They see a neat justice in the possibility that lower-income New Yorkers, whose communities are some of the city’s most environmentally degraded, could be employed on projects to improve those areas – as well as to initiate environmentally sustainable approaches in a variety of other neighborhoods and fields. That's especially because today, a green-collar job is defined as more than merely a job in an environmental field. It also provides a family-sustaining wage, safe working conditions and chances for career advancement.
“These are cutting-edge jobs. These are the jobs of the future,” said Naomi Fatt, managing director at Urban Agenda, a local environmental research and advocacy organization. “Sustainability is going to be a real engine for prosperity.”
Although green-collar jobs are not new, with groups like the Bronx-based Green Worker Cooperatives promoting them for more than four years now, the concept is gathering steam. A conference arranged by Urban Agenda on June 24 brought together 130 leaders from 83 organizations involved in labor, workforce development, education, community-based development and environmental justice organizations to create a coordinated, citywide workforce development plan by spring 2009. This taskforce would help ensure that New Yorkers capture the jobs created by increased environmental sustainability. The conference illustrated that there's plenty of interest in green-collar jobs and there has been a real head start in terms of policy, but there was a lack of information about the implementation of these policies.
Green-collar jobs signify an important category of workforce opportunity because they have low barriers to entry and provide workers with chances for advancement in sectors that are bound for growth – such as building retrofits, energy efficient buildings, recycling, renewable energy, urban forestry and brownfield remediation.
Most green-collar jobs are middle-skill level, requiring more education than high school, but less than a four-year degree. But jobs such as building cleaners, porters, maintenance workers, window cleaners, superintendents and stationary engineers are well within reach for lower-skilled and low-income workers – and people with other barriers to employment, such as a prison record – because they don’t require a high school diploma, as long as there is access to training programs and appropriate supports.
If those sound a lot like traditional jobs, that’s because most green-collar jobs are retrofitted regular jobs, says Jim Brown, a senior policy analyst in the state Department of Labor. There is no official number of green jobs in the NYC job market; it’s more of a concept than a specific designation. “Most of the jobs that would be created or are currently involved in ‘green’ are traditional jobs that already exist,” Brown said. “There are some environmental-specific jobs, but most of that technology is incorporated in already existing occupations.”
The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is commissioning a green sector study to shed light on the size and growth rates of the sector. The mayor's PlaNYC 2030 blueprint for sustainable growth has created a push for green job development.
“The City is very aware of the emerging Green Collar jobs and the need for training in ‘green skills,’” EDC spokeswoman Janel Paterson wrote in an e-mail. “There are many training programs under way right now. It is encouraging to see how many efforts are under way.” Paterson said EDC has compiled a list of different programs that are available in the city, but did not provide the list. She said that because green-collar job skills are and will be in high demand, a worker who possesses expertise in a green area may be able to negotiate a better income than another applicant who would have to learn on the job.
