Los Angeles Apollo Alliance Partners with City to Create Jobs and Opportunities in Green Retrofits
Through a combination of door-to-door organizing and policy development with city officials, the LA Apollo Alliance is getting the city to invest in water and energy retrofits for hundreds of city buildings. The “Apollo Challenge” will reduce global warming pollution and save the city up to $10 million in energy costs per year, while at the same time establishing a Green Career Ladder Training Program to connect low-income residents to job opportunities created by the investment.
The Los Angeles Apollo Alliance has been making huge strides in their Green Jobs Campaign to retrofit city buildings and create jobs for low income communities of color. After an initial study of economic trends and opportunities, the campaign kicked off in August of 2006 when over 500 residents came together at a church in South LA to applaud Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Council President Eric Garcetti, and local Councilman Herb Wesson as they signed the "Apollo Challenge" and committed to working with the Alliance to shape green workforce and economic development strategies.
Through a combination of door-to-door organizing and policy development with city officials, the LA Apollo Alliance is advancing its goals of getting the city to invest in water and energy retrofits for hundreds of city buildings - reducing global warming pollution and saving the city up to $10 million in energy costs per year - while at the same time establishing a Green Career Ladder Training Program to connect low-income residents to job opportunities created by the investment.
In June of 2007, the city council established a City Retrofit Jobs Task Force that includes council members, city agencies, and LA Apollo Alliance representatives to coordinate and lead the work. Task Force members have begun to identify workforce needs and financing mechanisms for the retrofit work and funding for the training program, which will begin in 2008.
The LA Apollo Alliance includes community-based organizations, labor unions, and environmental groups. It is convened and led by SCOPE - a community-based organization in South Los Angeles.
Excerpted from Green-Collar Jobs in America’s Cities by Green for All, the Apollo Alliance, Center for American Progress, and Center on Wisconsin Strategy. Published March 2008
