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The Civilian Climate Corps (CCC), Explained

Evan Mceldowney |

What is the Civilian Climate Corps?

The Civilian Climate Corps is a visionary policy that would create a government jobs program putting a new generation of Americans to work combatting the climate crisis. 

More specifically, it’s a program organized through the Department of the Interior and Agriculture and aims to “conserve and restore public lands and waters, bolster community resilience, increase reforestation, increase carbon sequestration in the agricultural sector, protect biodiversity, improve access to recreation, and address the changing climate.” 

Where does the idea come from?

The Civilian Climate Corps was inspired by a similar program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s called the Civilian Conservation Corps. Launched as one of his signature New Deal programs during the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps was a national public work relief program that employed over three million workers over a decade building, repairing, and conserving the United States forests, parks, and natural resources. 

The program succeeded in pulling millions of men out of unemployment and drastically improved our nation’s natural infrastructure during the lows of the Great Depression, but the Civilian Conservation Corps had deep flaws, including exclusionary racist and sexist practices of hiring almost solely white men and its nonconsensual development on stolen Native American land. That’s why to succeed this time around, the modern Civilian Climate Corps must be deeply rooted in equity and equality and be brave enough to face the scale of the crises of our time. We have an opportunity to fight for a Civilian Climate Corps deeply rooted in justice and equity, that could prioritize giving good jobs to communities who have been disproportionately harmed by the climate crisis, systemic racism and our broken economy.

During the 2020 presidential campaign cycle, Sunrise spearheaded the idea of a new Civilian Climate Corps, one to give people good, dignified jobs combating climate change and serving the public. Specifically, Varshini pushed for it on the Sanders-Biden task force to be in Biden’s Build Back Better plan and Sunrise launched digital campaigns around the idea. Since then, it has been brought to the forefront of politics by both President Biden and climate champions in Congress.

The Current Status of the CCC

In January, the Civilian Climate Corps was established as part of President Biden’s executive orders on climate, but had no funding to make it a reality. Then in March, Biden asked Congress to provide $10 billion over 10 years to fund the program as part of his nearly $3 trillion American Jobs Infrastructure bill(AJP). Now the AJP is headed to Congress, where programs like the CCC will be negotiated on and ultimately put into a massive infrastructure package that Congress will vote on and Biden will sign into law, likely by August or September.

Right now, there are a handful of Civilian Climate Corps proposals floating around Washington DC. It’s our movement’s job to make sure the most ambitious version of a CCC that’s rooted in justice makes it into the final infrastructure package, and that that package is signed into law.


Where’s Biden at?

So far, Biden has been pretty vague about the details for his version of the Civilian Climate Corps , other than this statement: “This $10 billion investment will put a new, diverse generation of Americans to work conserving our public lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, and advancing environmental justice through a new Civilian Climate Corps, all while placing good-paying union jobs within reach for more Americans.” 

While this sounds good, environmental economists and policy makers agree that this amount of funding doesn’t get close to what we need to address the crisis. Roosevelt’s original CCC employed around 300,000 young Americans per year at a time when the US population was ~40% what it is now. Biden’s proposed CCC would invest $10 billion over a decade, equating to about 10-20,000 jobs a year.

What is the CCC We Need?

Enter Senator Ed Markey. On 4/20, Senator Ed Markey rolled out a proposal for the Civilian Climate Corps  our generation and country needs. His plan calls for employing an equitable and diverse group of 1.5 million Americans in 5 years to complete clean energy, climate resilience, environmental remediation, conservation, and sustainable infrastructure projects, while providing education, training, and career pathways in good jobs, and especially good union jobs. 

The Civilian Climate Corps proposed in Ed Markey’s bill would give millions of people good jobs fighting climate change and transforming our society. If passed into law, it would signify the beginning of the decade of the Green New Deal, and open the door for better, bigger employment programs down the road.

What would a robust Civilian Climate Corps do?

