Cal State LA and Move LA Unite Labor and Environmental Leaders for Green Energy Roundtable

Cal State LA hosted labor leaders and environmentalists on Tuesday, Aug. 12, for a roundtable discussion on the possible economic and environmental impacts that could accompany the conversion from fossil fuels to sustainable energy.

The "Deep Decarbonization Roundtable," co-sponsored by the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs (PBI) and the coalition-building nonprofit Move LA, brought together more than 20 leaders from the building and construction trades, other American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) affiliated unions, local communities, environmental justice groups, tribal communities, Justice40 advocates, and other stakeholders.

"This group of people have similar goals but incredibly different perspectives," said PBI Executive Director Mike Bonnin. "By creating this dialogue, we're helping to bring their knowledge and viewpoints together to find a common way to achieve those goals. That kind of dynamic is way too rare, especially during divisive political times. It's exciting to see, and we're really glad to be part of it."

Event participants, some of whom came from as far away as Washington, D.C., and Seattle, gathered at the University Library Innovation Hub before splitting into three discussion groups. Their conversations about economic conversion covered a range of topics, including the current lack of infrastructure to support hydrogen and other green energies, the creation of well-paying union jobs, and improved air quality and other health benefits.

They also raised safety concerns about battery-storage fires and big-business influence that would leave all other stakeholders with little or no influence in the green projects.

"We shared a lot of different ideas, a lot of different opinions," said Paul Moreno, who represented Ironworkers Local 433. "The biggest gap is making sure we build a strong coalition. We need to be solidified and unified before we start these projects because if we're not, people are just going to go their own ways."

The event was organized by Move LA, a nonprofit that made a name for itself by championing LA County's need for a modern and efficient transit system. It has since expanded its reach to address homelessness, affordable housing, air pollution, the impeding climate crisis, and other issues facing the county.

"We had [separate] conversations with environmental leaders, labor leaders, environmental justice leaders," said Move LA Executive Director Eli Lipmen. "There were a lot of commonalities, but there was also a lot of misunderstandings and not a lot of relationships. We facilitated this conversation to engage folks and perhaps start to change the narrative and create relationships that weren't there."

Lipmen hopes the gathering at Cal State LA will be the first of many that unite different groups from around California.

"We'd love to keep working with the Pat Brown Institute because it has the background, history, research, and personnel to keep this conversation going," Lipmen said. "We're planning other events in Antelope Valley, Kern County, Imperial Valley. This is a statewide issue. We need to keep going."

Housed at Cal State LA, PBI is a nonpartisan organization whose programs foster community engagement, raise awareness about timely policy issues, encourage interaction between public officials and their constituents, and support the university's mission to serve as an anchor institution for the region.

Prior to the roundtable, event participants took an early-morning tour of the university's Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility (H2 Station), the largest such facility on any university campus in the country.

David Blekhman, the facility's technical director, led the tour and answered questions from the participants. The H2 station was built in 2014 and became the first in the world to sell hydrogen fuel by the kilogram directly to retail customers. It previously produced hydrogen on-site from renewable sources using the electrolysis process.

The station was decommissioned in 2022 and is awaiting upgrades. It continues to serve as an educational resource for students to learn about hydrogen technology and sustainable engineering.