KPLU Local News
(2009-06-30)
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Joseph Cortez is getting union training to specialize in weatherization work in Washington.
Photo by Bellamy Pailthorp
Cortez is newly married and has a child on the way, so he's grateful for the prospect of union career, specializing in green building.
"Not a job paying minimum wage," he says, "but a job that's paying $20 an hour, so that we can live comfortably and have a great success in our lives."
Washington passed a law in May that guarantees access to these jobs for low-income and disadvantaged populations. Cortez fits the demographic. The union plans to train hundreds more this summer.
And the program isn't just benefiting people like Cortez. The retrofitting of the single mom's home where he's working is being done at no cost to her - $3,500 worth of work, which will also save her an estimated $350 a year in heating costs.
Details are still being worked out on how homeowners can apply. But the state law says the weatherization is to be done community by community - so you can expect to see whole blocks of upgrades happening at once, with the neediest areas served first.
Over the next three years, Washington has more than 18-million dollars a year to spend on weatherization.
(To hear the whole story from KPLU's Bellamy Pailthorp, click "play" above.)
For more information:
Washington's Stimulus-funded Weatherization Bill
LIUNA's 'Builds America' Campaign
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