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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (4 results)

  • Article
IRLE Reports (2009)
This report explores ways to effectively   implement the Ordinance to enhance the environment, support community economic development and promote the health and wellbeing of workers and building users. The recommendations herein are designed to provide guidance to the Program Director and the policymakers, community, labor and environmental representatives who will comprise the City Task force and Advisory Council with the goal of creating a model program that can be adapted in other cities, in the private sector, and beyond.
    Cover page: GREEN BUILDINGS, GOOD JOBS, SAFE JOBS: SOCIAL JUSTICE PATHWAYS TO A SUSTAINABLE LOS ANGELES
    • Article
    Policy Briefs (2009)

    On April 8, 2009, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to the Los Angeles Administrative Code establishing the Green Retrofit and Workforce Program. The Ordinance will lead to green retrofits of more than 1,000 city buildings and a workforce development policy that creates career pathways into good, green, safe jobs, targeting those in low-income neighborhoods.

    The result of a two-year campaign, the Ordinance was developed by the Los Angeles Apollo Alliance, convened by Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) in 2006 and comprised of more than 25 local community, labor and environmental organizations within the city of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Apollo Alliance put forth the Green Jobs Ordinance in an effort to locally meet environmental and economic development goals set out by the New Apollo Program, a national program intended to increase the clean energy economy and decrease energy bills for families and business. Nationwide, buildings account for almost three-quarters of electricity consumed and over a third of overall energy use. They contribute an estimated 38% of carbon dioxide emissions, leaving a large carbon footprint in urban areas. Locally, the Ordinance is in line with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 2007 Green LA Climate Action Plan designed to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in Los Angeles to 35 percent below their 1990 levels by 2030.

      Cover page: Good, Green, Safe Jobs: The Los Angeles Green Retrofit and Workforce Program
      • Article
      The State of California Labor, 2001 (2001)
        Cover page: Union Organizing in California: Challenges and Opportunities
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        IRLE Reports (2018)
        Heat is a well-recognized hazard for workers in many outdoor settings, yet fewinvestigations have compared the prevalence of outdoor work at the community level and rates of heat-related mortality and morbidity. This analysis examines whether heat-related health outcomes occur more frequently in communities with higher proportions of residents working in construction,agriculture, and other outdoor industries. Using 2005–2010 data from Los Angeles County, California, we analyze associations between community-level rates of deaths, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations during summer heat events and the prevalence of outdoor work. We findgenerally higher rates of heat-related ED visits and hospitalizations during summer heat events in communities with more residents working outdoors. Specifically, each percentage increase in residents working in construction resulted in an 8.1 percent increase in heat-related ED visits and a 7.9 percent increase in heat-related hospitalizations, while each percentage increase in residents working in agriculture and related sectors resulted in a 10.9 percent increase in heat-related ED visits.The findings suggest that outdoor work may significantly influence the overall burden of heat-related morbidity at the community level. Public health professionals and healthcare providers should recognize work and employment as significant heat risk factors when preparing for and respondingto extreme heat events.
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