Click here for a list of MAGJC Milestones, from 2007~Present

A Brief History of the Mass. Green Jobs Coalition

MAGJC began forming on December 2, 2007 when co-founders Laurie Leyshon and Kalia Lydgate pulled together a meeting with Van Jones and 30 key stakeholders from the community, industry, education and labor. The December meeting built on the successful "First in the Commonwealth" Green Jobs Forum, conceived of and produced by Laurie and Kalia and held the previous July in Boston, which featured Van Jones. More than 300 people attended, ranging from Senator Kerry and Congressman Tierney to key state legislators and other dignitaries, to community-based organizations, businesses, community colleges, labor, and more. It was hosted by former State Representative Mike Festa and State Senator Downing. The Marion Institute and the City of Cambridge sponsored the event.

The interest and energy generated by these two events was overwhelming and pointed to the need for a cross-sector alliance that could pull together and mobilize all the different moving parts needed to build an inclusive Green Economy. MAGJC grew out of this energy and became an official alliance of individuals and organizations on January 29, 2008.

Since that time, upwards of 500 members, both organizations and individuals, working in the fields of environmental sustainability, employment, workforce training, economic development, and social justice have come together to form MAGJC.

In January and February of 2008, MAGJC members submitted a Legislative Proposal in response to a request by state legislators Chairman Smizik, Chairman Bosley, and Senator Downing, regarding green jobs needs and training. The proposal was co-written by 17 MAGJC members and signed by more than 40 MAGJC member organizations. By mobilizing our base, we turned out 100 people at the hearing for the Green Jobs Act on July 7th, 2008, the Monday after the 4th of July Weekend and with less than a week’s notice. Shortly afterwards, the legislation passed unanimously in both the House and Senate. Although clearly the time for Green Jobs Legislation had come, getting pathways out of poverty language included was a struggle. Officials have told us that if it were not for our efforts, Pathways legislation would not exist. The content of MAGJC’s proposal became the basis of Senator Downing's Green Jobs legislation, which was eventually merged with former Speaker of the House DiMasi’s Green Jobs legislation and adopted into the  MA Green Jobs Act (H4844). The MA Green Jobs Act was signed into law by the Governor in August of 2008. This legislation became the first legislation in the nation to designate funds to Pathways out of Poverty training programs for Green Jobs that would specifically target low-income individuals. The MA Green Jobs Act is now being held up as a model for other states.

The Pathways out of Poverty funding was distributed through an RFR process, which has just concluded with five of Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities receiving funding of $200k each to develop programs. MAGJC was available as a resource for all applicants during the process. At the request of the Regional Employment Board of Hamden County, co-founder Laurie Leyshon acted as a consultant to the successful proposal from Springfield/Holyoke. Many of the other recipients have been MAGJC supporters and participated in MAGJC events and campaigns. By supporting these applicants, we were able to help ensure that the winning grants would embody the principles inherent in our original proposal. Successful training programs should eliminate barriers to employment by providing "soft skills", Adult Basic Education, ESL, and wrap around services when necessary. Good relationships with employers that include a strong memorandum of understanding to ensure that every successful graduate from the training will have a job at the conclusion of the program. While we must create a green-collar workforce quickly in order to meet the demands of industry, it is also critical that we do not train people for jobs that do not—or will not—exist. We are very happy to say that these Pathway grants should result in jobs for more than 200 people.

Since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February, MAGJC has been focusing most of its energy towards these opportunities. We will continue to keep you posted on our next steps. Please feel free to contact us or join our list-serve to stay informed on our current efforts.