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• Green Economy
• Report

April 26, 2023 - 

Virginia Parksand Ian Baran

Fossil fuel layoff: The economic and employment effects of a refinery closure on workers in the Bay Area

On October 30, 2020, the Marathon oil refinery in Contra Costa County, California, was permanently shut down and 345 unionized workers laid off. The findings in this report focus on these workers’ post-layoff job search, employment status, wages, and financial security. The Marathon refinery’s closure sheds light on the employment and economic impacts of climate change policies and a shrinking fossil fuel industry on fossil fuel workers in the region and more broadly.

• Green Economy
• Press Release

April 26, 2023 - 

RELEASE: Fossil fuel layoff: The economic and employment effects of a refinery closure on workers in the Bay Area

A new report from the University of California Berkeley Labor Center released Wednesday documents the difficult post-layoff job search and working conditions of hundreds of California fossil fuel workers in the aftermath of the 2020 closure of the Marathon Martinez oil refinery in Contra Costa County, providing an illuminating case study of the perils and needs of workers in the nation’s changing energy landscape.

• Green Economy
• Announcement

October 28, 2022 - 

Carol Zabin receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Energy Commission

The California Energy Commission just announced that Carol Zabin has been awarded a 2022 Clean Energy Hall of Fame Award for Lifetime Achievement! This annual award honors those who have made exceptional contributions to our state’s progress toward a 100 percent clean energy future.

• Green Economy
• Announcement

September 8, 2022 - 

The Labor Center welcomes new co-directors of the Green Economy Program

We are thrilled to announce and welcome our new co-directors of the Labor Center’s Green Economy Program: Dr. Jessie HF Hammerling and Francisco Arzu.

• Green Economy
• Blog

August 18, 2022 - 

Jessie HF Hammerling

The Inflation Reduction Act Charts a Path that is Pro-Climate and Pro-Worker

After decades of inaction and failed attempts, the U.S. has finally passed federal legislation addressing climate change. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is groundbreaking not only in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also in how it demonstrates that we don’t have to choose between good jobs and action on the climate. By including strong labor standards in incentives for clean energy and energy efficiency work, the IRA will help build a high-road green economy, creating good jobs and clear pathways into them.