others were working at minimum wage jobs. But an additional goal of green job training initiatives should be to ensure that disadvantaged workers can get on a career pathway that leads to greater opportunity and the family-sustaining wages that middle-skill green jobs can provide. ”

“ For example, of all the wind power that we're talking about being able to create in the Midwest and North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and other plain states, is a -- significant potential. But it cannot carry that energy right now to population centers that need the electricity most without a new transmission superhighway. ”

“ However, the CEA’s analysis (see appendix table) also reveals important ways in which we can improve the green sector of the economy. Their analysis shows that green jobs are more likely to be held by whites, more likely to be held by men, and more likely to be located in suburban and rural areas. These results point to the need to make the opportunity to get a high-quality green job available to all kinds of Americans, including women, minorities, and inner-city residents. We will discuss strategies for broadening access to green jobs below, in the section on Green Jobs and Economic Mobility. ”

“ The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) establishes crucial infrastructure development programs and job training programs that will help green industries grow and thrive in America, and supports green investment that will spur demand for the green sector of the economy. By making investments now in our energy infrastructure, and ensuring that American workers have the skills they need to succeed in these new high-quality green jobs, the ARRA takes critical first steps in making America a fertile place for sustained green growth and job creation for years to come. ”

“ We’ll measure progress by the reforms we make and the results we achieve -- by the jobs we create, by the energy we save, by whether America is more competitive in the world.
Today, I am announcing a few key parts of my plan. First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. ”

“ The public sector and the private sector each have strengths and weaknesses, and it is important for the government to recognize its own weaknesses and actively seek ways to exploit the strengths of the private sector to advance a green jobs program. By structuring public policy in ways that encourage financing of green investments and working to ease the bottlenecks in green investment, the government can leverage the unique capabilities of the private sector to spur green job creation. ”

“ The green sector of the economy is growing rapidly, and continues to present enormous opportunities for future growth. Private sector investors are often seeking opportunities to invest in precisely the industries that will create high-quality green jobs for working families. As a result, one of the most important roles of the government in encouraging the creation of these jobs is to remove impediments to private investment in green industries. ”

“ The Federal government guarantees that banks will recoup their investment if they lend to clean energy projects. Because banks can be confident their loans will be repaid, they can confidently expand their lending, which gives clean energy companies reliable access to financing for their investments in new projects. New wind farms and solar power projects, in turn, provide business for wind turbine and solar cell manufacturers. By removing obstacles to getting financing for clean energy firms, this loan guarantee program leverages the private sector to drive green job creation. ”

“ However, the green sector of the economy also contains many jobs in energy efficiency. Financing investments in energy efficiency presents a different set of challenges. Investments in energy efficiency are much less centralized than investments in renewable energy; much of the work in energy efficiency involves retrofitting and weatherizing homes and businesses, whereas renewable energy projects are more likely to involve the creation of large generation facilities. ”

“ The city’s funding authority would also provide the mechanism by which these funds could be revolved, using part of the energy savings from businesses and households as the repayment stream, until the city and region’s entire building stock was brought to optimal energy efficiency. Extensive labor market intermediaries: For a variety of important reasons, green job initiatives throughout the nation have depended on a broad set of intermediaries to help ensure:
• workers receive the training they need to do these jobs; • green jobs are good jobs, with fair pay and benefits ”

“ Other associations such as the Sustainable Business Network are pooling the networking and purchasing power of small businesses throughout the region. The Greater Philadelphia Green Business Commitment creates building owner and tenant checklists that help foster further demand for green jobs. Financing Sources: Much like private employers must be at the heart of green job creation, private investors must play a key role in financing the investments in green technological advances that will themselves promote the green jobs movement. ”

“ Philadelphia, for example, is working with its unions, universities, and community colleges to impart green skills to workers from all walks of life. The city is also proposing a new public authority to support large-scale green investment, especially in weatherization, building retrofits, and infrastructure. ”

“ After decades in which the middle class has not gotten its fair share of the rewards from American growth and prosperity, the green sector of the economy represents a source of high-quality, well-paid jobs for the middle class. These green jobs also represent an opportunity for workers to organize into unions in high-growth industries in which labor and businesses can work together to build a green economy. ”

“ Further analysis by the CEA shows that after controlling for such differences, workers in green jobs typically earn better wages than workers in comparable non-green occupations, with a premium ranging from about 10-20 percent. This advantage is more substantial for workers in renewable energy industries, but the wage advantage is present for green jobs of many kinds. ”

“ These workforce training programs will ensure a plentiful supply of the most important input to the green sector of the economy: Americans workers with the skills they need to excel in new green jobs. The energy efficiency and renewable energy industries have been remarkably successful over the past several years, growing at impressive rates and generating high-quality green jobs across America. Without support, the current recession will force green industries to abandon their plans for expansion, halting job creation while setting back progress toward American energy independence by years. ”

“ Workers have always been the backbone of the American economy, and in order to make sure green industries continue to expand, we will need to teach our workers the skills they need for high-quality new green jobs. The ARRA addresses this need by funding workforce training initiatives, including $500 million for an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program that will be administered by the Department of Labor. ”

“ The skills young people learn today can help propel them through a lifelong career in the growing green sector of the economy. Our country’s future, and the economic security of our aging population, depends on younger workers becoming successful and productive citizens. At the same time, pathways into good green jobs should also be made available to older workers who are struggling to support their families and looking for opportunities to join the middle class. ”

“ Expand Access to Jobs Help Americans Grab a Hold of and Climb the Job Ladder: Obama and Biden will invest $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce. Create a Green Jobs Corps: Obama and Biden will create a program to directly engage disadvantaged youth in energy efficiency opportunities to strengthen their communities, while also providing them with practical skills in this important high-growth career field. ”

“ For example, pre-apprenticeship programs at community colleges, like the Seattle Vocational Institute’s Construction Training Program, can help open up new pathways into green labor apprenticeship programs for low-skilled minorities and women. Another strategy, which has been employed successfully in Newark, New Jersey, is to require green economic development projects to train local low-income residents for the construction jobs that they create. Initiatives like these can help ensure that the green building boom creates new opportunities for those seeking pathways out of poverty. ”

“ Crews of 8-10 work together on environmental projects around the city of Denver, including energy conservation in low-income housing, public land and water conservation, and, as part of the federally-supported YouthBuild program, green construction of new affordable housing. The work is paid and provides on-the-job training, which is accompanied by Corps-to-Career classes that teach job search and job preparedness skills. Corps members also receive basic education to make sure that they are ready to succeed post-program. ”

“ Run by Sustainable South Bronx, an environmental justice nonprofit, the BEST Program trains local low-income residents for skilled labor in green industries. Participants, nearly all of whom have been on some form of public assistance, go through a 10-week training program in jobs involved in green building, urban forestry, and other green industries. The program awards certificates for the various competencies in which it provides training, and also helps trainees to develop basic job skills. ”

“ Green for All describes itself as a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. The methods and tools of the operation are much like those described throughout this study, including public/private partnerships, connecting with labor market intermediaries for training, etc. But the organization also maintains a deep commitment to ensuring that persons of color and those from disadvantaged communities get an opportunity to get green jobs, thereby tapping into a growth sector and a potential foothold into the middle class. ”

“ We're excited to be in Philadelphia promoting an idea that has so many benefits. We're starting to make the investments needed to leave a cleaner world to our children while also creating good jobs right now. When you're creating green jobs, you're doing well by doing good. ”