The Civilian Climate Corps  would give good jobs to the millions of people who are out of work or underemployed and suffering from the effects of a global pandemic and severe economic recession, and work in partnership with unions and employers to give them a pathway to stable, meaningful careers for the long haul. Our country is facing so many crises, historic joblessness and economic inequality, gun violence, frequent murders of Black and brown people by the police, state repression of protestors and a climate crisis that looms over it all. With so much work to do, there’s no reason anyone who wants a job in the richest country in the world should be unemployed, underemployed, or working a job without a living wage, benefits, or the right to join a union. 

We need millions of people doing the good work of addressing these crises, and we need to force the federal government to put proposals like the CCC into law at the necessary scale. Imagine a world where millions of people, recent high school graduates and middle-aged alike, could work on projects protecting communities from sea-level rise,  taking care of the elderly, distributing fresh produce in food deserts, restoring wetlands, and rebuilding after climate disasters, while getting paid a living wage, having access to healthcare, and getting apprenticed to continue their career, instead of working a shitty job at Amazon making Jeff Bezos richer?

What Could A CCC Job look Like?

These jobs will include more traditional climate careers, but should also include jobs that help communities become strong and more resilient. Your CCC career could be caring for the elderly, creating graphics to help promote climate policies in your town or city, community and child education, organizing localized food programs, or building out new community systems to limit carbon emissions and pollution in your community. 

We want the government to invest in, and scale, the mutual aid work that keeps society running during the pandemic. With Green New Deal jobs, you can build friendships with the local farmers who supply the burger patties. Democracy in the workplace means everyone can pitch projects to improve their 9 to 5. By choosing not to be a robot to maximize profit, you can strengthen your community. That simple philosophical shift can make all jobs “Green” – non-extractive, planting something beautiful for your hood and future generations. If our government makes Green New Deal jobs as good-paying and meaningful as possible, we can raise the bar for all employment.

Whatever your career is the Markey plan is calling for:

  • Good salary and benefits: Compensation of at least $15 per hour, full health care coverage, and critical support services such as transportation, housing, and childcare. 
  • Educational Funding: Complete and enabling educational grants of $25,000 per year of service, up to $50,000, eligible for further education at any level or to pay down student debt.
  • Long Term Career Opportunities: All CCC members will be provided with a job and career pathway during their service through education,vocational training, and partnership with unions and employers
  • Equitable recruitment and investment: ensuring that environmental justice communities receive benefits of at least 50% of CCC and Partner Corps projects, and 50% of corpsmembers are be recruited from these same communities, with no age limit for participation in at least 50% of Partner Corps. 

How we can win a Civilian Climate Corps

In more ways than one, the past four years of our movement’s work have been leading up to this moment. We can back up our Green New Deal champions in Congress and force the federal government to enact a program creating millions of good jobs fighting climate change. 

We want to see what was laid out in Markey’s bill signed into law. The first step in that process is by getting the CCC passed as part of Biden’s larger infrastructure package, so it’s our priority to make sure the CCC is included in that package and that the package ultimately passes.

Instead of passing each different bill individually, the Democrats in Congress are likely going to use a process called “budget reconciliation” to pass their priorities into law. Using reconciliation, they can include many pieces of legislation into one big bill that will pass (or fail) through a single up-down vote. Dems think this will give them a better shot at passing many of their political priorities since they are included in one big infrastructure package, not stand-alone bills, and would need to get 50 not 60 votes to become law. 

The fact that the infrastructure passage is likely to pass through reconciliation also means that Democratic leadership – Biden, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi – will have a lot of say over what is included in the final infrastructure package, and building loud support in the public for the CCC we want (Markey’s version) is going to be the best way to pressure them – especially Biden. Because it’s unlikely that we will win many individual pieces of progressive legislation right now outside of the reconciliation process, our take is that if we can reshape and pass Biden’s bill through public support we can build up the power, funding, and focus of the CCC to create the program Senator Markey put forward in his bill, which is the CCC we deserve. 

Our movement needs to work together to build broad support in our communities for Markey’s version of the Civilian Climate Corps, pressure our Members of Congress through actions  to sign the Good Jobs for All pledge and prepare to mobilize to ensure the first step of the CCC bill actually passes later in the summer.

