Massachusetts Apollo Wins Key Victory

On Oct. 27, Massachusetts solidified its leadership in tackling climate change and creating good jobs by adopting a $1.4 billion plan to improve residential energy efficiency in working class communities. The Green Justice Coalition, an Apollo Alliance chapter comprised of community, labor and environmental groups, spearheaded the campaign to bring equity and economic development into the state’s three-year utility plans. 

“In the middle of a jobless recession and a jobless recovery, this Green Justice Coalition is about to create not just ‘green jobs,’ but access to union careers in a rapidly expanding green economy,” said Rich Rogers, secretary-treasurer of the Greater Boston Labor Council and Community Labor United Board Chair. “We are committed to making green jobs good jobs.”

The Green Justice Coalition was successful in influencing the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC), a body created by Massachusetts’s Green Communities Act of 2008, to develop long-term goals for increasing energy efficiency throughout the state.  The council is made up of energy efficiency experts as well as representatives from government agencies and the environmental, labor and business communities. The Green Communities Act requires the state’s utilities to pursue all cost-effective energy efficiency projects, and the EEAC’s primary task is to review and approve utilities’ three-year energy efficiency plans.

The key to the Green Justice Coalition victory was the coalition’s ability to draw upon a broad base of working class and marginalized communities across the state. The coalition wanted to show the EEAC and utilities how an inclusive, community-based approach to pursuing energy efficiency projects can generate substantial gains in employment and greenhouse gas reductions.  The message was delivered via more than 2,500 postcards mailed to utilities from concerned Massachusetts citizens, Over 150 community members attended an EEAC public meeting on July 24, 2009.

During the public comment period, the Coalition insisted on four key points that would address significant barriers to an equitable and effective energy efficiency program. The first point addresses the prohibitively high up-front costs of retrofits for homeowners and renters. Like many states, Massachusetts has a statewide program to provide low-income homeowners with free energy audits and weatherization measures, called the Low Income Affordability Network (LEAN).  For low- and moderate-income families, however, the cost of retrofits can be insurmountable, as they generally include appliance replacement and an array of labor-intensive improvements. Recognizing this formidable cost barrier, the Green Justice Coalition worked with EEAC and utilities to design an innovative financing mechanism that includes a commitment by the utilities to procure $300 million over the next two years in external funding to setup a revolving loan fund.  Loans from this fund will be paid back on the ratepayers’ bills over time.

The second key point addresses a disconnect between utilities and economically marginalized communities. Through statewide polling, the group found that only a quarter of respondents had ever been contacted by utilities regarding energy audits or opportunities to improve energy efficiency. To address this issue, the new utility plans include a commitment to work with and fund existing community groups performing outreach and education.

The Green Justice Coalition also found that retrofit workers were underpaid and in need of safety training. Moreover, language and communication barriers have prevented many low-income workers from obtaining employment in this sector. In response to these concerns, the utilities have committed to partnering with union-supported training programs to ensure adequate safety and quality training. The EEAC resolution passed on Oct. 27 calls on utilities “to make open and clear the process for hiring and training workers,” and to “make reasonable efforts to encourage their lead energy efficiency contractors to provide workers with a livable wage and fair benefits.”

The Green Justice Coalition also sought a platform through which communities can participate in planning and overseeing energy efficiency projects. While external to the three-year utility plans, EEAC has offered a verbal commitment to community leaders that an equity subcommittee will be formed in the coming months to allow greater community participation in implementing energy efficiency projects.

In addition to its work with the EEAC, the Green Justice Coalition is negotiating with utilities to begin pilot efficiency programs across the state. Each pilot, or Community Mobilization Initiative (CMI), will include a local community group, an active union in the region, and a utility company. In this model, a community-based organization will recruit homeowners in the neighborhood and bundle individual home retrofits into one larger-scale project that will then be open to bids from local contractors. Labor union partners will then ensure that workers have access to benefits and safety training. So far, NSTAR and National Grid, the two largest utilities in Massachusetts, have partnered with the Green Justice Coalition to implement these CMIs.

“We are about to see what the green economy can look like when unions, community based organizations in working class communities of color, and environmental organizations work together,” said Darlene Lombos, co-director of Community Labor United (CLU). “The utility companies are going to guarantee all the key ingredients an equitable green economy needs: high job quality, upfront financing for working class families, and community based mobilization. Partnerships really are a winning strategy.”

For more information:

Boston Apollo Alliance

Community Labor United

Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Advisory Council