San Diego Creates Green Pathways Out of Poverty

During a campaign speech last year, President Obama made a promise that the United States would weatherize at least 1 million low-income homes each year for the next decade. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act took the first steps toward making that promise a reality by including $5 billion to expand the Weatherization Assistance Program, a move that has the potential to create over 78,000 jobs in the construction industry each year, according to the Department of Energy, and generate huge demand for workers with specific technical knowledge of energy efficiency.

In anticipation of this demand, the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee (MAAC) Project, a San Diego-based organization that promotes self-sufficiency for low- and moderate-income families in Southern California, recently launched the Green Careers in Weatherization program with support from the Recovery Act. The goal of this new program is to provide not just weatherization training, but access to career pathways in the construction sector for low- and moderate-income residents. Through partnerships with local labor unions, Green Careers in Weatherization combines on-the-job training with support and job placement services.

“Weatherization programs operated by MAAC have attracted a lot attention nationally…as a platform for on-the-job training for green career paths,” said MAAC’s chief operating officer, Arnulfo Manriquez.

Part of what makes the MAAC Project a good model is its relationship with local unions like IBEW 569 and the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, which give participants access to hands-on training and connections to apprenticeship programs. The Labor Council plays an important role in preparing MAAC participants for positions with local union apprenticeships.

“The Labor Council provides an assessment and the soft skills training for our trainees before they come to our weatherization program,” explained Manriquez. These “soft skills” include math, English for those who need it, and other job-readiness training that teaches participants the skills they need to enter union apprenticeships and other training programs.

Micah Mitrosky, environmental organizer for IBEW Local 569 explains: “By working with the MAAC Project and the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, we have created a pathway for entry-level workers to move up the career ladder into a skilled union career with family healthcare, pension retirement and lifelong training opportunities.”

The MAAC Project got its start in 1965 as part of War on Poverty efforts to develop the American work force. It provides social, educational, housing and employment services to help low-income communities throughout Southern California achieve self-sufficiency. A key part of the MAAC Project’s work has been participation in the Weatherization Assistance Program. According to Manriquez, “The MAAC Project has been operating weatherization programs for the past three decades.”  The Recovery Act more than doubled their WAP budget, with a total of $1.8 million awarded over two years, 20 percent of which may be used for job training. The Recovery Act also guarantees that weatherization workers are paid prevailing wage – between $14.81 and $18.53 per hour – and have access to benefits in San Diego.

“It’s a great example of how the green economy and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have created the perfect storm of opportunity for unions to partner with community organizations and build bridges into the middle class. This is a win-win for working people and the environment,” said Mitrosky.

The MAAC Project weatherization program also prepares workers for new union jobs created by the recently passed San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Construction Careers Project Stabilization Agreement (PSA). The PSA ensures that all new city school construction and renovation funded by Proposition S – a $2.1 billion bond passed in 2008 to repair, renovate and revitalize 181 neighborhood schools – will create permanent construction careers that provide good wages and healthcare benefits. What’s more, the PSA requires that all workers be hired from within San Diego County; that 70 percent come from SDUSD; and that 35 percent come from areas with high poverty and unemployment.

The campaign to pass the PSA was spearheaded by the Center on Policy Initiatives and the Building Trades Council. The MAAC Project structured its weatherization training program to fit the needs of the PSA and formed relationships with the Labor Council and IBEW so that workers would get the new union jobs created by the agreement.

MAAC also received $1.1 million in Recovery Act funds from the Department of Labor to expand its YouthBuild program. YouthBuild is a nationwide effort to help low-income citizens between 16 and 24 years of age work toward their GEDs or high school diplomas while participating in on-the-job training. YouthBuild helps young people learn construction skills while serving their communities by building energy-efficient affordable housing. The goal of MAAC’s YouthBuild program is to prepare participants to work on the construction of San Diego’s COMM22 project, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development project that includes affordable housing and retail as part of a greener urban neighborhood.

Green Careers in Weatherization and YouthBuild are examples of community-based empowerment programs that are preparing for the future green building and weatherization market by giving workers the support they need to develop real careers. MAAC’s development of networks and pathways out of poverty can be a model for green workforce development programs around the nation.

“Our communities are under enormous stress, and our ecology and environment are no better for it,” said Allen Shur, a California Apollo Alliance Steering Committee member and IBEW Local 569 activist. “The real ‘charm’ and purpose of Apollo is to take a holistic approach to curing our addiction to fossil fuels and to use that tactic to make good jobs, improve our communities, and heal the planet. MAAC is a progressive community group committed to that ideal. MAAC, the IBEW, and other unions can and should improve the places where we live. The collateral effect will be felt by all citizens for decades.“