City employees answered questions about a memo that reflected concerns related to Bellingham’s plans for environmentally friendly development during a Monday Bellingham City Council meeting.
The memo was a response to labor leaders’ proposals regarding future development the city is pushing through the climate action plan.
From career displacement to industrial changes, city staff were directed to draft memos regarding labor’s apprehensions surrounding green development.
Concerns were initially raised as a result of the Climate Action Fund, a $60 million, 10-year levy that has since been pulled from consideration.
“The City Council was given a list of labor concerns raised by representatives of organized labor, as government and industry moved toward development without fossil fuel-dependent heating and cooling systems,” council president Hannah Stone said. “Broadly referenced as the ‘Just Transition,’ city staff reviewed the concerns and offered policy considerations.”
The “Just Transition” was from fossil fuels and related industries to green construction and planning. Labor and union leaders were concerned about job losses in an economy transitioning to green energy, particularly in Whatcom County, where some of the biggest employers are oil refineries.
“In the midst of working on a proposal to put forward,” Bellingham’s Mayor Seth Fleetwood said Monday, “legitimate concerns were raised about Just Transition, and that entire complicated issue.”
Brian Heinrich, a deputy administrator for the city who authored the memo that was discussed during Monday’s meeting, said he’d appreciate council direction on how to proceed.
“In as much as it appears, there’s a desire for debate,” Heinrich said. “That’s not what the staff role here is at all … I’m not sure where we’re going in this conversation, or where we’re ultimately going to end up.”
Concerns raised included:
- Existing apprentice utilization requirements imposed by the city
- Displaced workers
- Local worker utilization preferences, which the city said is not allowed under state law
- Prevailing wage requirements
“I don’t want anyone to think [this memo] is an affirmative, final response to the issues laid out,” Fleetwood told council members during a committee meeting Monday. “I hope that today is seen as a further opportunity for collaborative engagement.”
During the meeting, Bellingham City Council members opted to break down some of the proposals and direct them to subcommittees.
Discussion of the city and state’s existing apprenticeship requirements will be considered during a Public Works Committee hearing, and discussion about “displaced workers” and “displaced industries” has been referred to the city’s Climate Action Committee.
