LABOR
Labor is a key co-benefit
for disadvantaged communities in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and has always been an important co-benefit of urban development. Building construction, rail and road transport expansion and other public improvements including energy, water and sewage infrastructure have all led to significant increases in quality employment, either temporarily during construction or permanently in commercial or industrial sectors. Community and labor advocates have sought to secure benefits for low-income populations linking proposed developments with targeted hiring including Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and more recently Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs). Sustainable development in the “green economy” creates significant opportunities for quality employment in DACs. These jobs also commonly exist in emerging green industries such as energy renewables, waste management, advanced manufacturing and green infrastructure which take advantage of potential career ladders and continued employment in fields with an increasing demand for skilled workers. Further, local green jobs for projects in DACs means that the people who have been hit hardest by the impacts of the fossil fuel-based economy and climate change will reap the benefits of GGRF investments by realizing environmental and health improvements where they live, and by providing sufficient income to pull families out of poverty.
