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Jobs and Workforce Development Opportunities
These transitions are local and hyper personal. They’re going to require tailored support and programs unique to each situation, and that just takes time and effort and sustained resources to understand the context. Only then do I think that we’ll be able to have a just and equitable transition.
—Sarah Truit, National Renewable Energy Laboratory1
The workshop’s second simultaneous session focused on jobs and workforce development opportunities. Panelists included Mijin Cha, Occidental College; Madeline Janis, Jobs to Move America; and Sarah Truitt, NREL. Following panelists’ opening remarks, Roxanne Johnson, BlueGreen Alliance, moderated an open discussion. Speakers noted the following:
- Job and workforce transitions are highly personal and highly local. National-level trends in the green economy play out unevenly across geographies and communities, opening opportunities for some while leaving others behind.
- Decarbonization is a market-shaping opportunity to create high-quality, long-term jobs and careers. Government programs and procurement policies can play a major role in ensuring
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1 Sarah Truit, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, presentation to the workshop on July 26, 2022.
- historically disadvantaged communities can realize the benefits of this opportunity.
- A just workforce transition will benefit from strong government and grassroots support and resources, dedicated and sustained workforce development funding, and targeted efforts to achieve structural, procedural, distributional, and transgenerational equity.
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR A JUST TRANSITION
Cha discussed how the challenges encountered as part of the energy transition fit into the broader picture of workforce transitions more generally. Decarbonization represents an immense opportunity to create better jobs so that all workers can obtain high-quality, family-sustaining careers in their communities. However, Cha cautioned that this not going to happen on its own. Creating a just transition for workers will require addressing the root causes that have contributed to the unjust working conditions in many industries today and to unjust workforce transitions in the past.
With a federal minimum wage stuck at $7.25 per hour and generally weak worker protections, Cha argued that the United States has a poor track record of creating good jobs. Jobs in fossil fuel industries, such as coal mining, are considered good jobs in their communities—not because they are inherently good, but because of the history of worker struggle and unionization in these industries. This means that workers transitioning out of fossil fuel industries are often unable to find new jobs that offer a similar level of economic stability. “You’re asking a coal miner to leave their job in coal mining, which is one of the last decent jobs in the region, for something like a Walmart job,” Cha said. “That’s not a just transition.”
The quality of jobs matters, not just the quantity; people want not only jobs, but careers. One green economy opportunity that is often touted is solar installation; however, Cha noted these jobs are typically temporary because there is a limit to the amount of solar infrastructure that will be economical to install in any given region. However, a worker who trains to become an electrician who can repair and maintain solar installations will have more economic security than a temporary solar installer. This is just one example pointing to the broader need to tie job training to the supply and demand for workers, and also to think regionally when encouraging job training and the growth of green industries, Cha said. The geographical disconnect between where jobs are being lost and where jobs are being created can pose significant barriers for communities that are heavily dependent on fossil fuel–based industries.
To avoid repeating past patterns of exploitation, Cha outlined four pillars for a just transition: strong and sustained government support;
dedicated and long-term funding for workforce transition; economic diversification to reduce local dependency on one industry; and strong, diverse coalitions. She stressed that climate change is a political problem that needs a grassroots-based political solution. “The transition must come from the ground up,” said Cha. “Coming from the ground up is important to ensure that we have appropriate policies, but also to ensure that we build the political power we need to have a just transition.”
A FRAMEWORK FOR SHAPING MARKETS
Janis discussed how decarbonization represents a market-shaping opportunity to create high-quality jobs in communities that have suffered from the fossil fuel industry and carbon-intensive economy. She outlined a framework for market-shaping across three stages: planning and policy, contract and practice, and implementation and evaluation. In all of these stages, Janis said that an important role for government is to require equity and high-quality jobs for every contract and subsidy rewarded, taking cues from the Justice40 Initiative’s requirement that 40 percent of federal energy investment flows to disadvantaged communities.2
In the planning and policy stage, Janis said it is important to include all stakeholders from the beginning, especially those who have been historically excluded and will benefit most from the energy transition. At this stage, rather than one-size-fits-all strategies, she said it is valuable to create policy and program “toolkits” tailored for each job type, such as construction, manufacturing, operations and maintenance, and recycling. In the contract and practice stage, Janis said that public funding (which accounts for the lion’s share of green energy transition funding) and public procurements (which account for a sizeable portion of manufactured goods purchases) should include incentives for high-quality jobs and equity, as well as subsidies to target diversity and meet regional needs. In the implementation and evaluation phase, policies should be enforced, monitored, and adjusted to continue to enable communities to negotiate training, hiring, and other benefits. Janis said that this framework enabled her organization to enter robust community-benefiting partnerships with three responsible, equitable electric bus companies, which included targeted hiring, U.S.-based manufacturing, and unionization commitments.
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2 White House, 2022, “Justice40 Initiative,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40.
ATTENDING TO PERSONAL AND LOCAL PRIORITIES IN WORKFORCE TRANSITIONS
Building on the other speakers’ comments, Truitt stressed that the tools and technologies for a green economy exist, but work is needed to ensure that the opportunities reach those who need them the most. At a national level, fossil fuel jobs are declining while jobs in renewable energy and other green industries are rising. However, the national statistics fail to capture the heavy burdens being felt in communities that have been highly dependent on fossil fuel industries, where job losses are both personal and local. For those who are losing jobs, the ability to transition to new industries involves a wide variety of factors, from geographic location to wages to corporate culture. At the community level, localities face uncertainties regarding the future of their tax base, net number of jobs, and programmatic priorities. In addition, there is much more work to do to diversify the clean energy workforce, where women and Black workers remain underrepresented.
