Pushback Network

SCOPE is fighting to create green jobs in South Los Angeles. Through their LA Apollo City Retrofit Program, they are working hard to provide construction, operations, maintenance, and manufacturing jobs for the residents of South Los Angeles and other Los Angeles inner-city communities.

For SCOPE, the access to green jobs serves multiple purposes. Not only will these jobs provide South LA residents with comprehensive training and employment services which will offer concrete pathways out of poverty and into good paying green careers. It will also improve the quality of life for the communities, since the LA Apollo City Retrofit Program addresses the impact of environmental degradation on communities of color and seeks to redress the deteriorating public infrastructure in South LA.

To successfully draw attention to the need for green jobs in these communities, SCOPE held a Green Economy Forum on Saturday, March 12th at Dorsey High School. Over 150 community members attended the Forum as well as legislators, activists, policy makers, and staff from various environmental organizations. Notably, Assembly Speaker-Elect Karen Bass and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were on hand to speak to the importance of creating viable job opportunities for the unemployed job seekers and the underemployed workers in South LA.

The crux of the Forum centered around three areas: educating people on the health, economic, and environmental impacts currently facing our communities; defining green jobs as quality jobs due to the possibilities of large scale growth and impact in this sector; and investing financial resources into programs such as Apollo in order to create a healthy and vibrant regional economy.

To close out the Forum, SCOPE put out a call to action for all those in attendance. They asked everyone to take action in support of green jobs by donating money, writing letters in support of state legislation, and mobilizing support of the LA Apollo City Retrofit Program. The goal for SCOPE over the next fiscal 2008-2009 year is to obtain $20 million dollars to implement Phase 1 of the LA Apollo Program.