Jobs with Justice is Ready!

Members of the Faith-Labor Committee of Portland Jobs with Justice work together for economic and social justice. They support the right of workers to organize into unions, the payment of a living wage to all workers, and other related issues. They see great value in the new green economy as a source of good jobs and are ready to do their part!

Renewable Northwest Project is Ready!

The members of Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) know first-hand that a skilled workforce is vital to RNP's mission of expanding the region's wind, solar, and geothermal power.

That's why we are working together to identify critical workforce needs (i.e. technicians, engineers, MBAs, environmental scientists, production/manufacturing personnel) and to communicate those needs to the educational community in designing their curriculums.

We are also designing internships that businesses can adopt by next summer to provide practical experience in renewable energy to students, recent grads, and others new to the field.

Photo caption: Nicole Hughes and Scott Kringen from RES-Americas, a wind development company, listen closely to Raimund Grube and Annette Talbot, workforce development volunteers, talking about renewable energy internships at RNP's annual retreat.

AFSCME Council 75's Environmental Caucus is Ready!

Members of the 'AFSCME Green' environmental caucus support green jobs.

Everyday in Oregon, AFSCME members are working to protect the environment as planners, educators, public health professionals, and regulators.

Oregon AFSCME members are organizing around the principle that you can have good jobs and have a healthy environment too.

E C Company is Ready!

E C Company is committed to family wage jobs as well as investing in our community and environment.

As Oregon’s largest employer of union electricians we lead by example every day. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for apprentices, women and others in the

construction industry.

As a charter member of the Oregon Apollo Alliance E C serves on the strategic planning committee. By making environmentally responsible business decisions today, like installing our own renewable photovoltaic array on our corporate offices, we make sustainable tomorrow.

Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. is Ready!

Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. is dedicated to promoting the success of women in the trades through education, leadership and mentorship.

In this picture, Oregon Tradeswomen students learn basic carpentry by using green materials to build garden beds for a compost education center for Portland Parks and Community Gardens at Fulton Park. Featuring (from left to right): Dalieta Nordstrom, Tiara Hough, Stephanie Lofgren, Kiva Anttila and Laura McClung.

Check out our FREE women-only pre-apprenticeship class and other programs at http://www.tradeswomen.net.

Cart'm Recycling is Ready!

In 1996, a small group of committed, Manzanita, Oregon citizens founded Cart’m Recycling, a unique combination of recycling center, re-use/resale store, and conventional transfer station.

With a vision that “leads the community to zero waste”, Cart’m employees and volunteers are excited to be a part of this small organization that tackles big environmental and social issues.

Leaders from L to R (front row): Ty the dog (2nd row holding sign): Janet K. Hamilton, Director; Abby Spotsky, volunteer; Kathleen Larson, store staff; Anne Osborne-Coopersmith, volunteer; Jackie McCrady, Board secretary; Jessi Just, Outreach & Education Coordinator (3rd row): Justin Bush, yard staff; Gretchen Harris, yard staff; Mary Wennhold store/yard staff; Nick Theoharis, yard staff; Belinda Spegel, store staff; Walt Arvidson, volunteer.

Find out more here.

Columbia Gorge Community College is Ready!

Columbia Gorge Community College offers a one-year certificate and two-year associate degree in Renewable Energy Technology training.


"Our students are ready to climb to the top of the career ladder with the hands-on technical and problem-solving skills they need to help make renewable energy a reality," says Renewable Energy Technology Program Advisor Candy Gruner.

This is the first program of its kind on the West Coast. For more information, visit http://www.cgcc.cc.or.us

Friends of Family Farmers is Ready!

Friends of Family Farmers is working to educate, organize and advocate for socially responsible agriculture and healthy rural communities in Oregon.

Through our programs, we are trying to ensure that the next generation of farmers has access to the education and resources that they need to run an economically viable and environmentally sound agricultural business.

Find out more here.

McKinstry Company is Ready!

McKinstry Company is a leading mechanical construction and engineering firm in the Pacific Northwest, offering a broad range of construction, design and facility services. They specialize in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, and their new Portland, Oregon headquarters (pictured here) will be a LEED certified building.

McKinstry, a partner in the Oregon Apollo Alliance, believes in hiring union workers for its projects, understanding that this will assure them of a well-trained, safe and productive workforce.

Portland YouthBuilders is Ready!

Portland YouthBuilders (PYB) is a nonprofit organization that provides educational, vocational, and leadership development programs for low-income men and women aged 17-24.


Each year, PYB’s construction department serves an average of 100 people. The young people who participate in this program build affordable housing for first-time home owners. They receive training in the components of energy efficient residential construction, and in this case, they’re building a house with an Energy Star rating.

Bill Kowalczyk, PYB’s Construction Manager, describes the program as a “gateway to apprenticeship programs and family wage jobs in the construction industry”. PYB graduates are ready for green jobs!

The HVAC and Metals Institute is Ready!

The HVAC and Metals Institute in Portland provides training for good green jobs in the efficient design and installation of energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Sheet Metal Workers install, wire, service and repair environmental control systems. For example, members of Sheet Metal Workers Union Local #16, graduates of the Institute, fabricated and installed the scrubbers for Solar World in Portland.


The apprentices in these photos are in their third week of an approximately 5-year training program. They will work and earn as they attend classes on a part-time basis for those 5 years.

NECA/IBEW is Ready!

The NECA/IBEW Training Center in Portland prepares apprentices for careers as licensed electricians in both residential and commercial sectors.

Brian Crise, shown here with one of his classes, is an instructor at the Center who does training especially for work in the solar industry.



