In the Media

Media Contacts

For press or media request, please contact the Coalition media team:

Jenesse E. Miller
Communications Director
California League of Conservation Voters
510-844-0235
jmiller at ecovote dot org

Abel Habtegeorgis
Media Relations Manager
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
510-285-8232
abel at ellabakercenter dot org

In the Media

On August 31, 2009, the Coalition released this statement, coinciding with Governor Schwarzeneggar’s announcement of the “California Clean Energy Workforce Training Program,” which is largely funded from Recovery Act dollars. The Coalition provided significant input during the development of this program.

$75 Million in Training for Green Jobs in California Applauded by California Green Stimulus Coalition
RECOVERY ACT FUNDS WILL KICK-START CRITICAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Sacramento & Oakland, Calif. – August 31, 2009 — The California Green Stimulus Coalition – an alliance of the state’s top environmental, energy, labor, economic development and social justice groups – claimed a major victory today with the unveiling of a $75 million program to train workers for the new, clean energy economy in California. The Coalition has been deeply involved in the development of plans for how to use American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds devoted to the State Energy Program and applauds the California Energy Commission (CEC) and Employment Development Department (EDD) for developing this landmark program through a transparent and extensive public process.

“This program is the biggest single green job training fund ever in California,” said Ian Kim, coordinator of the Coalition and director of the Ella Baker Center’s Green-Collar Jobs Campaign. “This program will provide green pathways out of poverty and help those who have recently lost their jobs from sliding into poverty.”

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held a press conference in Los Angeles to announce the $75 million “Clean Energy Workforce Training Program” developed by the CEC. The program combines funds from several state and federal sources and involves collaboration with other state agencies including the EDD and California Green Collar Jobs Council. The core of the program is funded from the State Energy Program, which received $226 million in stimulus funds for energy efficiency programs and workforce development that could create thousands of jobs and benefit tens of thousands of homeowners in California.

“The Clean Energy Workforce Training Program will help unemployed and under-skilled workers to launch new careers in the growing clean energy industry, and at the same time break through a critical barrier to the growth of California’s clean energy economy—the lack of a prepared workforce,” said Mac Lynch, Interim California State Coordinator of the Apollo Alliance.

“With California’s unemployment rate nearing twelve percent, this is a much-needed, timely program to help drive a sustained, green economic recovery for California,” said Warner Chabot, CEO of the California League of Conservation Voters.

Members of the Coalition referred to a June 2009 report, published by the Department of Economics and Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, which found that investments in clean energy generate 16.7 jobs for every $1 million invested. This high level of job creation contrasts sharply with investments in the fossil fuel industry, which only generates 5.3 jobs per $1 million invested.

“We’re in the midst of profound industrial transition. Soon all jobs in California will be green jobs; we’re not talking about a single industry sector,” said Tim Rainey of the California Labor Federation. “We know that when skill-demands change dramatically, workers are more at risk of losing their jobs. This commitment of resources to green skills training is the best layoff aversion strategy.”

“The Clean Energy Workforce Training Program will train Californians for the jobs of tomorrow, which is good news at a time when many of us are feeling the effects of the economic downturn,” said Lara Ettenson, Director of California Energy Efficiency Policy at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “This training program will create energy efficiency, transportation and clean energy jobs to help recharge California’s economy while saving energy, money and the environment.”

With an estimated $85 billion in federal Recovery Act funds coming to California over the next two years, the California Green Stimulus Coalition is advocating for funds to be used in the most effective, most equitable, and most environmentally sustainable way possible. Coalition members have been working for months to develop detailed policy recommendations as the state government makes complex and rapid decisions on spending billions of dollars. The Coalition draws on deep expertise from multiple fields, including workforce development, economic development, and energy and environmental policy, and unites a politically influential alliance of leading environmental organizations, labor unions, and social justice groups.

