Past Experience: Worker Assistance after Big
Industrial Changes in the 1980s
Help given in the 1980s was only
partly effective. The people who moved did better, but few were willing to
move.
https://ideas.repec.org/p/mpr/mprres/7bad9430b239416baca41592dcf5465c.html#download
"Process and Implementation Issues in the Design and Conduct
of Programs to Aid The Reemployment and Dislocated Workers"
Mathematica 1984. They stress good training and case management;
Workforce Investment Boards, which would administer NewDay,
have evaluations to try to ensure good training and case management.
"SUMMARY The
Department of Labor awarded grants to organizations in six areas to implement
one-year demonstration programs during the 1983 federal fiscal year aimed at
assisting the readjustment of dislocated workers. These areas were Alameda
County, CA; Buffalo, NY; Lehigh Valley, PA; Mid-Willamette Valley, OR;
Milwaukee, WI; and Yakima, WA. This report addresses issues pertaining to the
operational feasibility and programmatic outcomes of alternative replicable
approaches for providing employment-related services to dislocated workers.
Among the findings and recommendations presented in the report are the
following:
(1) programs should target their services toward workers in
declining industries and not necessarily limit their services to workers from
specific plants;
(2) the services offered should include job-search assistance, job
development, and retraining;
(3) training areas, providers, and recipients must be selected with
great care to ensure that the trainees have the ability and aptitude to
complete training, that the training is competently delivered at reasonable
cost, and that employment opportunities are available for completers;
(4) a case management approach to service delivery tends to improve
performance;
(5) the average costs per participant of providing a comprehensive
set of job-search-assistance services was about $700, on-the-job training was
about $1,400, and classroom training was about $2,000; and finally
(6) placement rates ranged from 30 to 80 percent in the
demonstration sites."
https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1985/06/art1full.pdf
"Displaced workers of
1979-83: how well have they fared?"
in 1985-Monthly Labor Review has overall outcomes, and
summarizes two local studies. They say
this about moving:
"Moving to another area . Only a small minority of the 5 .1
million displaced workers (680,000) moved to a different city or county to look
for work or to take a different job. However, of those who did move, a higher
proportion were reemployed in January 1984-almost 3 in 4, in contrast to 3 in 5
of the nonmovers. (See table 7.) Men were more likely
to move than women, and of the male movers, proportionately more were reemployed
(77 percent) than was the case for their women counterparts (60 percent) .
Relatively few older workers relocated-only 6 percent among those 55 and over.
However, even among them, about three fifths of those who moved were working
again, a substantially higher proportion than for nonmovers."
They summarize local
studies:
"special case studies evaluating the effectiveness of
Department of Labor programs for displaced workers, particularly displaced auto
and steel workers, are another valuable source of information on this topic. In
order to obtain information on the effectiveness of various types of assistance
which might be provided to displaced workers, the Department of Labor funded a
series of pilot projects in 1980-83 . One project, the Downriver Community
Conference Economic Readjustment Program, served laid-off automotive workers
from the Detroit metropolitan area .' Among the findings from this
demonstration study are the following:
1. The displaced workers were
predominantly men, aged 25 to 44, and married. Most had graduated from high
school ; however, when tested in the program, one-fifth scored below a sixth
grade literacy level. They had, on average, worked more than 10 years on the
lost job-and they had earned about $10 an hour.
2. Depending upon the particular
plant from which they had been laid off, the workers were found to have
received either unemployment insurance benefits, or unemployment insurance
coupled with company-funded supplemental unemployment benefits, or, in some
cases, both of these benefits as well as trade adjustment assistance, which was
paid to those whose jobs were deemed to have been lost because of imports.
Therefore, some of the workers had their prelayoff
earnings almost entirely replaced by benefits, at least for a time .
3. Although resources were made
available to the workers for job search and relocation outside their area, only
8 percent of the program enrollees relocated. About 20 percent of those who
relocated subsequently returned .
4. Two years after the job loss,
only about 50 percent of the workers in the program had found another job. The
reemployment rate declined the longer the workers remained in the program, and
this reflected in part the worsening labor market conditions in the Detroit
area during that particular period.
5. On average, the earnings of
participants who became reemployed were more than 30 percent below their prelayoff earnings .
"The Department of Labor had also funded a pilot program in
Buffalo, New York (among other sites), the aim of which was to assist displaced
workers, largely from auto and steel jobs . In this demonstration, it was found
that the reemployed workers were placed in jobs paying a mean wage of about
$6.50 an hour, a decline from a mean pre-layoff hourly wage of more than $10 an
hour. The program participants were primarily men, between their mid-20's and
mid-40's, most with a high school education. Nearly 70 percent of the
participants were reemployed at the time of the project's termination, with the
younger workers being slightly more likely to be placed in jobs than were the
others .