This photo shows the solar array on the front of the Center, which was installed by the Women of IBEW Local 48.

According to Rod Belisle, the Training Director, NECA electrical contractors have always done energy efficiency and renewable energy work, but they’ve shifted their focus in recent years to make it a higher priority.

Journey level electricians graduating from the Center will have the skills and knowledge to work in wind, solar, wave and other renewable energy arenas, as well as in green construction and retrofitting. As members of IBEW 48, they’ll earn union scale and benefits, and have access to continuing education opportunities at the Training Center.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local #757 is Ready!

David Lingle, a member of Amalgamated Transit Union Local #757 in Portland, repairs a leak in this bus’s rocker box gasket.

The approximately 1400 members of ATU #757 drive buses and light rail, maintain the vehicles and other equipment, and provide customer service for TriMet and other public transit systems in Oregon. These are existing green jobs that provide good pay and benefits as well as training opportunities.

Verde is Ready!

Bioswale planting on NE 38th Avenue, Portland, OR

Verde connects low income people with the economic benefits of environmental protection by creating social enterprises and through outreach.

Verde’s social enterprises, Verde Landscape and Verde Nursery, employ and train low-income people while selling environmental services and products in support of Verde’s tax exempt mission.

Verde’s outreach activities build community awareness about the connection between economic opportunity and environmental protection, and work with environmental groups and policymakers to create new opportunities for low-income people in sustainable development.

Sharing green job information with the Latino community, Explorando El Columbia Slough

Visit Verde at their website.

The ReBuilding Center is Ready!

The ReBuilding Center, a project of Our United Villages, works to strengthen the environmental, economic, and social fabric of local communities.

Founded by volunteers in 1998, The ReBuilding Center is the nation’s largest non-profit reuse center for salvaged construction and remodeling materials (sinks, tubs, tile, lumber, doors, windows, trim and much more). The ReBuilding Center also includes DeConstruction Services, a sustainable alternative to conventional demolition, and ReFind Furniture, offering a diverse line of green furniture and home accessories. Plus, The ReBuilding Center offers a free-pick up service, numerous volunteer opportunities, donations of used building materials for community projects, and an education program.


The ReBuilding Center serves as an anchor for North Portland, contributing to the local community’s economic and social vitality.

About 90 percent of our full-time staff members live in North/Northeast Portland. We offer living-wage positions with generous benefits.

For more info: www.rebuildingcenter.org

Iberdrola Renewables is Ready!

IBERDROLA RENEWABLES is currently the world's leading provider of wind power with more than 8,000 MW of wind power in operation globally now.

Between 2008-2012, the company will invest €18.8 billion globally to achieve installed capacity of close to 18,000 MW and production of more than 42,000 GWh. IBERDROLA RENEWABLES will invest $8 billion in the U.S. between 2008 and 2012 and plans to install 1,000 MW of wind power each year in the US. www.iberdrolarenewables.us

IBERDROLA RENEWABLES' Oregon Workforce (as of July 31, 2008):

IBERDROLA RENEWABLES
Portland: 340 (includes 26 contractors)
Klamath Falls: 24
Wasco: 18
Arlington: 4

IBERDROLA RENEWABLES HOLDINGS, Inc.
Portland: 13 (includes 4 contractors) and 13 Group employees

If you are interested in a career with Iberdrola Renewables, please visit their careers page.

Crater Lake Electrical Training Center is Ready!

The 68 electrical apprentices at the Crater Lake Electrical Training Center in Central Point, Oregon, are getting ready for jobs in the wind and solar industries.

Whether enrolled in the 20-year residential electrical program or the 5-year wireman’s program, these apprentices will study photo-voltaic systems installation in addition to the rigorous electricians curriculum.

They’ll complete the program with journey level certification and an electrician’s license, enabling them to earn a family wage with benefits in the green economy.

The Training Center also hosts seminars for contractors in collaboration with the Energy Trust of Oregon.

AFSCME Local 3336 is Ready!

Members of AFSCME Local 3336 are ready for Green Jobs Now!

These are the dedicated folks who work at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), monitoring our state’s environmental health.

IBEW #280 is Ready!

Jerry Fletcher, President of IBEW #280 in Central Oregon, stands in front of a wind turbine rotor.

Jerry says, "The work is a lot of fun, and the turbines are immense. When mounted, the rotor is 240 feet above the ground, or the same as a 24 story building. You can drive a truck inside the tower and the 'Nacelle' or generator at the top of the tower is the size of a manufactured home. The 'rotor' or propeller is 140 feet from the axle to the tip. There is 35 trucks worth of concrete underneath every tower."

Jerry's local participates in an apprenticeship program with the National Electrical Contractors Association that trains workers for jobs in the solar and wind industries in the state. For more info on the apprenticeship program, call 541-917-6199.

Sustainable Works is Ready!

Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good (MACG) is initiating Sustainable Works, a campaign that ties energy efficiency retrofits with green jobs creation and training. We are designing a pilot project with 50 residential houses to be retrofitted for energy efficiency by family-wage labor.

MACG is an organization of over 30 civil sector institutions, religious, labor and community based, affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation.

For more info: http://www.macg.org

Submit your Photos!

We're looking for photos of people who are being trained, are already working, or are ready to work in the new green economy, and people who are working to create those jobs.

To participate, e-mail photos (no more than 1.5MB in any one e-mail), descriptions, and any questions to barbara@oraflcio.org.

Photos will be posted at here beginning on September 15. We'll stop accepting photos after September 25.

On a date TBA, we'll gather everyone together to view the photos and get to know each other better. If you want to be notified of the viewing date and location, please register here!