High road or low road? Job quality in the new green economy
"There is a significant ray of hope amid the current economic gloom: it goes by the name of green jobs. After several years of calls by advocacy groups for major public investments in a clean-energy revolution, the federal government now appears ready to include large sums for projects involvin...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Institution: | ETUI-European Trade Union Institute |
| Format: | TEXT |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2009
Good Jobs First |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19188709124919069819-High-road-or-low-road?-Job-qua.htm |
| Summary: | "There is a significant ray of hope amid the current economic gloom: it goes by the name of green jobs. After several years of calls by advocacy groups for major public investments in a clean-energy revolution, the federal government now appears ready to include large sums for projects involving renewable energy, mass transit, energy efficiency and modernization of the nation's electrical grid in the massive economic recovery and reinvestment plan being devised by Congress. Green jobs are not just a short-term for the recession. Increasingly, these jobs are understood as central to the future of our nation and our planet. The shift to a green economy creates an unparalleled opportunity to address not only unemployment and the climate crisis but also deeply rooted social problems such as poverty and inequality. Decisions made today about green jobs will have profound consequences for our economy, environment, and social fabric for decades to come. Given how much is at stake, the transition must be approached with care. One of the greatest risks is that, in our haste to create a large quantity of new green jobs, we pay too little attention to their quality. Until now, discussions of green jobs have largely assumed that these will be good, middle-class jobs. In this report we test that assumption and find that it is not always valid. While advocates may aspire to make every green job a good one, our examination of some existing workplaces in several environment-friendly sectors of the economy- including manufacturing of components for wind and solar energy, green construction and recycling- shows a wide variation in labor conditions. Our research reveals significant challenges to achieving the dream of good green jobs, but also many opportunities." |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | 46 p. Digital |