77th Annual Meeting


WHEREAS, "green building" and other sustainable practices will support growth in all sectors of our economy; and

WHEREAS, Congress has funded at least nine programs totaling $25.5 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in which energy efficiency, public building retrofit, renewable energy, weatherization, upgrades to the electrical grid and green workforce development play an essential role; and

WHEREAS, Congress has included $20 billion in tax incentives to encourage conservation and support development of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources; and

WHEREAS, Congress is currently considering several bills to limit carbon emissions, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering regulating carbon emissions using its existing authority, causing the relative value of energy efficiency and renewably-generated electricity to increase; and

WHEREAS, Twenty-eight states have already instituted portfolio standards, another five have established renewable energy goals, and Congress is considering creating a nationwide renewable energy standard, which would produce further development of clean energy resources; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) has passed several resolutions calling on all levels of government to pursue environmentally sustainable municipal practices; and

WHEREAS, one of the most essential elements of a "green" economy will involve increasing the production of energy from sustainable sources and retrofitting existing buildings to be more energy efficient; and


WHEREAS, green jobs and sustainable methods of producing energy make-up an increasing percentage of the economy; and

WHEREAS, the extensive federal investment in the green sector will require a skilled green workforce to support the quickly growing green economy; and

WHEREAS, a leading cause for increased recidivism, poverty and crime is a lack of jobs that pay a livable wage,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the USCM calls upon the U.S. Congress to fund the $125 million authorized for Green Jobs Training programs passed in the Green Jobs Act for FY 2009 as stated in H.R. 1781; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the USCM calls upon the U.S. Congress to allocate additional funding for the development of new green businesses and workforce development programs for the new energy economy in further climate change, energy and workforce development legislation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that any funding allocated to green jobs training should build on the current workforce development structure established in the Workforce Investment Act and give priority to programs aimed at training dislocated workers, minority and at-risk youth, and ex-offenders; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the USCM calls upon the federal government to 1) expand labor market data collection systems and analysis to track and predict the demand for Green Jobs throughout the green sector to allow workforce development entities to train workers in fields where they are found to be most needed; 2) create a centralized resource center for Green Jobs to allow cities to discuss best practices and learn from one another; 3) facilitate policy coordination and sharing of information between the affected agencies; 4) create incentive and recognition systems for exemplary green employers;and 5) produce early non-qualitative analysis of green job training and random assignment evaluation for early assessment and accountability of Green Jobs training programs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that members of the USCM should take steps to better implement and increase the opportunities for Green Jobs development in their cities such as: 1) track local demand for green jobs through data collection and analysis; 2) expand the local green economy by investing in green technology such as instituting solar alternative power initiatives that increase the number of solar cells attached to our power grids, implementing energy efficiency capital improvements, retrofitting state-owned buildings and making use of other energy forms such as wind power or geothermal; 3) work with the business community to form Green Jobs councils in our cities that can best direct human resources to growing green industries; 4) create standards to accurately assess green jobs, employers and processes; and 5) create incentive and recognition systems for exemplary green employers.