“Green collar” rally calls for enviro-helping jobs

by KRISTINE WONG 

Sep. 27 — Most Saturdays, Mosswood Park is filled with a lively mixture of families, dog walkers, and weekend soccer warriors. Today, a different group of voices rang out from the park’s center stage – those of environmentalists, builders, and students who rallied for new jobs to improve both the economy and the environment. 

The rally, sponsored by the Oakland-based Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, featured remarks by Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, Oakland City Council Member Nancy Nadel, and students poised to join Oakland’s new Green Jobs Corps, a program aimed at training a new generation of skilled labor to work in the emerging green economy, while providing at-risk youth with access to a stable career path. 

 “I’m excited to be part of a program that’s going to bring back money and jobs for us,” Olivia Caldwell, 29, told the crowd as she balanced her year-old daughter in her arms. Caldwell, who said she hopes to work in green construction, was formerly a medical assistant who decided to change careers so she could spend more time outside and earn a better living. 

Khanh Huynh, 24, spoke of wanting to learn how to install solar panels in homes and businesses. The first-generation immigrant said he might try to bring what he learns back to his native Vietnam. “I was in Vietnam last summer and they had a problem with electrical power,” he said. 

In a faltering economy, Caldwell and Huynh’s career choices appear to be wise. Despite the rising gas prices, foreclosures, and increased layoffs that have become the hallmark for these times, the green sector of the economy continues to grow: green building and construction; energy audits and retrofits; the manufacturing of green products; and the development and implementation of alternative energy sources, including wind power, solar energy, and biofuels. 

What’s missing, some economists suggest, is a “green-collar” workforce. A recent study conducted by UC Berkeley economist David Roland-Holst estimated that as a result of 2006 state legislation requiring California to achieve 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2020, the state’s gross domestic product will increase by $74 billion, and 89,000 new jobs will be created by 2020. 

At the same time, the exit of the baby boomers from the workforce over the next 10-20 years will create an even greater shortage of workers to fill these positions. 

Support for green-collar jobs has been steadily mounting. In 2007, Congress passed the Green Jobs Act, which will provide $125 million in funding for jobs-training programs focused on energy efficiency. The Act places a priority on training veterans, displaced workers, and at-risk youth for these jobs. 

At the Mosswood Park rally, attendees milled between fiery hip-hop performers and speakers on the main stage to the more subdued resource fair and energy-efficient technology demonstrations in the back of the park, where they could sign up to get involved with a local organization, or marvel at smoothies being made in a blender hooked up to a solar panel.

The rally was one of scores of several similar events that took place around the country today.   In many participating cities, individuals and organizations added to the day’s activities with  green building tours, and informal discussions at homes and supporting organizations. 

The Oakland Green Jobs Corps was initiated by the Ella Baker Center and the Oakland Apollo Alliance in 2006. This year, Oakland funded the program with $250,000 of settlement money from California’s lawsuit against the Williams and Reliant energy companies for gouging prices during deregulation. Cypress Mandela Training Center, Laney Community College, and Growth Sector, Inc. have been contracted to carry out the training programs. The Corps is also advised by its own Green Employer Council, a 12-member advisory board comprised of Bay Area green businesses to provide job placement, apprenticeships, and guidance in regards to developments in the green economy. 

The first stage of the 8-month program focuses on an introduction to the skilled trades, and prepares trainees for job readiness by teaching them how to write resumes and handle interviews. Students will also be introduced to ecology, environmental sustainability, and environmental justice. 

During the second stage, students continue to Laney Community College for classes in solar installation, green construction, and energy efficiency and retrofitting. In the last stage, students receive 3 months of on-the-job training with local green employers.  

Some advocates emphasized today that the popular new term for environmentally-oriented jobs, “green collar,” should imply benefits for the workers as well.  “Green-collar jobs provide workers a living wage and opportunity for upward mobility and increased specialization,” said Emily Kirsch, Bay Area Green Collar Jobs Campaign organizer at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. 

To maximize Green Jobs Corps retention rates, both Cypress Mandela and Laney Community College have promised to provide social support and case management throughout the program. “We recognize that many of our students face challenges that can interfere with their education,” said Peter Crabtree, Dean of Career and Technical Education at Laney Community College. “Each student will receive a case manager that can help them with things like child care and transportation.” 

In 2009, the first class of 40 graduates  is supposed to be placed in paid positions in Bay Area solar installation and green construction companies, including Sun Light & Power, located in Berkeley. A member of the Green Employer Council, Sun Light & Power has grown in the last 5 years from 10 employees to almost 60 employees, according to Martin Morehouse, a company manager. “We’re excited for the Green Jobs Corps because we’re desperate to hire people that can do the work,” Morehouse said. “Currently, we hire people from plumbing, electricity and basic carpentry backgrounds, but we have to get them up to speed in regards to how to work in energy-efficient technology. We like the idea of relying on a local training program to give us highly trained and knowledgeable people.” 

Rally organizer Kirsch was hopeful about the outcome of today’s event.

“We’ll be sending a message to elected officials, Congress, and the next President that the country is ready to embrace the green economy,” she said. “We want them to know that change can come from the bottom up.”

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