February 1, 2010

'Connecting the dots' between weatherization and job creation

Gil Sperling, Tom Barrett, John Schmitt, Cory Mason and John Dickert

There are:
  • Millions of energy-inefficient homes.
  • Billions of federal dollars available for weatherization.
  • Meanwhile, Racine's unemployment rate is 15%.
"Connecting the dots between energy efficiency and jobs" -- as Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, put it -- is the goal of proposed legislation rolled out this morning during the first stop of what participating state, local and national officials called the Clean Energy Roadshow.

At a press conference at the Marquette Avenue home of Racine's First Choice Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program, Mason, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Racine Mayor John Dickert, John Schmitt, business manager of Local 113, and Department of Energy weatherization official Gil Sperling all sang the same lyrics: The Wisconsin Sustainable Jobs Act that Mason has introduced will provide a framework for weatherizing Wisconsin homes while ensuring that the work goes to newly trained, needy, local workers.

With billions of federal funds available -- Wisconsin expects to receive hundreds of millions and 1.9 million Wisconsin homes would benefit from weatherization -- the number of jobs this could create is substantial, perhaps 6,000. Each newly-weatherized home is estimated to save $460 a year in utility bills.

There is, of course, a catch: It costs about $6,500 to weatherize a home, "and most people don't have $6,500 lying around," as Mason noted. That's where his bill comes in: it would provide no-interest or low-interest loans up to that amount to be spent on weatherization -- "That's what's different and new here." -- with the money to be repaid over time, a little each year added to the homeowner's property tax bill.

There are also requirements aimed at the contractors who do the work -- they must hire local workers, with at least 30 percent coming from the low-income pool, pay them prevailing wages, and they must provide training for them. "Without the training and local-hire provisions," said Mason, "it's a free-for-all."

Thus the three dots are connected. And along with environmental sustainability the revolving loan fund will allow the program to be sustainable over time, Mason said.

Dickert and Barrett -- the latter a Democratic candidate for governor -- seconded his remarks. Dickert noted that Racine took some stimulus dollars and used them to buy LED street lights from RUUD Lighting of Racine, and then hired local IBEW workers to install them., Barrett endorsed the program for both its efficiencies and job goals, but also because "there are no oil wells or coal mines in Wisconsin" and sending energy dollars out of state sends them "to countries that can't stand us."

Mason's bill also allows utilities to use private funds for weatherization, lending the costs to businesses and homeowners, while putting repayment on their utility bills. So far, the bill has two co-sponsors, Democrats James Soletski of Green Bay and Ted Zigmunt of Manitowoc.

Sperling of the Dept. of Energy said "there is nothing more important that we can do than putting people back to work. This will be the largest economic development program the City of Racine has ever seen." He noted that $11.6 billion is available in weatherization and state block grants, but said "trillions and trillions of dollars are needed to make this transformation happen. This will leverage what the private sector does."

Ola Baiyewu, executive director of the Human Capital Development Corp., which runs the First Choice training program, said 127 enrolled and 80 completed the program last year -- with 30 of them finding full-time construction jobs. "That's like full employment in this city," he said, ruefully. The six-week training program is supported by the city, SC Johnson, the United Way, the Racine Community Foundation and the Racine Dominicans. It's been running since 2005, said Baiyewu. "I saw a need for women and minorities to be represented in the building trades." Six of those graduates with construction jobs are women.

While some recent graduates of the training program showed how insulation would be installed in an attic, left, Baiewu said he looked forward to the jobs weatherization funds would provide. "We're not going to train people for non-existent work," he said.

One of those his graduates present for the press conference was Anna Fell, 34, a laborer with Walsh Construction working on the North-South I-94 corridor reconstruction. A former school bus driver who also worked for a company now out of business, Fell says she earns about $20 an hour and is grateful for her training. "You need to learn everything you possibly can, so when the union hall calls with a job you're set to go." She hopes to become a heavy equipment operator.

29 comments:

  1. Ola does a great job with this program, I would keep Dickert and Mason as FAR AWAY from it as possible! Those two baffons will screw it up! Congrats to the pre-apprentiship program!

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  2. What a joke...Let me understand this Dickert has been in office for one year and in that year unemployment has INCREASED 50 PERCENT!!!!! Please, do us all a favor and resign NOW! Election time cannot come soon enough. I also love how they label this a "jobs" bill. Disgusting! I do agree Ola runs a great program, Keep the bogus politians out!

