“When I think about climate change, I hear the word ‘Jobs’.” That was a phrase often uttered by then-candidate Joe Biden during the campaign. The focus on climate-related jobs steers the discussion away from the costly and stressful reality of a warming planet threatening the health of everyone on it, towards a silver lining. It is estimated that fighting climate change will create millions of jobs. Incumbent President Biden has said it will be “well-paying union jobs.”
When it comes to tackling climate change, California has often been ahead of other states in setting strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions for utilities. The state accounts for 10% of the country’s automobiles but 40% of electric cars. And California set emissions standards for gas-powered cars, which became the standard for the auto industry.
The Golden State has also made efforts to couple climate investments with labor standards and programs that expand access for disadvantaged groups. This Capital & Main series explores three of these strategies being used in industries critical to decarbonizing our economy: vehicle manufacturing, utilities, and EV charging infrastructure.
The series represents an attempt to move the conversation beyond the simplistic moniker of “green jobs.” After all, most “green jobs” are no different from other jobs. Climate investments will largely fund existing jobs — electricians, utility workers, manufacturing workers — who now need to learn new skills to do the job of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Human resource policies, such as those explored in this series, determine the quality, safety, and access to these jobs.
Capital & Main examined the following initiatives:
- Proterra, a City of Industry electric bus manufacturer, signs a benefits agreement with United Steelworkers Local 675 and a coalition of community organizations, committing to hire veterans, ex-convicts and individuals from other hard-to-employ groups. Larry Buhl investigates whether this training program is meeting its goals.
- A training program run jointly by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 18 and the LA Department of Water and Power is preparing residents from some of LA’s poorest zip codes for a career at DWP, the nation’s largest municipal utility. Buhl examines the success rate of Utility Pre-Craft Trainee Program participants who work on home weathering as part of their on-the-job training for future utility careers.
- California lawmakers are attaching a qualification standard to publicly-funded work to expand the state’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure after initially meeting industry opposition. Jessica Goodheart looks at the origins of the electric vehicle infrastructure trainee program and examines the debate between labor advocates and an industry group over whether this authorization is required to ensure the safe installation of California’s charging frame.
Each of these stories offers a close-up of the people who will transform and sustain our infrastructure as the state works to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
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