The project reported below protects the union rights of “green jobs” workers. The Western Mass. Green Economy Working Group helped the consortium members find each other. WMGEWG advocates for a Green Economy which serves local communities, guarantees workers' rights to organize, and promotes community-owned sustainable projects. We meet monthly on the fourth Wednesday, 12:30-2:30pm (Brown Bag Lunch at Noon), at the Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO Hall, 640 Page Boulevard, Springfield.
'Green' trades jobs await training
Springfield Republican, Wednesday, February 24, 2010
By Jim Kinney, business writer
http://www.masslive.com/
SPRINGFIELD - Classes in a "green" building trades program run by UMass, area labor unions and contractors, won't begin for months, but organizers already have jobs or slots in more advanced apprenticeship programs lined up for 19 graduates.
"Our joint apprenticeship partners are optimistic," said Joseph F. Connolly, director of the Labor/Management Workplace Education Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
If the Springfield training goes well, Connolly said the Workplace Education Program would like to expand it to Holyoke, Amherst, Greenfield, Pittsfield and Northampton.
read the full article here
We might have a Black president, but that doesn't mean that systems of oppression are not still firmly in place, especially here in Boston. The mainstream media would still have us think that, with the exception of a few shining hip-hop artists, athletes, and, well, one Commander in Chief, black people are largely incapable of succeeding in the professional world. If, as allies, we are are going to help dismantle the stereotypes and remove the stigmas holding down our brothers and sisters, we must support them in holding up the role models and leaders within the community who are rewriting the story every day.
The Massachusetts Green Jobs Coalition (MAGJC) is dedicated to supporting this work, and we are happy to be here today at a special meeting of "Black People for Better Schools," to "honor the 11 of Boston's Black Male Educators and their commitment and passion to serve the youth in our communities." These headmasters of Boston Public Schools have so often done so much with so few resources. It is so important to highlight their steadfast efforts and successes.
We are in the Piedmonte Room at Boston City Hall, filled with some of the strongest leaders in the Boston Public School system and the local Black community. We are so very honored to be able to attend this event in solidarity and mutual support. Spirits are high as a few of the honored headmasters address the crowd. "Fools have called this a thankless job," proclaimed Winston Cox, Director of the Social Justice Academy, "but we are reminded how important it is, every single day."
These men continue to work diligently in what was today referred to as "the trenches of education," to provide critical role models for so many young people in the Boston Public School system. As Headmaster Cox tells his students, "You can see us, so you can be us."
From the President of the NAACP, as reported by CNN:
He is quite simply one of the few Americans in recent years to have generated powerful new ideas that are creating more jobs here.
He wrote the national bestseller, "The Green Collar Economy," which provided the definitive blueprint for retooling American industry to create pathways out of poverty and generate a national economic recovery. He was a driving force behind passage of the 2007 Green Jobs Act. In fact, Van's ideas have helped lead to the creation of tens of thousands of jobs across the industrial Midwest and throughout the nation's decaying urban and rural areas.
Van Jones also may be the most misunderstood man in America.
Read the Full Article, here.
Update:
Mass Alliance is looking to hire a Deputy Director. This is an excellent opportunity for an individual with some experience in politics and organizing, but with plenty of room for professional growth. It is a great job for someone who wants to have a tangible role in helping to build the progressive movement in Massachusetts.
Apply Now! Deadline March 1st!
get the details here http://massalliance.org/career.html
Massachusetts leading the way in energy efficiency
January 31st, 2010
Energy efficiency is the most readily available resource that will help us cut down our fossil fuel use and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As this recent New York Times article explains, Massachusetts has been ranked #2 (after California) for energy efficiency, as a state. There is still, of course, much room for improvement. Last Friday, state officials announced new energy efficiency standards that will, if implemented, bump the state to the forefront and create and estimated 25,000 new green jobs.
Massachusetts Sets Ambitious Energy Standards :: New York Times :: by Leslie Kaufman