Green Collar Jobs Roundtable - June 24, 2008

The Green Collar Jobs Roundtable was a success, bringing together approximately 130 participants from over 80 organizations, companies, agencies, and unions with the aim of creating a coordinated, citywide workforce development plan to prepare New Yorkers for green collar jobs by Spring 2009. While a number of organizations were cross sectoral, the following 4 sectors each accounted for about 20% of attendees: Business, Workforce Development, Labor and Advocacy. About 10% of attendees were from community-based organizations and about 10% from government.

It is worth nothing that the June Roundtable was the start of a process. The objective of the first meeting was to exchange ideas and make connections across sectors. Accordingly, much of the discussion was broad. However, participants laid the groundwork for more critical dialogue and strategic planning which will follow.

Below are the major points raised at the meeting. They are loosely arranged according to the frequency they were raised, with the more salient points at the top. The second part of this document includes other Roundtable discussion trends and topics. Notes from all twelve discussion groups, feedback forms from over 80 individual participants as well as comments from the NYC Apollo Alliance Steering Committee and others in attendance were used to create this summary. Importantly, this could not have been done without the effort and commitment of the Roundtable facilitators and note takers. They are listed on the last page of this document along with their contact information.

Major Points Raised

Business/employer engagement - Every table discussed the importance of engaging the private sector in developing green collar jobs. It was argued that if we fail to bring business to the table or neglect business interests in formulating a workforce development strategy, we run the risk of poorly allocating workforce development resources, increasing our dependence on out-of-state companies to provide 'green' products and materials, undercutting our city's competitiveness, and undermining our ability to bring renewables and recycling to scale. Some participants also suggested that many businesses are hesitant to 'go green' because it is a costly process. Participants offered several ideas as to how to best engage and attract the private sector including: incentives, government mandates, investments in clean tech, marketing, education and advertising campaigns, and local procurement policies.

Greater stakeholder collaboration - A number of Roundtable participants emphasized the need for greater stakeholder collaboration to create and prepare for green collar jobs. Numerous ideas were offered as to how different parties could collectively work together to advocate for job-creating policies and incentives, develop training partnerships, leverage workforce development resources, or increase awareness of green collar jobs and emerging green collar subsectors. Some common ideas included:

1. Linking community groups, unions and City agencies to develop green local recruitment programs in the mold of Construction Skills 2000
2. Connecting workforce development providers with the private sector to ensure that training matches demand for jobs
3. Developing collaborative green collar job fairs, recruitment sessions and websites targeting people with barriers to employment
4. Jointly engaging developers, building owners and the business community to establish green job certifications and standards
5. Solidifying labor-community links
6. Initiating multi-union dialogues to address jurisdictional disputes

Participants offered many reasons for promoting greater stakeholder collaboration. Specifically, collaboration was seen as a means to: prevent training for jobs that don't exist; engage unemployed and underemployed populations; ensure that green collar subsectors are unionized; and ensure that policy drivers of green collar jobs are passed and that incentives are available.

Green collar job data and projections - Many participants - particularly from workforce development and government - suggested that comprehensive, hard data on green collar jobs is greatly needed. Specifically, participants called for:

1. Information on green collar employers;
2. Information on green collar job skill sets and skill gaps
3. Job titles and salaries;
4. Quantitative data on workforce and subsector growth and demand;
5. An analysis of successful training programs; and
6. Qualitative data on barriers to employment and employer demand.

Although numerous participants said that we need more data, not all parties emphasized the same sort of data. Some participants, for instance, asserted that we need more quantitative data on demand before we can create training programs, but others asserted that there are no reliable measures of employer demand and that instead of relying on numbers we should reach out to employers to ascertain what jobs and skills will be needed in the emerging 'green' economy. Many participants indicated that they do not know much about green collar jobs and that they need data in order to move forward with the proposed Roundtable process.

Green standards and certifications - Participants suggested that 'green collar jobs' is a vague and amorphous concept in need of some clarity. Many argued that without codified standards and certifications, the 'green collar jobs' frame could be co-opted or misused to describe jobs with a negligible effect on the environment (e.g. a receptionist at a 'green' company) or jobs with companies that don't pay living wages or provide opportunities for advancement.

Standards and certifications were viewed as a means of 'balancing the playing field' to ensure that companies with a trained and prepared workforce have a competitive advantage in the green economy. Because many 'green' projects demand a high level of precision and experience, several participants argued that job certifications would ensure that 'green' projects actually meet their environmental mandates. It was suggested that many existing 'green' projects were not as 'green' as they could be, because the workers on the job weren't trained properly, and there was no oversight of their qualifications or skills. Government, universities and well-known independent organizations such as the United States Green Building Council were touted as potential providers for green collar job certifications and diplomas. It was also suggested that without standardized job titles, there is potential for confusion over qualifications, skill sets and training and that this could in turn affect recruitment and training. Several participants said that there must be identifiable job titles with specific branding images in order to adequately link potential employees to the green collar workforce. Lastly, it was argued that, green products and materials should be certified and standardized.

