Fight climate change, yes — but don’t sacrifice the workers

California is in the midst of transformational policy changes in order to address climate change, with lawmakers and regulators considering dozens of laws and regulations every year that will greatly alter our transportation, water, energy, housing, and other construction sectors.

The California State Council of Laborers are strong proponents of environmental policies that help us address climate change.

At the same time, we are fierce and unapologetic advocates for our members, the infrastructure and tens of thousands of California jobs that we create. We believe in balanced policies that will move our state to our environmental goals, while protecting and enhancing construction careers.

We are frequent supporters and advocates behind legislation and policies that would increase clean energy, promote clean transportation and address climate change.

The Laborers are proud to represent the more than 65,000 women and men of all backgrounds who are directly helping address our climate crisis by building California’s backbone infrastructure, including critical clean energy and clean transportation projects.

We are frequent supporters and advocates behind legislation and policies that would increase clean energy, promote clean transportation and address climate change.

For instance, just this year we were strong proponents of Assembly Bill 525 which would help advance wind energy. We supported AB 680 to ensure the responsible and accountable use of California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to create skilled clean energy jobs focused on disadvantaged communities most impacted by climate change. 

And we are strong supporters of a robust climate resilience package to address the growing concerns associated with climate change, including droughts, wildfires, power outages, and extreme weather conditions.

Specifically, the Laborers support the CalFire Urban and Community Forestry program, which works to expand and improve the management of trees and related vegetation in communities throughout California — a critical and effective response to the growing number of wildfires threatening our communities.

Construction creates highly skilled, highly trained middle-class careers that support families and entire communities.

Lastly, we have been early and strong proponents of the high-speed rail system, which will remove tens of thousands of cars from our roads, reducing pollution and cleaning our air. 

California’s construction trades are more than just a job. For hundreds of thousands of Californians from all walks of life, construction work is a career and a path to the middle class. Construction creates highly skilled, highly trained middle-class careers that support families and entire communities. These workers proudly build and maintain California’s infrastructure that benefits us all – our roads, bridges, water systems, energy supplies, hospitals, schools, housing and more. 

The average member of the Laborers earns $62,000 per year, while also earning a pension, health and dental benefits, annuity and vacation pay. More than 73% of Laborers are people of color. Rather than treat race, gender, sexual orientation, or prior criminal background as a barrier to the workforce, we embrace and welcome anyone willing to work hard towards creating a better future for themselves, their families and our state. 

As the Legislature continues to craft policies to address climate change, we urge lawmakers to protect essential construction careers and the infrastructure we build and maintain.

We respectfully ask that policy makers do not sacrifice critical construction careers as we transition to a new clean economy.
—
Editor’s Note: Joseph Cruz is executive director of the California State Council of Laborers.