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  3. Ok, so i have to take a loan out for approx $6500 to fix my house? Thats the LAST thing i would spend my money on right now, also how many people still live in houses in Racine? Am I missing something?

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  4. Good idea in concept, but with all the "conditions" added to this bill to appease the unions, it will eliminate most people from affording to do it. Too bad.

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  5. Looks like The Post is acting as the local hack paper for every loser Dem in Wisconsin.

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  6. Did you all see Dickert's mug in the photo? That's what he'll look like after the votes are in! Bye Bye Lying John!!! Thanks Orbs

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  7. I have seen first hand the work that First Choice does. It's more than just job training, it's life training. Ola is doing important work. He and teacher Mike Cook should be commended for helping our community and for helping the pre-apprentices they train. The workers take classroom training and use it immediately.

    If this new program is set up well, outside the political realm and with reasonable checks and balances, it could be win-win-win.

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  8. Mandated environmentalism.

    Thanks, but no thanks.

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  9. Environmentalism-who needs that. We have unlimited resources.

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  10. Please??? Just ONE Day without having to look at Cory? IS that too much to ask?

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  11. Why waste time looking at the worth of a program when there are Democrats to dislike.

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  12. I agree that Ola Baiyewu has done a terrific job in preparing people for life and work. I also agree that all groups need to worktogether - public and private to make it a success and sustainable in the long run. Brenda Walsh

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  13. http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/article_153c36aa-0f88-11df-a5d4-001cc4c002e0.html

    And 50 to 100 will lose jobs due to high taxes and anti business acts from folks like Mason.
    Thanks Cory!

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  14. So it's a job creation program, is it? What about all the jobs that will be destroyed or not created because of the unsustainable tax burden of paying for these programs?

    Cory the Carpetbagger better create some jobs, he'll need one after November.

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  15. There currently are programs that overlap and/or duplicate many of these ideas now. We don't need more redundant legislation. Also, a lot of statisics quoted in this article need to be checked out. The numbers don't add up.

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  16. This org was given grant money over the summer to create jobs. How was that money spent? I know someone who was supposed to have some work done by the group and they were never contacted. Did they not get the grant money?

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  17. The men in that picture look like the beginning of a SNL skit.
    Why does it take so many bureaucrats to connect the dots? How many pages long will the bill be? Who has the ability to interpret the provisions?
    I would love to see a study of how many man-hours and salary dollars it takes to get $1 of federal porkulus into the hands of a local contractor.

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  18. And how many of these unemployed people will default on the loans - then this will cost the taxpayers more. Furthermore where do you think this money is comming from - tax payers - it's not just free money floating around. Get these Democrats out of office now!

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  19. Don't the democrats know its about creating jobs? Oh.....they are creating jobs? This is going to cost money. Don't democrats know we shouldn't create jobs?

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  20. Let me get this right. The plan is to train new people to go into an industry that has extremely high unemployment already and isn't expected to come back for years. This isn't a jobs program it is a pipe dream. This is something a logical person would propose when the construction boom was hot not when the industry is nearly dead.

    Way to go Cory. Another poorly thought out idea. Glad you get the press at these so we can see what you are doing.

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  21. At $20 buck an hour, how far will $6,500.00 go ?? Who has $6,500 ??

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  22. Everyone in that pic looks ticked off because the taxpayers are ticked off. These leeches aren't used to working.

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  23. The CAA got 700K for green jobs as well. So far no Green Jobs in fact they blew off the guy who offered to help them with a project that would not only made jobs but paid for itself. Wow only in Racine.
    Why have Green Jobs that help the inner city when you get 700K and do very little if not nothing

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  24. Green jobs is a crock - there is nothing to this political line - these guys are all smoking something.

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  25. So I should take a loan out for $6500 for windows and insulation on my house, so that these same baffoons can vote to approve a WE Energies rate increase every year. These idiots just wear me out! Pete, Dustin please try to keep an accurate acount of how many jobs this program creates and by the way I find it funny that since Dickert has been in office the unemployment rate in Racine has doubled! This madness should stop, And they all need to go! Election time can't come quick enough!

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  26. Stupid environmentally conscious job creating public servants. We need more tax cuts to increase the deficit!

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  27. We need fewer garden gnomes.

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  28. Don't get me started on WE energies. I turn down my heat and shiver all winter so I can afford to live here. So now they want have a rate hike because of lack of usage. So I have to pay for the heat anyway? Open up the energy grid across the US so I have choices.

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  29. connect 3 dots- thats why there are so many knotheads there. NONE of them can handle more than one dot.

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