Unions Give Climate Prosperity Project a Step Up

The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) has announced that metropolitan St. Louis is one of eight pilot regions for the Climate Prosperity Project, a new economic development effort launched by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

The Climate Prosperity Project will seek to guide economic development efforts based on the strategy of “green savings, green opportunity, and green talent.” Richard Fleming, president and CEO of the RCGA, is president of the Climate Prosperity Project board of directors. The other seven pilot regions are: Silicon Valley/San Jose, CA; Portland, OR; Denver, CO; Seattle, WA; Southwest Florida; Montgomery County, MD; and the State of Delaware.

“We come at it from an opportunistic standpoint as the region’s economic development agency. We see a potential for new opportunities for creating jobs, expanding existing companies, and attracting new companies. We certainly see it as an opportunity for a substantial amount of building things,” said Fleming.

“Green savings,” said Fleming, means simply that energy efficiency saves money, which can then be used for other things. “Energy efficiency is the quickest way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and bring prosperity to individuals, businesses, and communities,” he said. In Portland, OR, he said, people and businesses are saving $2.6 billion a year because of an energy efficiency initiative begun a decade ago.

“Green opportunity” refers to innovation, entrepreneurship and strong economic growth that solutions to the challenges of climate change will generate, he said.

“Green talent,” he said, means that entrepreneurs, scientists, and construction workers all are critical to retrofitting buildings, installing renewable energy projects, etc. “Communities must ensure they have a trained workforce in order to prosper during this transformation,” he said.

While the project in St. Louis is still in the “formative stage,” Fleming said, some of the first local activities, which will be under the banner of “green savings,” will be to educate companies about tangible steps they can take to improve energy efficiency and the opportunities there for returns on investment.

That will create an immediate need for suitably trained construction workers “to get the job done,” said Fleming.

The union construction industry already has put in place training programs to help meet that need.

The Electrical Industry Training Center announced has the establishment of a wide-ranging green training initiative to prepare the region’s union electrical workforce to meet the needs of emerging green and alternative energy industries.  The training center unveiled its curriculum at an open house for St. Louis area lawmakers and business leaders on May 28, 2009.

“We are both cultivating opportunity in the new green economy and training the workforce necessary to build it,” said Stephen P. Schoemehl, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local One. “We can make St. Louis the center of renewable energy development in the Midwest. To do that, we need a highly skilled workforce. We already have the essential curriculum in place to create that workforce and build a brighter future for St. Louis,” he said.

IBEW Local One partners with the St. Louis Chapter, National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) to form the Electrical Connection.

Among the skills already developed within the ranks of IBEW Local One are the wiring and installation of solar panels, wind turbines and “smart building” technologies that conserve energy. The new training consolidates 70 courses into one green curriculum that includes:

• Photovoltaic cells;
• Fuel cells;
• Building automation;
• Lighting efficiencies;
• Energy efficient installations; and
• Programmable logic controllers.

“As the nation continues to push the development of electricity from cleaner energy sources, the installations are becoming more complex,” said Dennis Gralike, director of the Electrical Industry Training Center. “Safety is a huge concern. For example, while solar is a low voltage source when it is placed in arrays, the voltages can reach as high as 600 volts. It is essential that only skilled electricians install them in accordance with the National Electric Code,” he said.

Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 also has launched a program to train its members for “green” projects.

Dan Andrews is the coordinator of the training program for Local 36, which is based in St. Louis, and represents 3,200 members in Arkansas and Missouri.  Andrews has been an outspoken proponent of sustainable building for many years, speaking on regional panels throughout the region on the subject, and introducing training programs to his membership.

Andrews explained that in order to assist those contractors pursuing LEED construction and other green building projects, Local 36 member training focuses on the latest LEED guidelines, especially in regard to:

• Good duct design and installation in the HVAC area;
• Instruction and training in retrofit and add-on and replacement;
• The proper techniques and principles for troubleshooting, service and repair of HVAC equipment and systems, and the understanding of refrigeration principles and their application to Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s);
• Verifying an HVAC system is designed, installed and calibrated as described in the Energy and Atmosphere section of LEED certification; and
• Installing architectural sheet metal as cool roofs, or hot or cool walls.

Local 36, with the help of LEED-accredited professionals, is updating curriculum to add additional green training to its journeymen programs as well.  “Very few jobs remain where green isn’t somehow involved and it’s important for our most experience workers to have the greatest understanding of the processes as possible,” said Andrews.

Tear out and replacement is one growing area of training in sheet metal that can contribute greatly to the success of achieving green status. New methods of duct work installation for all units, including high-efficiency units, can help increase the efficiency of the systems even further.  “Part of getting your new heating and cooling unit to reach its maximum efficiency is making sure the duct work is properly built and installed,” Andrews said. “We’re working to train workers in new areas so that projects can be as green as possible,” he said.

One new technology gaining market acceptance is geothermal heating and cooling. Not only are these systems green, but they also are aesthetically pleasing, because they are unobtrusive.  Local 36 has one of just three geothermal units in the country that is available for training, and it is the only one that is fully operational.  “Having a fully operational unit allows us to train in design and installation,” Andrews said.  Part of the installation process and training Local 36 workers receive is identifying the proper soils to use to bury the wells and tubing for the units in order to help increase efficiency.

Moving forward, “I think we need to outline a career path that can help lead future sheet metal workers to an Accredited Professional certification,” Andrews said. “That path would help promote the understanding of the responsibilities of every individual working on a green project,” he added.

According to the Renewable Energy Policy Project (http://www.repp.org), efforts to rein in Missouri’s carbon emissions have the potential to generate more than 22,000 manufacturing jobs in wind, solar, geothermal and biomass industries. As a result, the Electrical Connection has been cultivating these types of industries – and traveling the country to lure them to Missouri – to create a new manufacturing base, generating jobs for Missourians.

“For union electricians and electrical contractors, the potential is more than just building or retrofitting renewable energy manufacturing facilities,” said Douglas R. Martin, executive vice president of the St. Louis Chapter, NECA. “We have the capability to work with product manufacturers and a project’s design team to customize our training. We can then prepare our skilled workforce to assemble and install new technologies with precision,” he said.

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