Green Labor Journal - Working for a Substainable Future

Green Jobs for a Blue Economy

The nation stands at the crossroads of a Green New Deal that will revitalize American manufacturing.

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“The nation stands at the crossroads of opportunity for domestic investments in innovation, new technology and energy efficiency that will save jobs, create new jobs and new industries and revitalize American manufacturing.  There is no guarantee that these will be good jobs or that the investments will be made here unless we fight to make it so.”
    - March 2008, AFL-CIO Executive Council Statement on Greening the Economy

This isn’t the first time that unions have taken up the issues of energy independence, renewable energy and job creation.  An attempt within the AFL-CIO to open a new environmental/labor dialogue in 2000 did not succeed.  Environmentalists talked about job creation, but it was more rhetoric than reality. Unions could see job losses occurring but lacked clarity about where new jobs could be created. It was clear that starting with just an environmental dialogue wasn’t enough.

The Apollo Alliance began organizing in 2002 under the umbrella of a progressive think tank, Campaign for America’s Future. Their approach was one-on-one institutional organizing that focused on the identification of key issues upon which all sides agreed. It worked. 

Apollo created a clear vision for energy independence that created jobs, a cleaner environment and rebuilt communities. Their approach embraced new and re-engineered energy technologies, efficiency and smart growth, and spoke to union values of jobs and security.  The Apollo Alliance brought together the largest coalition of environmental and labor organizations ever assembled, paving the way for the development of the Blue-Green Alliance. 

The Blue-Green Alliance is a direct outgrowth of years of cooperative work on trade issues between the Sierra Club and industrial unions. The Blue-Green Alliance unites more than six million people in pursuit of good jobs, a clean environment and a green economy.  The partnership has been on full display during the climate debate, running ads and mobilizing members across the country to support the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

The core issues that the Alliance partners have agreed upon include,
    ▪ Passage of comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation;
    ▪ Labor law reform and the restoration of the rights of workers in the United States to organize and bargain collectively;
    ▪ Establishment of a 21st Century trade policy that promotes growth and prosperity across all sectors of global society and embeds enforceable labor, environmental and human rights standards in our trade agreements; and
    ▪ Creation of an informed 21st century policy on toxic chemicals that protects workers and communities from dangerous chemicals, enhances public health and promotes safer alternatives.

In Search of Green Jobs
The question of what is a green job hit home during the 2007 climate talks in Bali.  In a meeting between U.S. labor and environmental leaders a union official first spoke with admiration of the job the environmental movement had done, but went on to say, “it’s too bad green jobs don’t mean a damn thing to working people. It’s a shame because they should.”

 His point was that green jobs were linked with wind and solar energy, and too often defined as something estranged from the lives of most people. Further discussion defined a broader vision of green jobs - ranging from autoworkers producing electric cars to construction workers retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency. As a result, our unions went home with a mission:

    ▪ to broaden the definition of green jobs; and
    ▪ to lay claim to the work, and make certain that green jobs were good jobs.

The idea of defining green jobs resulted in a lot of collaborative research. Sectoral studies, such as the “Manufacturing Climate Solutions” series sponsored by AFL-CIO unions and the Environmental Defense Fund, demonstrate how clean technologies, such as high-performance windows, auxiliary power units, LED lighting and concentrated solar thermal power, contribute to job creation. These reports demonstrate that green jobs are important, that it matters where things are made, and that new investments in sustainable energy must be structured to create good jobs in the United States.

In defining green jobs, simple overviews are provided from the AFL-CIO and the Blue Green Alliance. In the AFL-CIO statement “Greening the Economy” it is stated “the greening of the economy means that every job that contributes to a low-carbon future is a green job.”  Dave Foster of the Blue-Green Alliance describes green jobs as “blue-collar jobs with a green purpose… a green job is one with good wages and benefits, including an upward career pathway, doing work that increases environmental sustainability."

Today, the U.S. is home to only two of the world’s 10 largest solar photovoltaic producers, one of the top ten advanced battery manufacturers, and two of the top 10 wind turbine producers.  In 2008, the United States ran an overall green trade deficit of $8.9 billion. The AFL-CIO’s goal is to turn this deficit around.

Principles for Environmental Economic Development
In the legislative arena the AFL-CIO has been guided by its energy task force.  A paper by the task force, “Jobs and Energy for the 21st Century” acknowledged the scientific evidence that “human use of fossil fuels is undisputedly contributing to global warming.” The paper served notice to Congress, environmentalists and industry that labor would be an active participant in the debate, and that we had a set of environmental and economic principles guiding our work.

The AFL-CIO supports a new environmental economic development policy, which places manufacturing and trade at the center of a green economy program, calling for new investments in a sustainable energy infrastructure to create good jobs and ensure stable energy prices. In turn, these must be supported by effective trade policies. Without these key elements, there is a serious risk of driving good jobs offshore into nations with less carbon efficient production.

A just transition to a greener economy requires an aggressive, sustained commitment of national resources to create and retain good jobs, increase income, modernize industry, develop technology, and educate workers. It requires assistance for any workers or communities that may be adversely affected by the transition, and a democratic voice for workers in their workplaces and in their communities.

Investing in Green Jobs
Efforts to make a down payment on a new energy/climate policy became apparent in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The AFL-CIO pushed hard for a green stimulus package that resulted in over $80 billion targeted at green infrastructure. This included the following: $11 billion towards a smart electric grid, $3.4 billion for CCS (carbon-capture-sequestration), $2 billon for lithium ion and future generation batteries, $15 billion for federal building efficiency, $11 billion for home weatherization, $20 billion for wind incentives, $8 billion for mass transit, $1 billion for training in green jobs and more.

The green jobs training calls for labor, employer and community partnerships that are re-skilling people for new technology in construction, weatherization, utilities, manufacturing, etc. We have found that most green jobs training is about new skills for old jobs and old skills for new jobs.

The same investment focus by the AFL-CIO is part of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. This legislation covers over 83 per cent of carbon emissions, includes investments in new clean energy, and provides for worker and family assistance. It mandates new energy saving standards for buildings and appliances, and promotes energy efficiency in industry. Finally, it protects consumers from energy price increases.

A Green New Deal, A Just Transition
A Green New Deal must be an integral part of a just transition of the economy. We now stand at the crossroads of opportunity for domestic investments in innovation and energy efficiency that will save jobs, create new jobs and new industries, and revitalize manufacturing. But there is no guarantee that these will be good jobs. Together we must fight to make it so.

Bob Baugh is the Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council and Co-chair of the AFL-CIO Energy Task Force. This is an edited version of an article he wrote at the request of the British Trade Union Congress for publication during the TUC’s September 2009 national convention.  For complete text of original article,see Standing at the Crossroads.