Green stimulus = Green jobs?

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Over the past year, both the federal and state governments have poured billions of dollars into economic stimulus and job-creating endeavors. There have been claims of hundreds of thousands of jobs saved or created due to these investments of the taxpayers’ money. One of the sectors that has been targeted by both President Obama and Gov. Ted Kulongoski has been the “New Economy,” an investment in green technologies and industries.

Unfortunately, the reality has not been that bright on main street’s job sites. National and state unemployment figures remain high and in the building trades the unemployment levels are two to three times that of the general population. The men and women of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 48, here in the greater Portland area are currently experiencing a 28 percent unemployment level. As a result, only 26 apprentices were accepted into the multi-year training program in 2009, when historically the annual enrollment has averaged more than 100.

The two biggest impediments to getting people back to work are the lack of stimulus dollars that are actually reaching the ground and the continuing tight investment credit market. Reports vary, but on average most sources estimate that only about a third of the appropriated stimulus funding has actually been dispersed. Experts estimate that available venture capital has declined by as much as 38 percent over the past year to the lowest level in the past 12 years. So while there has been a lot of legislative action, there isn’t much money available and many skilled tradesmen sit idle.

Our elected leaders recognized the opportunity to recover the economy on a foundation that is more sustainable. But we need to make sure that we are being prudent in how the public’s money is being spent on this sustainable future.

Investments in building retrofits, new renewable energy sources (wind, solar and biomass), smart grids and better conservation efforts are critical to our success. What we don’t need is poorly thought-out expenditures in new job-training endeavors. We have skilled tradesmen ready to work. We have a state-of-the-art training facility that’s ready to train these workers in the latest green technologies. Our apprentices need on-the-job opportunities to become journeymen. What we don’t need is to spend our limited public funds training people for green jobs when there is already a surplus of expertise.

As our elected officials continue to promote and oversee the transition to a new green economy, we must make certain their efforts result in real jobs on the ground, and not additional layers of bureaucracy or regulations that waste our limited resources.

Clif Davis is the Business Manager/Financial Secretary for IBEW Local 48 which includes the Greater Portland area as well as Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington, representing nearly four thousand members. The National Electrical Contractors Association and the IBEW have been working together for nearly a century.