Section II: Challenges and Strategies With the emergence of green jobs comes a new set of challenges and strategies for guiding the efficient development of an industry centered on inclusivity. The industry faces challenges in hiring practices, funding and procurement, and installation and maintenance. The section that follows will address these issues as articulated in published literature and conversations with local stakeholders.
A. Challenges A.1. Challenges in Hiring Practices A.1.1. “Low-Road” Practices and Reputation The green infrastructure industry is still developing its niche workforce. Because work is closely related to traditional labor in sectors such as construction and landscaping, the industry is largely influenced by practices in and perceptions of these sectors. For example, people entering green infrastructure jobs may be concerned
Case Study:
that their employers will use “low-road practices,” such as offering low or no pay with limited benefits and job security. In a report reviewing existing workforce development programs, The
Delta Institute is a nonprofit organization that
Nature Conservancy (TNC) noted that
works with communities across the Midwest to
this is common in industries such as
solve local environmental challenges. Delta has
maintenance, where workers face high
engaged in a diverse profile of green infrastructure
rates of layoffs during slow or off-season
projects within the past several years, including
periods due to a lack of pathways and
a current project on identifying and removing
the seasonal nature of the work.
barriers to implementing green infrastructure across the Great Lakes region. During a stakeholder conversation with the Voorhees Center in December of 2021, they reported that many workers in the green infrastructure economy are facing the same challenges experienced within the larger gig economy, including lack of benefits and economic security. Nathalie P. Voorhees Center at UIC
Strategies to Address the Challenge: Unions As an Ally, Identifying the Role of Unions within the Green Infrastructure Industry, Expanding Career Pathways, Establishing Equitable Objectives, Identifying
Green
Infrastructure
Career Pathways and Stakeholders, Community-Led Research
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