Ohio

In partnership with

CONTACT

Shanelle Smith

smith (at) apolloalliance.org

MISSION

The Ohio Apollo Alliance, convened by Policy Matters Ohio, is a coalition of environmentalists, businesses, unions and community groups pushing a clean energy revolution in America. Apollo reforms will reduce dependence on foreign oil; cut carbon emissions; help America lead in clean energy innovation and development; and create a new generation of well-paid, green-collar jobs for people across America. Ohio’s world-class manufacturing infrastructure and workforce poises Ohio to become a leader in providing parts for renewable energy equipment, training workers for green-collar jobs, promoting conservation and innovation, and using renewable energy.

OHIO SPECIFICS

Our manufacturing sector in Ohio has been in severe decline for decades, and the current economic crisis has made matters worse. Ohio alone has lost more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs in the last decade – 124,400 of them in the last year – as a result of the U.S. economy’s shift away from manufacturing and lack of the right policy supports for this crucial sector of our economy. From 2000 to 2007, the job losses in Ohio were the worst anytime since the Great Depression.

While the green jobs sector is one promising sector of our economy, many job opportunities are being lost. America now imports 70 percent of our clean energy equipment and components from foreign countries, rather than making them here. This results in millions of jobs being lost to our economy. Ohio is a traditional manufacturing center and has the industrial infrastructure and workforce capacity to produce solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and the other components of our clean energy future.

AGENDA

Together, the organizations that make up the Ohio Apollo Alliance are pursuing a “Good Jobs, Energy Independence, Make it in America” policy agenda. The Ohio Apollo Alliance will work to enact policies that achieve or facilitate the following:

Develop a robust renewable energy manufacturing sector in Ohio by providing incentives and access to capital for companies diversifying into clean energy

Ensure state government leadership on energy efficiency and other state policies that will drive demand for the clean energy economy in the state

Train Ohio workers in advanced energy skills, from installation to engineering, and create green career pathways for workers transitioning into this new economy

PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In May 2009, we co-hosted the Ohio Conference on Labor in the New Energy Economy, featuring local and national leaders. Read and hear some of the highlights here.

Our statewide convener, Policy Matters Ohio , published a report titled The Impact of IMPACT: Creating Jobs in Ohio, an analysis conducted by the Political Economy Research Institute of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, shows that over ten years, IMPACT could create between 41,063 and 52,214 new jobs in Ohio.

We partnered on Mapping Green Career Pathways: Job Training Infrastructure and Opportunities in Ohio to identify components of Ohio’s workforce development infrastructure that can be better integrated and scaled up to help fill jobs in the clean energy sector.

Testified to the Ohio legislature in support of the Ohio Advanced Energy Fund which was was passed out of committee and amended to be extended for 3 more years

Advocated for investments in clean energy manufacturing:
2/11/10: Crain’s Cleveland Business Op/Ed — Algae overlooked as a clean energy option”
7/11/10: Toledo Blade Op/Ed – “Energy bill means good jobs”

Ohio Apollo Coordinator Shanelle Smith presented on a Green Jobs panel in Cleveland, panel headed by National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, and Cleveland’s Federation of Labor, Harriet Applegate.

WHAT’S IN THE WORKS

Ohio Apollo will continue to spearhead the Cleveland Emerald Cities Taskforce to drive innovative Work in Cleveland that Builds the Clean Energy Economy.