What We Can Do Now To Get the CCC

The country stands at a crossroads between Biden’s symbolic gestures at change and the bold action we need to address the crisis. We need, we deserve so much more than is currently on the table. Here are some opportunities to get more information and get more involved:

Why Sunrise is Demanding $10 Trillion in Investment Over 10 Years

Evan Mceldowney |

Biden, Harris, and Senate Democrats just made history passing the American Rescue Plan, spending $1.9 trillion to provide much needed relief amidst the COVID public health and economic crises. But this $1.9 trillion merely keeps the economy afloat and makes sure people can keep food on the table. 

Not only are people still suffering acutely even after this stop-gap support, but our economy and infrastructure are reeling from decades of disinvestment and privatization. On top of all this, scientists tell us that we must transform every aspect of our infrastructure and economy over the next 10 years in order to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis and preserve life on earth as we know it. Economists agree — the risk in this moment is not doing too much, but too little. A new economic analysis shows  that investments of this scale towards our economic, infrastructure, and environmental crises is the bare minimum of what’s needed to get on track. If we neglect investment now, costs and consequences will only be greater and more destructive. We have a historic opportunity to invest in the future of this country — the risk is that we don’t meet it.

Biden’s current infrastructure plan proposes nearly $3 trillion investment. While that’s not an insignificant number, it pales in comparison to the scale of the crises we face, and what science and justice demand. In particular, if we’re serious about tackling the climate crisis, which Joe Biden has said is the top priority of his Presidency, we must rapidly mobilize to transform every aspect of our economy, society, and infrastructure over the next decade. In the last year of World War II, America spent 40% of our GDP in one year on the war — equivalent to $8.5 trillion in 2021 alone. The task of transforming our economy and rescuing our planet from the brink of collapse are just as existential to our country now as the war effort was then. $10 trillion over the next decade, or $1 trillion per year, should be the minimum of what we invest towards that task.

If we’re serious about actually tackling our nation’s crises and “Building Back Better,” like Joe Biden promised, we need to solve problems in their entirety, not just put dents in them. 

Here are some examples of bills that take an approach of actually transforming our economy at the scale necessary:

  • Public Employment & Workforce Training: Senator Markey and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s Civilian Climate Corps for Jobs and Justice Act employs a diverse group of 1.5 million Americans to complete clean energy, climate resilience, environmental remediation, conservation, and sustainable infrastructure projects, while providing education, training, and career pathways in good union jobs ($132 billion). 
  • Public Transit: Senators Warren and Markey, and Reps. Andy Levin and Ocasio-Cortez’s BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act invest in a new sustainable and electric public transit infrastructure ($500 billion); and Senators Schumer and Brown’s Clean Transit for America plan creates a 100% zero emission bus fleet ($73 billion).
  • Vehicle Electrification: Senator Schumer’s Clean Cars for America plan establishes a vehicle trade-in program for electric vehicles and invests in domestic EV manufacturing and charging infrastructure ($454 billion). 
  • Public Housing: Senator Sanders and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal for Public Housing Act to modernize and expand America’s public housing stock ($180 billion). 
  • 21st Century Schools: Rep. Bowman proposes a Green Stimulus to retrofit and upgrade all K-12 Schools ($1.16 trillion). 
  • Clean Water Infrastructure: Senator Sanders and Reps. Lawrence and Khanna’s WATER Act  upgrades our nation’s shameful and diminished clean water infrastructure to ensure universal clean water in America ($350 billion).
  • Pollution Remediation: Senator Booker and Rep. McEachin’s Environmental Justice Legacy Pollution Cleanup Act to clean up pollution throughout communities across the country ($200 billion). 
  • Green Manufacturing, Industrial Mobilization, R&D: Senator Warren’s Buy Green Act and National Institute of Clean Energy Act to increase our nation’s R&D for clean tech, mobilize the federal government towards sustainability, and do our fair share to help other countries meet their climate goals in the process ($1.9 trillion).
  • As well as at least $775 billion towards building the infrastructure of the care economy that Biden committed to during his campaign, an extent to which is reflected in the American Families Plan.

These proposals already add up to over $5.7 trillion investment and are only scratching the surface of what is needed to truly build the 21st century economy we need. For example, this does not factor in upgrading our private housing and building stocks, transitioning our power sector and electrical grid, upgrading roads and bridges, or investing in farmers, public lands and waters, and conservation. It is clear that if we are serious about transforming our economy, a much greater scale of investment is needed.  

