We need a new definition of green jobs, in particular, one that matches the goals of the current movement for a #GreenNewDeal. A THREAD 1/
When you look at green jobs literature, and listen to activists and politicians talk about the sector, you’ll hear a range of ideas about what green jobs are. If we are going to create millions of them, we should know what we’re talking about. 2/
According to the BLS, a green job is specifically related to improving the environment. But the #GreenNewDeal is about improving peoples’ LIVES. It’s no longer practical or theoretically cogent (or inspiring!) to separate a sustainable environment from a sust society/economy. 3/
In this report with @gregorytcarlock - an original #GreenNewDeal drafter - we offer a framework for how to think about green jobs, in an effort to shift the conversation toward what type of green economy we want and need for the long term. 4/ tcf.org/content/report…
A few major additions to the standard definition: Care (child, elder, health) workers are #greenworkers. Educators, not just environmental, are #greenworkers. They constitute the social infrastructure that people need not just to survive, but thrive. 5/
They are also mostly women (WOC, immigrants), who have been historically excluded from major social policy. Domestic workers earn poverty wages in part because of their omission from the NLRA during the New Deal! We must not make this mistake again. 6/
Care workers are on the front lines of the climate crisis, are literally first responders during extreme events, and tend to those most vulnerable - sick, elderly, children, poor. Educators are coping with a generation already stressed by climate. 7/
Policy is already adopting these ideas. #M4A #UniversalChildCare and #GNDforPublicHousing envision a sustainable economy that includes expansion of the care sector. When you’re talking about #greenjobs you should, too. /N
