Obama’s Department of Green Labor
December 23, 2008 by admin
Filed under Green Collar, Op-Ed
President-elect Barack Obama with California Rep. Hilda Solis (D-El Monte), his pick for Secretary of Labor.
In announcing that he intends Hilda Solis to be his Secretary of Labor, President-elect Barack Obama made good on his campaign pledge of change: Not only will this choice likely bring relief from the anti-union and anti-worker policies of his predecessor, but it will also reinforce that environmental issues will be key to ensuring good employment.
Congresswoman Solis, representing California’s 32nd District since 2000, has distinguished herself by her support for labor rights and environmental justice causes. Specifically, she has been a strong advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act and for green collar jobs - jobs that protect the environment and offer decent pay and working conditions.
Introducing her in Chicago on December 19, Obama said, “For the past eight years, the Department of Labor has not lived up to its role either as an advocate for hardworking families or as an arbiter of fairness in relations between labor and management. That will change when Hilda Solis is Secretary of Labor. Under her leadership, I am confident that the Department of Labor will once again stand up for working families.”
California Gives Green Light to Cap-and-Trade Action Plan
Regulators give final approval to wide ranging climate change package
The state of California has formally adopted the strictest environmental regulations anywhere in the US last week, committing to a package of measures designed to cut emissions 15 per cent by 2020.
Under the wide-ranging plans, the state will require utilities to generate a third of power from renewable sources by 2020 and will also introduce a raft of binding targets governing emissions from cars, oil refineries, buildings and landfill sites.
The primary mechanism for achieving the targets will be the adoption of a regional carbon cap-and-trade scheme, known as the Western Climate Initiative, as part of a wider coalition of western states and Canadian provinces designed to put a price on carbon emissions for the most polluting industries.
The Truth About Green Jobs ~ When They’re Coming, Who Will Get Them, and How to Prevent Their Outsourcing
November 18, 2008 by admin
Filed under Eco News, Green Collar
American workers rally for green collar jobs in Washington, D.C.
Message discipline has never been one of the left’s strengths (oy gevalt), so it’s been somewhat astonishing to hear the chorus of support lately for “green jobs.” From city officials in Albuquerque and Minneapolis up to Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama, more and more Democrats are framing climate change as “a moment of opportunity for innovation and job creation,” as Obama has put it, that can revitalize the flagging US economy. But occasionally, enthusiasm outpaces reality. Let’s sift through a few of the more popular claims.
