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Labor, Environmental Leaders Push For L.A. Solar Act

February 18, 2009

An ambitious ballot measure backed by a broad city-wide coalition, including Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa, IBEW locals 11 and 18 and environmentalists, could make the city one of the leading centers of solar energy production and green job growth in the nation if passed by voters on March 3.

“The Green Energy and Good Jobs Act,” also known as Measure B, would direct the L.A. Department of Water and Power to install rooftop solar units on government, commercial and industrial buildings throughout the city. The panels are expected to generate 400 megawatts of energy by 2014, enough electricity to power thousands of homes and businesses, while reducing the city’s reliance on fossil fuels.

The installations will be owned and operated by the DWP, putting the power in the hands of L.A. residents, not private energy companies.

“Utility-owned power is considerably cheaper than privately owned power, because no Enron-style manipulation is possible,” wrote Working Californians blogger David Koenig. Working Californians is a pro-worker non-profit that placed the measure on the ballot.

Until now individual consumers installed their solar panels, making an initial investment in their purchase too costly for some businesses. By making the program the responsibility of the utility, Measure B is expected to save customers money while jumpstarting the solar manufacturing industry in Southern California.

To make sure the panels are assembled in L.A., the measure establishes a 30-percent bid preference for local solar panel manufacturers.

“Measure B could lead to a rebirth of manufacturing in L.A.”, said Local 18 Business Manager Brian D’Arcy. Local 18 represents more than 8,000 employees at the DWP.  

The proposition is estimated to eliminate 400,000 tons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, garnering it wide support in the environmental community, including the Sierra Club, the Coalition for Clean Air and the League of Conservation Voters.  “Measure B will help us not only fight air pollution with the development of clean, renewable energy, but also revive the economy by creating thousands of new green jobs,” said Albert Mendoza, president of the Coalition for Clean Air. 

Currently less than 1 percent of L.A’s energy comes from solar power; new state renewable energy requirements make the act’s passage a necessity if California’s largest city is to help meet Sacramento’s goals. By next year, 20 percent of all energy produced in California is required come from renewable resources; by 2020, that figure jumps to more than 30 percent.

 “Without it, L.A. won’t meet the markers the governor and assembly have mandated,” D’Arcy said.

The proposition, which would create hundreds of new solar installer positions, is likely to give the local economy – which is suffering from a nearly 10 percent unemployment rate – a needed boost. Locals 11 and 18 are working to make sure that the new jobs will be highly skilled positions that can help lift working families out of the recession. “(It) will not only produce green energy but good paying jobs for working Angelenos with job training to ensure workers can learn the skills necessary for the new green economy,” said Local 11 Business Manager Marvin Kropke. Local 11 represents more than 7,000 electricians in the L.A. area.

Despite wide support from labor, city, environmental and business leaders, a small but vocal coalition has launched an anti-Measure B campaign, arguing that it would raise user rates, an accusation D’Arcy rejects. “Solar will reduce consumer’s bills in the long run because solar is cheaper than gas or coal.”

DWP officials say that rate hikes would be unlikely to exceed 1 percent, which is only fraction of recent hikes. Villaraigosa is also hopeful that the Obama administration will be able to provide financial support for the program as part of the president’s economic stimulus spending.

“Despite all the questions, I think Measure B is a good plan,” wrote columnist Bill Boyarsky on the news blog LA Observed. “Solar is perfect for sunny L.A. Green industry is the wave of the future … We need more union jobs, which strengthen the economy by expanding the middle class.”

To support its passage, the IBEW has launched a grassroots campaign in communities throughout L.A, targeting voters with telephone calls and campaign mailers. “We’ve got outreach directors for pretty much every neighborhood; we’ve got radio and TV ads in the hopper,” D’Arcy said. “We’re entering a five-week sprint until election day.”

To help with Internet outreach, Working Californians hired Blue State Digital, an Internet strategy company that worked on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. 

Kropke and D’Arcy are optimistic about their chances. “Working people, environmental activists and community groups are almost all behind the measure,” D’Arcy said. “Residents know that a ‘yes’ vote translates into less oil and more jobs.”

To read more about Measure B, go to www.greenenergygoodjobsla.com.