“We’ve long understood that the new green era should be a boon for California and its workers,” said Bob Balgenorth, President of the State Building and Construction Trades Council. “We saw early on that an enlightened climate change policy would be good for the environment and good for job creation. So we are embracing the challenge of producing a generation of skilled workers who can turn California green.”

About the California Green Stimulus Coalition:
Formed in January 2009, the California Green Stimulus Coalition brings together dozens of California’s most respected organizations advocating for the environment, economic justice, organized labor and a strong workforce system. As billions in federal stimulus dollars arrive in California, the Coalition is advocating for high quality job creation and economic development in the greenest and most equitable way possible. For more information and a complete list of Coalition members please visit the Web site: www.CaliforniaGreenStimulus.org.



The Capitol Weekly published our op-ed by leading green jobs advocates Phil Angelides, Warner Chabot and Angela Glover Blackwell:

The $45 billion stimulus question: What now?

With the recent passage of the federal economic recovery bill, now comes the even harder part — turning those dollars into good, lasting jobs for Californians.

The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide roughly $45 billion to help heal California’s deep economic wounds. The White House projects the bill will result in nearly 400,000 new California jobs. But what kind of jobs will be created and how will we decide which ones to fund?

This package offers the single greatest opportunity to jumpstart our state’s transition to a 21st century economy by investing in California’s clean energy future and creating good jobs, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We must both revive our ailing economy while confronting the threat of climate change. We can and must do both.

Creating jobs quickly, however, does not mean that California should sacrifice the opportunity to do it right. We deserve a process to allocate the stimulus funds that is clear, transparent and accessible. And we deserve funding priorities that provide the greatest number of good, long term jobs that provide lasting environmental and social benefits.

Countless advocates successfully pushed for the package to support “green-collar jobs”– jobs that pay family-supporting wages, have a career path, and contribute to environmental sustainability. The federal investments in the stimulus package have the potential to achieve these goals by improving energy efficiency, upgrading our transmission grid, and providing much-needed job training to low-income residents to build up the next generation of green-collar workers.
With California mired in an economic crisis, getting funds out the door and into the best job-creating projects must be our top priority. To make that happen, the state must follow these four core principles:

Transparency: In contrast to Sacramento’s backroom budget negotiations, California must have a clear, transparent process for the public to provide input and track where the money is going. With Californians pinching every penny in their own households and lacking confidence in state government, residents must be assured they are receiving the benefits of their hard-earned tax dollars. California must meet or exceed the high level of federal oversight President Obama has set.

Support a triple bottom line: Good green jobs will bring a triple benefit by creating economic sustainability for employees and business owners, improving the environment, and building up communities, especially those most at risk in this economic downturn. California’s policymakers must ensure that newly created jobs provide family-supporting wages and benefits with a career pathway and promote the preservation or restoration of the environment. Doing so will maximize economic growth and ensure the responsible use of taxpayer dollars.

Rebuild Clean and Green: Policymakers should apply forward-thinking energy efficiency standards to all stimulus projects, including transportation and buildings. We must seize the opportunity to put our communities on the path to sustainable economic progress. Reducing our energy use and cutting greenhouse gas emissions is a smart, long-term, economic growth strategy.

Shared prosperity: While hard times have fallen on every corner of the state, some California communities are suffering more than others. As we build a new clean energy economy, we must ensure lower income communities and communities of color across the State receive long overdue investments. State leaders must target job training for people and regions too often left out of economic opportunities, re-employ dislocated workers, and ensure broad sharing of the opportunities created by the stimulus. The state’s community college system and State-approved apprenticeship programs are perfectly suited to help build career ladders for millions of low-income Californians.

We have joined with dozens of the states most influential and respected environmental, social justice, labor, and workforce organizations to form the California Green Stimulus Coalition. As federal stimulus dollars arrive in California, the Coalition will work to ensure that our leaders deploy them in a way that builds a strong and equitable California. Now let’s seize the $45 billion opportunity to take California in a new clean and green direction.

by,
Phil Angelides, Warner Chabot and Angela Glover Blackwell

In the Blogosphere