There are resources to help employers and policymakers create and train workers for high-quality, family-sustaining, clean energy jobs across the United States, including for underrepresented groups.3,4,5,6,7 While the Justice40 Initiative is an important driver, the government’s role is not limited to this initiative. Truitt described the U.S. Department of Energy’s Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize, which incentivizes community-based innovative pathways, including workforce development, to create a just and equitable energy transition.8 In these and other efforts, Truitt said it is
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3 E.P. Louie and J.M. Pearce, 2016, “Retraining Investment for U.S. Transition from Coal to Solar Photovoltaic Employment,” Energy Economics 57:295–302, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2016.05.016.
4 S. Truitt, J. Elsworth, J. Williams, et al., 2022, “State-Level Employment Projections for Four Clean Energy Technologies in 2025 and 2030,” https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/81486.pdf.
5 A. Tomer, J.W. Kane, and C. George, 2021, How Renewable Energy Jobs Can Uplift Fossil Fuel Communities and Remake Climate Politics, Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-renewable-energy-jobs-can-uplift-fossil-fuel-communities-and-remake-climate-politics.
6 E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs), American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI), and BW Research, 2020, Clean Jobs, Better Jobs: An Examination of Clean Energy Job Wages and Benefits, Washington, DC: E2, https://e2.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Clean-Jobs-Better-Jobs.-October-2020.-E2-ACORE-CELI.pdf.
7 A. Dewey, J. Mah, and B. Howard, 2021, “Ready to Go: State and Local Efforts Advancing Energy Efficiency,” Washington, DC: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, https://www.aceee.org/toolkit/2021/11/ready-go-state-and-local-efforts-advancing-energy-efficiency.
8 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 2021, “Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize,” https://americanmadechallenges.org/challenges/inclusiveenergyinnovation/index.html.
critical to attend to structural, procedural, distributional, and transgenerational equity. “These transitions are local and hyper personal,” said Truitt. “They’re going to require tailored support and programs unique to each situation, and that just takes time and effort and sustained resources to understand the context. Only then do I think that we’ll be able to have a just and equitable transition.”
DISCUSSION
In an open discussion, panelists explored approaches to navigating challenges, expanding opportunities, and the need for larger reforms.
Navigating Challenges
Johnson asked each panelist to name the biggest challenge to a just transition from a workforce perspective. Cha replied that the biggest challenge in her view is a lack of proactive long-term planning. The transition has already begun, but many affected workers are simply being left behind. “Most of these coal communities have seen job loss, coal is already in the transition, and yet there are no supports for these communities or workers,” said Cha.
Truitt named fragmentation of the clean energy industry as the biggest challenge and suggested that more effective cross-industry collaboration could help to identify transferable skills and facilitate career flexibility. Janis stated that the biggest challenge lies in countering the long-standing assumption that market solutions are the answer, a notion that in her view has led the government to fund ideas with little accountability. To counter this, her organization is focused on changing the outdated Uniform Guidance of the Office of Management and Budget9 to require equitable policies and Justice40 principles at every level, including across the entire supply chain.
Expanding Opportunities
Committee Chair Stephen Pacala, Princeton University, asked panelists to comment on how to navigate conflict among workers competing for scarce jobs. Janis shared that unionized workers who maintained public diesel buses were first opposed to fleet electrification because they
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9 U.S. Federal Government Agencies, 2014, “Federal Awarding Agency Regulatory Implementation of Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards,” Federal Register 79:75867, December 19, https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2014-28697.
feared job loss, so her organization included retraining requirements in the procurement contracts in order to transition workers. This model could work holistically across industries, and places the transition burden on companies, not workers. In addition, “second chance” programs to replace retirees or commitments to hire from underrepresented groups can expand the job pool to those who have been shut out from work altogether. Truitt agreed, noting that targeted programs to address specific challenges can be more successful than broader, less targeted workforce efforts.
Cha added that one reason people mourn the loss of fossil fuel jobs is that they are often much higher-paying, but often overlooked is the fact that the work is very dangerous. “It is important to remember that even fossil fuel workers are poisoned by the fossil fuel economy,” Cha said. Rather than simply seeking to swap any one job with another, she said the focus should be on ensuring that there are enough good-paying jobs for those leaving fossil fuel work or those historically shut out from it and on ensuring that renewable energy jobs are safe and pay a living wage.
The Need for Larger Reforms
Lee Anderson, Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA), agreed that job loss was a serious challenge, noting that 20 percent of UWUA workers have lost their jobs since 2010 and have received no government support. He asked if it was possible to expand the political narrative from local jobs and communities to encompass wider labor, health care, education, and student loan reforms to truly improve people’s lives.
Janis stated that while politics may not be amenable to wider reform right now, money and labor do hold power. Attaching good policies to every procurement dollar can force high-quality job creation and return power to the unions, especially in the South, where many clean energy companies are taking advantage of weak labor and environmental laws, she said. For example, her organization was able to win community benefits agreements for factory workers in Alabama and Kentucky.
Cha agreed that financial influence is important, adding that those who see decarbonization as part of the larger issues of resource extraction and worker exploitation are gaining momentum and could force the kind of structural change Anderson described. She suggested that policymakers and organizers should help people see how their immediate concerns, such as job loss or health care, are connected to the larger issues of inequality and the climate crisis.