"Some additional data on displaced workers are available
from a sample of 379 workers from a population of about 11,000 workers on
indefinite layoff from a major automobile manufacturer in April 1983 .11 The
survey, which was funded by the Department of Commerce, was conducted by the
University of Michigan from November 1983 to January 1984. Among the findings
are the following:
"Auto workers who were
recalled to jobs with their previous employer reported a mean hourly wage of
$12.26, with a weekly gross pay of $490.42. In contrast, the other reemployed
workers cited a mean hourly wage of $7.42 and an average weekly gross pay of
$314.70 .
"Of the 379 respondents, 30
percent had been recalled to their old jobs at the time of the survey, 25
percent were employed elsewhere, about 35 percent were looking for work, and 10
percent were no longer in the labor force. Compensation payments (for example,
unemployment insurance and trade adjustment assistance benefits) had covered,
on average, about 30 percent of the displaced workers' income loss since they
had been laid off. The proportion of lost income offset by such benefits was
lower the longer the layoff period, dropping from about 55 percent for workers
laid off less than 1 year to about 13 percent for those laid off more than 2
years.
"Workers with more than 10
years' seniority at their old jobs had received benefits that replaced larger
proportions of their lost wages . However, these workers also reported
relatively lower earnings when they were reemployed"
Other Sites Discussing Worker
Transitions:
aflcio.org/resolutions/resolution-55-climate-change-energy-and-union-jobs
2017 support for addressing
climate change "while investing in our communities... secure and maintain
employment, pensions and health care for workers affected by changes in the
energy market... ensuring high labor standards, the creation of union
jobs..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrFCWsJ_hpw&t=100m12s
2020 Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO
Secretary-Treasurer, The Hill.
Work Redefined — The New Workforce 9/23/2020 at 1:40:12 "Are we going to
build a future that has high road high wage jobs? Or are we going to actually
leave more and more communities behind? The communities that need the
assistance are the ones in areas like coal country in West Virginia, where
people had good paying jobs and now are seeing their way of life deteriorate
and a life of poverty in front of them. That is not America. And in the richest
country in the world we believe we can make the investments to provide a just
transition for the people who powered this country for generations and also
make sure we have a clean energy jobs economy that is high road high wage with
a highly skilled highly trained workforce.
https://tubitv.com/movies/499016/blood_on_the_mountain
2016 documentary Blood on the Mountain
at 1:13:00. Interviewer: "If the government and the administration would
come up with a way to protect pensions, to protect the health care of the
retirees, to protect current benefits for your members, to provide meaningful
job training that would provide unionized jobs in the appropriate areas at the
appropriate pay rate, if that can be made to happen?"
· Cecil
Roberts United Mine Workers President: "Ever since we've been having this debate the AFL-CIO and
others have been on record that there has to be a just transition here. There
is no transition pending here right now, other than the unemployment line, lack
of a pension, lack of health care. The administration has not offered up
anything at this point in time. Now to answer your question, sure we'd
certainly look at that. The problem we have is that I don't see that. Just
don't see that."
perma.cc/W4A8-AY2S
and http://www.nlg-laboremploy-comm.org/media/Events_Conv2010-GreenEconCornell_ILR_Making_the_T.pdf
2009 "Making the
Transition: Helping Workers and Communities Retool for the Clean Energy
Economy" by Cornell Global Labor Institute and Apollo Alliance with
participation by:
o
AFL-CIO
o
Labor Network for
Sustainability
o
United Mine Workers of America
o
United Steel Workers
o
Utility Workers Union of
America
and environmental groups. They
recommended (p.15):
· up to 3 years of 100% wage replacement, health
benefits retirement contributions,
· above help extended into retirement for workers over
50,
· up to 4 years of full-time training and living
stipends,
· help with job search and relocation
economic development help to communities
Labor
Network for Sustainability lists issues for transition, cited by Climate Center California
· Initial social safety net
· Workplace transition plan
· Wage guarantee/insurance
· Education and job training
· Priority job placement
· Pension and benefit support
· Health care
· Community investment
iddri.org/en/publications-and-events/coal 2017-2018 reports analyze coal transition in US,
China,
India,
Australia,
Netherlands
and other countries. Netherlands
closed coal mines in 1965-1974, with agreement from unions to close while
the mining company still had money, not to wait for bankruptcies. Government
also provided subsidies of about $500,000 per lost job.
