[Peace-discuss] Fw: What If Green Jobs Don't Pay?

[unionyes]

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Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 8:59 PM
Subject: What If Green Jobs Don't Pay?


> What If Green Jobs Don't Pay?
>
> By Brady Yauch Sunday, April 19, 2009
>
> The Washington Post
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/18/AR2009041800111_pf.html
>
> The Obama administration is putting a lot of stock in
> the concept of "green jobs." In late February, Vice
> President Biden threw his weight behind the green
> movement and the $20 billion in the stimulus package
> devoted to green investment. Biden claimed that people
> who earn $20 per hour prior to green job training can
> make as much as $50 per hour afterward.
>
> Sounds great, right? But that scenario could be way off
> base. At least that's what a recent report from Good
> Jobs First says could happen if the creation of green
> jobs isn't backed by strong government regulation and
> oversight. The report by the D.C.-based labor think
> tank notes that it's not uncommon for workers in the
> green field to earn as little as $8.25 an hour. Wages
> at a number of wind and solar manufacturers are far
> lower than those at their more traditional counterparts
> -- falling well below the income levels needed to
> support a single adult with one child.
>
> Those numbers carry particular weight in considering
> how the green jobs movement is going to spur the U.S.
> economy, as a job that pays $18 an hour is reported to
> create twice the economic stimulus of a job that pays
> $9 an hour. Although Biden is proud to claim that a
> worker earning 20 bucks an hour can more than double
> his or her wage with some "green" training, he doesn't
> take into consideration those making far less.
>
> The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average
> wage rate for production workers on manufacturing
> payrolls in durable goods industries is $18.88 an hour.
> But the Good Jobs First report shows that a majority of
> wind and solar companies it surveyed pay far less than
> that amount.
>
> Take United Solar Ovonic as an example. After receiving
> generous government subsidies amounting to $277,000 for
> every new job created, the company refused to meet the
> prevailing wage rule in Battle Creek, Mich., and pay
> $16 an hour. The company quickly started threatening to
> move its operations elsewhere. The city eventually
> backed down and allowed the company to pay its workers
> $14 an hour -- 70 percent of what it takes to sustain a
> family of four. It's also well below the $18.88 an hour
> average wage for production workers in the durable
> goods industry.
>
> The green jobs initiative gets even stickier when it
> comes to unions -- a major supporter of the Obama
> administration and his fellow Democrats. The Good Jobs
> First report noted that few workers at wind and solar
> jobs were backed by collective bargaining agreements.
> And in at least two cases, the company leaders were
> found to have run aggressive anti-union campaigns,
> aided by union-busting consultants.
>
> As lawmakers and business leaders across the country
> battle over the Employee Free Choice Act (which would
> make it easier to unionize workplaces), that fight is
> likely to get heated. But as money from the stimulus
> plans starts to make its way to the coffers of green
> companies, the importance of the union in the nation's
> manufacturing heartland will flare up once again.
>
> Now, if the Obama administration decides to add
> stipulations to federal money -- in effect, forcing
> green companies to accept unionization or implement
> wage requirements -- then the political battle over the
> stimulus package will likely intensify. The political
> battle aside, the economics behind green jobs may not
> be as enticing as they first appear. Advocates of green
> jobs often claim that what makes them so important is
> that they can't (or at least not without extreme
> difficulty) be outsourced. Unlike traditional
> manufacturing, many green jobs can't be shipped
> overseas. One reason is that some of the parts, like
> windmills, are simply too big and costly to ship. Other
> jobs, such as green construction and retrofitting, are
> -- for obvious reasons -- done by workers in America.
>
> Good Jobs First rightly pointed out that green
> companies don't just play the free-market game; they
> often turn to the government for lucrative subsidies
> and enticing tax breaks. This is exactly why they're so
> excited about the stimulus plan. But if the government
> starts handing out money to green companies, should it
> also attach wage stipulations? That's what Good Jobs
> First recommends. What's funny is that if the
> government did apply a wage floor to any green
> subsidies, it would be doing the exact opposite of what
> it did with a number of the banks it bailed out.
>
> As others have pointed out, the government's claim that
> it will create millions of green jobs in the next two
> decades is dubious. Worse still is that even if the
> government did create these millions of jobs, it may
> inadvertently precipitate the declining stature of the
> nation's manufacturing and union base. The green
> companies that come to fill the void left by the
> departure of the traditional manufacturing heavyweights
> may be both anti-union and unexpectedly stingy. If the
> government is going to offer these companies the cash
> to stay competitive and create jobs, then it might want
> to first consider how good their jobs are going to be
> and how much they'll contribute to the American
> economy. If not, the government may bring to life a
> nasty employment monster that will haunt it for years
> to come.
>
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