An Ella Baker Center press release A San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit is leading the charge for a national "green-collar" job-training program. On Tuesday, it will take the next step in pushing for legislation that would provide federal funding for such a program.
Van Jones, President & Co-Founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and a national environmental leader, will testify before Congress on Tuesday, May 22 to discuss Ella Baker Center's work to create green pathways out of poverty through the Oakland Green Jobs Corps. The program would be the first of its kind in the country, and Jones is hoping to find opportunities to take that pioneering model national when he is in Washington.
"This hearing is a big first step on the way to creating green pathways out of poverty for tens of thousands of people throughout the country," said Jones.
Tuesday's hearing, entitled "Economic Impacts of Global Warming: Green-Collar Jobs," will explore the vast potential for the development of "green-collar" jobs stemming from increased energy efficiency and use of renewable energy in the United States. The expected market transformation towards clean energy will require a new cadre of workers for everything from the research, design, and engineering of new energy systems to the manufacture, installation, and maintenance of clean technology investments.
In a recent analysis the Cleantech Venture Network estimated that as many as 500,000 new green-collar jobs could be created by 2010. A federal Clean Energy Jobs Corps would provide struggling cities and communities a chance to secure both economic and environmental benefits of this economic boom for their residents.
Reclaim the Future (an Ella Baker Center campaign), in partnership with the Oakland Apollo Alliance and the City of Oakland, creates opportunities in the green economy for poor people and people of color through policy advocacy, public outreach, and an employment pipeline - the Green Jobs Corps. The premise: A new, multi-billion dollar economic sector is emerging, bringing new opportunities in green construction, clean technology, urban agriculture and energy. Our goal: ensure that this green economy is strong enough to lift people out of poverty.