The American Jobs Plan and the Fight for the Green New Deal

Evan Mceldowney |

This afternoon, President Joe Biden proposed trillions of dollars in new spending on clean energy, infrastructure, public schools, and our care economy. You can read more about the specifics of the plan here and here.

We should feel deeply proud of the power that our movement has built to make a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure plan that centers action on the climate crisis, undoing environmental injustice and racism, and creating millions of union jobs the common sense of the Democratic Party. And, we shouldn’t lose sight of how much more power we must build to fully realize our vision of a Green New Deal. 

If it’s passed, this plan would be the largest investment the federal government has made to address social and economic crises in fifty years. It’d create millions of good jobs and be the biggest investment our country has ever made in fighting the climate crisis. Still, this plan is nowhere near enough to meaningfully combat the climate crisis or transform our society and economy. To really do those things, we need at least $10 trillion in federal spending over the next decade (or $1 trillion/year), and we need to start making those investments as soon as possible.

We always knew the Green New Deal would be a series of bills over the course of many years, not just one piece of legislation. If we do our jobs, the plan that was announced today could be the first pillar of the Green New Deal. Our movement needs to make sure that this bill isn’t watered down by politicians and lobbyists, and back up our champions in Congress who will try to improve it. It’s up to us to ensure that this proposal is strengthened, becomes law and that it is the first of many pieces of legislation that will address the many crises facing our generation. 

Read on to learn more about what Biden’s new plan gets right and what it doesn’t, what it means for our movement and what comes next in the fight for the Green New Deal.

Let’s start with the bad news about the American Jobs Plan

Our window to totally transition our economy and energy grid is closing — scientists tell us we have about 9 years left to make big changes to our economy if we are going to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Everyday that we fail to address poverty and systemic racism is a crisis for the millions of Black, Indigenous, people of color and working people in this country. There’s no such thing as “too big” for Biden and Democrats in Congress  — the crises we face demand unprecedented spending and action from the federal government, and this plan is not enough.

It’s especially disappointing because the plan Biden rolled out today falls short of what he promised on the campaign trail.  Biden was elected by young people on a climate mandate that called for a $2 trillion ‘accelerated investment’ in climate-related infrastructure over four years. This plan invests about $2.7 trillion dollars, but as of now, spreads it out over ten years. There’s a lot Biden could do to still keep to his commitment to get this money out the door as fast as possible — like making plans and commitments to deploy resources quickly, and ensure the legislation’s speedy passage — and our movement should make noise about it so that he does.

Where this plan really falls short:

  • Housing: The plan only upgrades around 2 million homes out of around 140 million housing units across the country.
  • Research and development: The investment in research and development was downsized from Biden’s campaign promise of $300 billion to $180 billion.
  • Civilian Climate Corps: The plan Biden rolled out today would create about 10,000-20,00 jobs in a Civilian Climate Corps, which would train and employ young people to build clean energy and decarbonize the economy. When FDR rolled out a similar Civilian Conservation Corps, it employed around 300,000 people per year, and that was back when the US population was ~40% of its current size .
  • Transportation: The investment in transit is significantly less than what’s been proposed in Senator Schumer’s Clean Cars Act and Warren and Markey’s BUILD Green Act, which are more transformative bills to move us to 100% electrified and sustainable public transit and electric vehicles. 

At the peak of the war effort in WWII, America spent 40% of our GDP in one year — equivalent to $8.5 trillion in 2021 alone. That makes the at least $10 trillion over the decade we are demanding look small. The task of transforming our economy and rescuing our planet from the brink of collapse are just as existential to our country now as the war effort was then. As is, Biden’s plan is not enough money outright and it’s not clear if this plan would invest the money at the pace needed to meaningfully address the climate crisis. We need to spend at least $1 trillion per year over the next ten years, not $2-3 trillion over ten. 

Now, this proposal is headed to Congress, where there’s a lot working against us. Not a single Republican voted for the COVID relief bill that passed last month and moderate Democrats like Joe Manchin could attempt to water this bill down or include handouts to corporations and fossil fuel companies. 

