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Gordon, K., J. Hays, B. Hendricks, J. Walsh, and S. White. Green Collar Jobs in America’s Cities: Building Pathways Out of Poverty and Careers in the Clean Energy Economy. COWS, 2008.
Produced by the Apollo Alliance and Green For All, in partnership with COWS and Center for American Progress, Green Collar Jobs in America’s Cities makes a strong case that pursuing a four-step strategy—essentially a metropolitan green business and jobs development plan—provides a wealth of environmental, economic, and social benefits, including what it calls “a pathway out of poverty” for thousands of unemployed, under-employed, and hard to employ people in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
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Walsh, J., and S. White. Greener Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the Clean Energy Economy. COWS, 2008.
Greener Pathways details current economic and workforce development opportunities in three leading industries: energy efficiency, wind, and biofuels. The report also examines federal resources that can support state green jobs initiatives, and concludes by outlining a plan of action for state policymakers. Documents include Full Report and Summary.
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Rogers, J. Seizing the Opportunity (for Climate, Jobs, and Equity) in Building Energy Efficiency. COWS, 2007.
Building retrofits, with their associated cost-savings for the working class and poor and “green collar” job opportunities, are a natural way to meet both demands. This opportunity is especially evident in cities, with their density of inefficient buildings, poor people, generally progressive politics, and leadership on climate.
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,. The State of Working Wisconsin 2007 Update. COWS, 2007.
Provides a thorough review of jobs, wages, poverty, income, and job quality in the state on a bi-annual basis.
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Mitnik, P. Cities and Jobs: Local Strategies for Improving Job Quality and Access. 2007.
What can cities do to improve the quality of jobs? How can cities boost the access of the disadvantaged to the good jobs available in their jurisdictions? Building from policy innovations and experiences from all around the country, this report offers a menu of city policies aimed at improving job quality and redistributing job opportunities in favor of the disadvantaged.
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, C. Community Jobs in the Green Economy. COWS, 2007.
A collaborative effort with the Apollo Alliance and Urban Habitat, this report is a reflection of their shared belief in the potential of the “green economy” to generate quality jobs in our nation’s low-income communities and communities of color.
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, C. Technical Colleges and Adult Learners. COWS, 2007, p. 3.
Improving access to training for working adults, building stronger linkages to the local economy and increasing adult basic education funding will help Wisconsin’s technical college system add even more value to the economy. A COWS Fast Facts report.
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, C. Minimum Wage: Increase, Index, and Enforce Wisconsin’s Minimum Wage. COWS, 2007.
Raising the minimum wage, indexing it to inflation, and ensuring that resources support and enforce the standard can help make the low-wage labor market stronger in the state. A COWS Fast Facts report.
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, C. Wisconsin Women and Economic Opportunity. COWS, 2007.
A look at the economic challenges that women still face in the Wisconsin Economy. A COWS Spotlight Issue.
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Stronger Ladders, Stronger Floors: The Need for Both Supply and Demand Strategies to Improve Workers’ Opportunities by Laura Dresser uses data from Mitnik and Zeidenberg’s paper to explore issues about building career ladders. The paper provides some data to help direct and focus career ladder development, and includes discussion of the need for both supply and demand side strategies when improving jobs.
From Bad to Good Jobs? An Analysis of the Prospects for Career Ladders in the Service Industries by Pablo Mitnik and Matt Zeidenberg discusses the various assumptions that are embedded in career ladder strategies, and investigates the extent to which the very structure of specific service industries may stand in the way of building advancement. The paper provides careful analysis of upward and downward mobility within specific industries, and considers the systematic prospects of career ladder strategies.
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