worldbank.org...managing-coal-mine-closure
2018 World Bank paper has
brief information on several countries' experience closing coal mines. It
analyzes help for miners and communities, including women as workers and
spouses, help before and after layoffs, pros and cons of lump sum termination
payments or periodic payments, early retirement, other jobs, relocation, small
business formation, and specialized mine closure companies.
reclaimingappalachia.org/reports/ 2017-2019 reports on many grant projects proposed
(some were funded) to reclaim land over closed coal mines (abandoned mine
lands-AML) in Appalachia.
ilr.cornell.edu/sites/ilr.cornell.edu/files/InequalityClimateChangeReport.pdf
2017 report by Cornell's
Worker Institute recommends 70% wage replacement and 80% health benefit
replacement for up to 3 years, a bridge to retirement and training (pp.5-6).
They also propose many jobs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, though without
cost estimates.
ilo.org...wcms_432859.pdf ILO 2016 guidelines call for investment, incentives,
job creation, job upgrading, poverty eradication, safety nets, training,
collaboration, energy efficiency and resource efficiency to support more jobs;
greener products and services in agriculture, construction, recycling and
tourism; help people with price rises; stable government policy to allow
adjustment
report.labor4sustainability.org/ 2012 report supports training, finding and creating
jobs, including restoring and reusing site, community development and signed
agreements.
endowyo.biz/ Wyoming 2018 laws proposed to support: commercial air
service, job training, school computer courses, high-speed internet, business
incubators and support, especially block chain, and marketing Wyoming products abroad,
especially farm products. eesi.org/articles/view/helping-coal-country-thrive-in-a-clean-energy-economy April 2016 webinar resulted in a brief report which
voices support for"
·
locally-owned, renewable energy
projects
·
Community loan funds lending to
small businesses and nonprofits for renewable and energy efficiency projects,
·
Giles County, Virginia, working
with the Federal Aviation Administration on the emerging drone industry, and
attracting high-tech manufacturing to the area
·
re-developing hiking trails and
other tourist attractions.
·
technical assistance,
·
loan capital
·
training for new industries and
technologies
·
addressing energy-inefficient
housing stock burdened with high electricity costs and uncomfortable housing,
making any increase in energy costs a real burden.
·
POWER
Plan, $66.8 million available for
economic diversification, workforce development, and job creation in
coal-impacted communities
nationaleconomictransition.org/platform/ 2020 coalition proposal has two interim, concrete actions:
A.
Create a National Community
Transition Action Plan, created within a one-year period, that would identify
priorities and needs across affected communities.
B.
Create a new federal Office of
Economic Transition to coordinate and oversee the new national community
transition program.
And:
#1 LOCAL LEADERSHIP Invest in local, community-based leaders to help
communities plan and respond.
#2 RESTORATIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Invest in entrepreneurs and locally owned small businesses
to grow diverse economic sectors that contribute to stronger, more resilient
communities, improved public health, restored ecosystems and equitable
opportunities for all people.
#3 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & WORKER HEALTH Provide a broad system of support for workers and viable
pathways to quality, family-sustaining jobs.
#4 RECLAMATION Reclaim,
remediate, and reuse coal sites to create jobs while restoring land and clean
water.
#5 Infrastructure
Invest in physical and social infrastructure to stimulate economic development
and build a foundation for change.
#6 Bankruptcy Protect
workers, taxpayers, communities, and the environment during bankruptcies.
#7 Coordination And Access
Empower local communities by providing direct access to federal resources.
coaltransitions.org/ Collects research on transition of coal industry,
emissions and workers
arc.gov Appalachian Regional Commission supports business
development, education and infrastructure
jtalliance.org/ Focuses on contaminated sites,
clean production and sustainable economies.
appalachiantransition.org/about Stories and ideas to promote just transition.
JustTransition.com No specific proposals.
labor4sustainability.org/uncategorized/just-transition-just-what-is-it/ Detailed history from 1970s to early 2016. justtransitionfund.org Makes grants to local groups to foster training, new
businesses and markets
Local Groups:
maced.org in eastern Kentucky: Loans and training for small businesses,
energy efficiency, renewable energy, economic development (e.g. AirBnB training to encourage tourism)
appvoices.org/
primarily in southwest VA, and also KY, NC, TN, VA, WV, works on environmental
protection and job diversification
asdevelop.org on borders of KY, OH, TN, VA, WV, supports agriculture
coalfield-development.org in WV offers training and business development
ruralaction.org in OH, environmental
protection and regional jobs
appalachianlawcenter.org/ in
eastern KY, law and policy work
http://www.appalmad.org/ in WV, law and
policy work
Principles Proposed by Three Groups