Our movement is clear: there are absolutely no excuses for Biden and Democrats to not deliver on campaign promises, and our members of Congress still have the opportunity to strengthen this plan. But we must pass something, swiftly. If Republicans don’t cooperate, do it without them. If the filibuster obstructs progress, abolish it. But that’s easier said than done. The only way change at this scale has ever happened is through persistent organizing from movements. It’s what got us to this moment in the fight, and it’s what will determine whether this bill will make it to the finish line into law. 

The good stuff about the American Jobs Plan

On the whole, this entire proposal is a massive win for our movement, and a real result of the power we’ve built over the past few years. Four or five years ago, the biggest idea any politician in America had to tackle the climate crisis was a carbon tax. President Obama’s Clean Power Plan was proposed to cost just $8.4 billion. The fact that the Biden administration is proposing ~$2.7 trillion (with more on the way – keep reading!) and that they are taxing corporations and billionaires to pay for it is a historic step in the right direction.

Where Biden’s plan shines:

  • PRO Act and labor standards: Biden’s plan calls for the passage of the PRO Act, which would massively expand employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace and be the biggest victory for the labor movement in decades, it also ensures that climate jobs that are created from this plan will be good union jobs. 
  • Civilian Climate Corps: It’s not enough, but this plan would take Biden’s loose proposal for a CCC and make it a reality. This gives our movement a starting place, and with a foot in the door we can fight to expand and strengthen the CCC over the coming years.
  • Clean Energy: This plan would create millions of jobs to make our country’s homes and infrastructure more energy efficient, and includes a clean energy standard to build out renewable energy and advance environmental justice. We need to make sure this CES is not weakened by fossil fuel lobbyists and supports a bold transition to renewable energy. 
  • Impacted communities: The plan would create jobs to guarantee 100% universal clean water to every single person in this country and includes deep commitments to environmental justice and a just transition for frontline and impacted communities.
  • Care economy: The plan would make investments in care infrastructure to expand access to quality, affordable care for folks with disabilities and the elderly, as well as ensure new care jobs are good-paying, union jobs with strong benefits. Biden is expected to roll out another massive proposal in a few weeks that will focus on raising wages and labor standards for essential homecare workers, the vast majority of whom are women of color who have been historically underpaid and undervalued.

This plan makes clear that every dollar the government spends on infrastructure will be used “to prevent, reduce and withstand the impacts of the climate crisis.” Our movement needs to get loud and get in the streets to ensure the most ambitious version of this plan is passed into law and that it is the first of many bills that will create good jobs confronting the crises of climate change, racism and poverty.

What this means for our movement

When our movement was just getting started, we were called naïve and too radical, and top Democrats were calling the Green New Deal the “Green dream, or whatever.” Climate change was at the bottom of the list of political priorities for the Democratic party, and there was no real plan to combat the climate crisis from any party or mainstream political leader. The President openly denied climate change and did whatever he could to make life easier for the fossil fuel industry. The President before him bragged about how much oil was drilled under his administration.

Just a few years later, the President is releasing a plan to spend an unprecedented amount of money creating good jobs combating climate change and addressing systemic racism. And, he’s taxing corporations and billionaires to pay for it. It’s not enough, but it’s a historic step in the right direction.

The work of movements like ours is slow, and it’s hard, and it isn’t always clear how all of our work adds up. Today isn’t a cut and dry win, but it’s one of those days that makes me believe in the power of organizing and movement building. It makes me feel hopeful about the power of young people and it makes me wonder what else our movement can accomplish in the months and years to come.

Like many other moments over the past few years, we should take time to reflect and to celebrate. And then we continue the fight.

It’s our job to do what we can to strengthen the plan Biden rolled out today, make sure it becomes law as soon as possible and that it is the first of many pieces of legislation that will address the many crises facing our generation. The only thing worse than not meeting this moment at scale would be not meeting it at all. This proposal is headed to Congress next, where Republicans and moderate Democrats will try to water the bill down or stop it altogether. We need to talk to our neighbors and friends and get in the streets to make it clear: we need transformational change, and if politicians won’t move fast enough — our generation will force their hand.

