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On September 27, for the second consecutive session of Congress, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-7) introduced the Climate Resilient Workforce Act (HR 5760), or CRWA, a unique legislation that lays the foundation for a “just transition” – the social transformation necessary to combat climate change and redress social inequalities. CRWA builds a new climate-resilient workforce through federally supported programs that connect workforce and climate resilience. This can include disaster recovery workers and cleanup crews who provide relief to communities in the immediate aftermath of extreme weather events, as well as workers such as weatherproofing contractors and social workers whose role can help build resilience before a disaster even occurs. . An important feature of this bill is that it reduces barriers to employment for immigrants and formerly incarcerated people, helping them receive training, good union jobs, and labor protections that are complementary to the PRO Act (H.R. 20/S.567).
If construction workers are classified as climate-resilient workers under CRWA, this would open up new ways for construction workers to address climate issues, reduce our livelihoods’ dependence on private development, and contribute to a more equitable built environment. This could take the form of a public agency that hired architects, such as the New Deal’s Public Works Administration or the Tennessee Valley Authority. It could support more equitable forms of construction practice, prioritizing non-profit, cooperative and unionized private sector offices. The construction lobby has endorsed this legislation and we, the lobby’s Green New Deal working group, are calling on the construction industry and design professionals to organize and support its passage and implementation. Taken together, CRWA’s goals underpin growing calls for a just transformation of the construction industry.
Designing more resilient cities and communities requires the contribution of architects. Yet the profit-driven relationship with a fossil fuel-based economy still underpins much of the construction industry’s actions, failing to confront its complicity in creating and perpetuating the climate crisis.
As a result, architects’ opportunities to address resilience, both in the long and short term, are limited. This is true whether we are employed by a large conglomerate, a boutique design office, or a mid-sized regional firm. Regardless of the size or configuration of the office, construction workers often do not have the ability to undertake projects that address resiliency without first considering capital issues. The construction industry is driven almost entirely by short-term economic incentives. For individual construction workers and even company owners, the current economic conditions in the construction industry prevent us from achieving the level of resilience needed to deal with the immediate and horrific impacts of extreme weather events. An alternative model for resilient design and built environment planning is needed.
Notably, CRWA would also establish an Office of Climate Resilience and multiple working groups within the White House to coordinate climate action among federal agencies, state and tribal governments, and community organizations. This will be part of the National Climate Adaptation Action Plan, which has been developed from the bottom up with input from workers and frontline communities. It will work with public agencies and governments of all sizes to identify effective climate adaptation strategies, with a particular focus on impacts on communities most at risk from climate change.
These plans must operate within the overlapping regulations of different sizes of government, adapt them to the unique characteristics of each site, solicit and respect community input, and coordinate with construction workers to complete the work while being mindful of project budgets and timelines. Meeting these requirements should be a familiar job description for architects, since it’s what most of us do every day.
Since January 2021, the Biden administration has taken multiple executive actions to further advance climate resilience and adaptation planning. EO 14008, Addressing the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, outlines a series of policy directives designed to focus the response to the climate crisis and address the need for a holistic government approach. The government has also released a series of agency-level climate adaptation and resilience plans to highlight internal commitments to address the impacts of climate change. However, the focus of these actions is on achieving the necessary resilience rather than building the workforce to achieve this goal.
If resources are not invested in building the workforce, flexibility programs risk becoming a blank promise. Since CRWA was first proposed in the 117th U.S. Congress, more policymakers have begun to acknowledge this reality. The current CRWA has more co-sponsors than before, and we are seeing some additional action from the executive branch. With the reintroduction of CRWA, the Biden administration created the U.S. Climate Corps, an interagency partnership designed to mobilize 20,000 Americans in its first year to work on clean energy, environmental protection and climate resiliency. These efforts will focus on communities most directly affected by the climate crisis.
While these executive orders provide laudable and necessary federal action, we need further legislation. Such administrative measures are limited in scope and short-lasting, always running the risk of being overturned by subsequent governments. In contrast, CRWA embodies binding legislative commitments designed to enhance long-term resilience. In addition, CRWA focuses on labor issues to ensure that “green jobs” are good jobs. These jobs are not hypothetical in the distant future; They already exist and need support now. Passage of CRWA will elevate the status of organizations like the Resilience Force that are already doing important disaster recovery work.
Many architects feel conflicted between a commitment to climate goals and the industry’s continued complicity with the fossil fuel economy. Without the passage and support of legislation like CRWA, architects will continue to have to choose between making a living off fossil capital or practicing according to our values. When we as architects come together to support legislation that connects climate justice and the labor movement, contributing to a just transition for all workers, we begin to pivot our livelihoods toward a world that supports social and environmental regeneration.
The Construction Lobby (TAL) is a grassroots organization of construction workers that advocates for fair labor practices and a fair built environment.This article was written by members Joshua Barnett and Adare BrownJake Callahan, Ryan Ludwig, Kaitlin Watson and Martin Weiner.
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