Recovery Alert - 100 Days of Recovery

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Yesterday marked 100 days since President Obama signed the Recovery Package into law. According to the White House, over $100 billion of the $787 billion has now been obligated and 150,000 jobs have been created. The money is going fast.

In this edition, we've got some tools and information to help you: Prepare for green job training grant money, leverage EECBG funds to launch a city-scale retrofit program, stir up a local debate about green-collar jobs with a letter to the editor, and more. It's time to create green-collar solutions.


1. ACTION: Learn about Green Job Training Grants with Phaedra on June 4th

In June, the U.S. Department of Labor will begin accepting grant proposals for $500 Million in recovery money for green job training programs.
Join our call with Green For All CEO, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins to get an overview of the Green Job Training Grants, learn why partnerships are key to qualifying for these grants, and hear from two green job training programs that demonstrate successful partnerships between community, higher education, labor, and business.

A Green For All Community of Practice Learning Call:
Green Pathways out of Poverty through Partnerships and Recovery
Thursday, June 4th
11 am pacific / 2pm eastern

RSVP for the call.

http://www.greenforall.org/what-we-do/building-a-movement/community-of-practice/conference-call/

2. NEWS: Initial Plans for Green Jobs Training Grants Released

On Friday May 15th the Department of Labor came out with their initial plans for the green job training competitive grant program. They are urging interested applicants to use the grants as "an opportunity to demonstrate how partnerships between the public workforce system and other public and private systems, including labor-management partnerships, education institutions, community and faith-based organizations, and research institutions can meet the workforce needs of the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors and other industry sectors." The Workforce Alliance created a summary of the DOL's plans (PDF).

http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=ksKYL9PPKiJUIiK&s=dlLSJ7MQIlIXKcPWKtF&m=liKTI1PEKdL0H

The DOL will announce Solicitations for Grant Applications in June. We will keep you posted.

3. RESOURCE: Leverage Energy Efficiency Recovery funds - Green For All audio recording & downloads

On May 19th Green For All hosted a conference call on the topic of "Retrofitting America's Cities". One of the first opportunities discussed was the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funding in the stimulus. The deadline for cities, counties, and states to apply to DOE for EECBG funding is June 25th. You can listen to the call and download presentations and resources here.

http://www.greenforall.org/what-we-do/building-a-movement/community-of-practice/links-and-resources-for-may-19-conference-call-retrofitting-americas-cities

4. RESOURCE: Race and Recession: How Inequity Rigged the Economy and how to Change the Rules

Foreclosure. Unemployment. Loss of health care.  These hardships have been fixtures in American life during this recession.  But some of us have been hit harder than others, and it falls along racial lines, says a new report from the Applied Research Center.

Race and Recession: How Inequity Rigged the Economy and How to Change the Rules argues for emergency measures to address racial inequity, passing new equitable policies, and conducting racial impact assessments to hold new laws to standards of fairness. Watch a short video and download the report.

http://www.greenforall.org/blog/new-report-people-of-color-hurt-worst-by-the-recession-1

5. RESOURCE: Green jobs!

This past week Yahoo HotJobs! launched a new Green Jobs page for jobseekers. Green For All produced a video and wrote an article titled "What are Green-Collar Jobs" for the launch. If you or someone you know is looking for work, take a look.

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/jobs-k-green

6. NEWS: Stand up for Jobs and Homes on June 11th

Our friends at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition are organizing a national day of action on June 11th to push for policies that create jobs, stop home foreclosures, and rebuild communities. Learn about the effort and find out if there is an event being organized near you.

http://www.ncrc.org/dayofaction

7. ACTION: Be Like Jim. Write a Recovery Letter to the Editor.

Check out the letter that Jim Schaefer, of Otis, Oregon, just got published in his local paper The Statesman Journal:

    May 20, 2009

    The foundation for a better economy is in the hands of our mayor and local officials.

    They are now responsible for implementing millions of dollars in green investments from President Obama's recovery package.

    The recovery funds can help us create new green jobs and training opportunities locally. They can help us build a new economy that is based on clean, safe energy sources and good, green jobs for American workers.

    Is our community doing its best to build a strong, green economy that works for all people?

    What's our local plan to implement a green recovery for all?

    - Jim Schaefer, Otis

Writing a letter to the editor is an important way to get our message into local newspapers, and out to the people who read them (including Mayors and local officials).  And it's easy using our Letter to the Editor tool.

Join Jim in calling for a green recovery for all: Write a letter to your local newspaper editor.

http://www.greenforall.org/recoverylte

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Next week we'll unveil a map of local Recovery stories and videos and a new Recovery FAQ. Here's a sneak preview.