Local manufacturing and procurement - Roundtable participants highlighted both the environmental and job-creation benefits of local manufacturing. Local manufacturing was discussed primarily in terms of green building and, to a lesser extent, recycling, transportation infrastructure and renewable energy. Participants touted manufacturing job's wages, exchanged anecdotes on outsourcing and lamented rezoning, but little to no attention was paid to manufacturing's attendant issues such as the Industrial Commercial and Incentive Program (ICIP), freight and barge infrastructure, and Industrial Business Zones (IBZs). Several participants emphasized the role that government can and must play in stimulating local manufacturing and many stated that local procurement stipulations should be attached to any 'green' project or certification.

Bringing green collar subsectors to scale - Many participants said that we must first scale-up the relatively nascent subsectors of the emerging green economy before we create green collar jobs. They asserted that government incentives and grants are imperative to scaling up the residential retrofit market, the solar industry, brownfield cleanup initiatives and the city's recycling infrastructure and that government must continue to lead the way in all things green. Consumer and business behavior was also seen as a major driver of the green economy, and several participants proposed enhancing 'green' marketing and advertising campaigns to scale-up demand for green collar jobs.

Pathways out of poverty - Many participants argued that green collar sectors should provide pathways out of poverty for the formerly incarcerated, low-income communities of color, people with limited education, young people, and mothers returning to the workforce. It was argued that in addition to developing mechanical and technical aptitude, there must also be a focus on basic skills. GED preparation was often cited as an important component of creating pathways out of poverty. Some proposed establishing green collar job training programs that target certain populations, such as a transitional program for the formerly incarcerated or a youth corps. Others suggested that unions need to form partnerships with organizations and agencies that work with certain populations, such as the Department of Youth and Community Development.

Although no one disputed that equity and access are important, the 'pathways out of poverty' point was not without controversy. Some argued that we should focus first and foremost on creating the jobs and keep equity concerns secondary. Others took issue with job corps programs on the grounds that they often undermine established union positions. It was also argued that the market will create jobs and that we must therefore drive and scale-up the green economy and not focus on 'pathways out of poverty.'

Other Discussion Trends and Topics

Emphasis on energy efficiency and building retrofits - Although all of the green collar subsectors identified in the briefing packet were mentioned at the Roundtable, building retrofits and energy efficient maintenance were by far the most discussed topics. At some tables, the conversation exclusively revolved around retrofitting buildings - particularly residential buildings - and only jobs in weatherization and the home performance field were mentioned. Split incentives, NYSERDA programs, building and energy codes, and the city's nonunionized retrofit industry were frequently discussed. Participants consistently said that we should engage building owners, management companies, utilities, contractors, developers, the Building Owners and Management Association (BOMA) and the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). Based on the feedback, it appears that energy efficiency and building retrofits are perceived as having the most potential to create a lot of jobs

Policy Focus - Public policy was a cross-cutting issue; participants stressed the need for government intervention in regard to all of the major points listed above. Again, there was limited specificity, but in general, participants talked about: the need to collaboratively work for policies to grow the green economy; government-led job certifications and product standards; and green incentives to grow businesses and stimulate entrepreneurialism. In addition, existing policies and regulatory frameworks were discussed such as the Energy Efficient Portfolio Standard, solar tax abatement, the expanded net metering law and green roof legislation.

Common Questions - Certain questions came up several times at many tables and in the feedback forms. Some of the more common questions include:

1. What workforce development funding streams are available?
2. Which unions do green collar work?
3. What are the current building and energy codes and what jobs will they create?
4. What are some green collar job titles and what are their salaries?
5. What jobs are new and what jobs currently exist?
6. How do we integrate with/build off of PlaNYC 2030?

Additionally, many participants asked general questions that are addressed in the briefing packet (which is attached to the e-mail that this was sent with)

Outreach suggestions - Participants had a number of recommendations as to whom we should include in the Roundtable process. Some common and notable suggestions include: developers, contactors, more banks, National Grid, the Office of Environmental Remediation, Clinton Climate Initiative, REBNY, energy service companies (ESCOs), the Public Service Commission, high schools, other city agencies and the Port Authority.

Pro-labor - Many participants - union-based and otherwise - were pro-labor and stressed that green collar jobs need to be union jobs with living wages