Even if this proposal became law, it won’t be enough. We can’t let Biden and Democrats in Congress off the hook — we need to continue fighting for legislation that will guarantee millions of good jobs fighting climate change and making our society safe, healthy and strong. We always knew the Green New Deal would be more than a single piece of legislation and this bill is just the beginning.

Biden has said he wants to have a ‘Rooseveltian Presidency’ and that tackling climate change would be his top priority. If that’s true, he will need to use his bully pulpit to build the political will for a more transformative vision, like FDR famously did. Biden must tell the truth about the scale of the climate crisis — as he’s done with the COVID crisis — and work to rally the political will to truly lead the world in stopping it.

Taking Action on April 7th

On April 7th, our movement is taking action all across the country to demand Members of Congress pass legislation that guarantees good jobs for all, invests $10 trillion over the next decade to create millions of union jobs addressing the crises of climate change, economic inequality, and systemic racism. Members of Congress will be at home for Congressional recess, so it’s our first big opportunity to put the pressure on them and make it clear that our generation is ready to begin the decade of the Green New Deal.

Sign Up Here To Join the Action

Sunrise Endorses Jennifer Carroll Foy and Sam Rasoul for Virginia Gubernatorial Races

Evan Mceldowney |

Today, Sunrise Movement announced their first major statewide endorsements of 2021, endorsing Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Carroll Foy and lieutenant governor candidate Sam Rasoul. 

“Sunrise is proud to stand with Green New Deal champions Jennifer Carroll Foy and Sam Rasoul for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Virginia,” said Evan Weber, Political Director of the Sunrise Movement. “At a time when our country spirals through a climate crisis exacerbated by a global pandemic, Virginians need leaders like Jennifer Carroll Foy and Sam Rasoul, who are committed to investing in green energy production, bringing diverse, high paying jobs to every corner of the Commonwealth and passing a Virginia Green New Deal. Jennifer Carroll Foy and Sam Rasoul are the only progressive leaders who can do this and ensure Virginians will not be represented by wealthy politicians like Terry McAuliffe, who don’t hold the same climate commitment and instead line their pocketbooks with money from environmentally toxic special interests.”

In response to Sunrise’s endorsement, Jennifer Carroll Foy and Sam Rasoul responded reinforcing their commitment to combat climate change, and commended the Sunrise Movement for their work.

“As a former foster mom and mother of three year-old twins, I know fighting for environmental justice is one of the most important things we can do for our children’s and our planet’s futures. That’s why when I learned that lead and arsenic from a Dominion plant was polluting water in my district, I immediately took them to task and worked to pass legislation to clean up coal ash ponds across our Commonwealth,” said gubernatorial candidate, Jennifer Carroll Foy. “I have been so inspired by the hard work the Sunrise Movement has done to champion the fight for the clean, just, and equitable future Virginians deserve, and will stand shoulder to shoulder as Governor with all Virginians committed to ensuring we do all that we can to protect our planet for our kids and future generations to come.”

“Every year here in Virginia we have seen the climate crisis with our own eyes: the flooding, the heat waves and the rising sea levels on our coast keep getting worse. But I am filled with hope because of the energy that the Sunrise Movement has created for intersectional justice in Virginia and around the country,” said Sam Rasoul. “Since I was first elected in 2014, I have stood with the growing movement of concerned residents in Virginia who defeated the Atlantic Coast Pipeline that threatened our water, our health and our planet, and who will soon defeat the Mountain Valley Pipeline, too. And since 2018 I have seen the Green New Deal grow from a righteous idea into a national movement that connects climate justice to racial justice, and economic justice, and health care justice. Along with Sunrise, we are going to ensure this is the decade of the Green New Deal in Virginia—the decade we avert climate catastrophe, create many thousands of good-paying jobs in clean infrastructure, and uplift impacted communities in every part of our Commonwealth.”

This comes as Sunrise Movement has cemented itself as a strong electoral player. In 2020, Sunrise contacted over 6.5 million voters in the primaries and general election creating the largest youth turnout in history. This led to not only the victory of Biden and the Senators in Georgia, but the victory of Green New Deal leaders across the country, including Senator Ed Markey, Reps. Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, and more. Sunrise Movement expects to contribute to both campaigns by bringing attention to these important elections in a year that will surely be a bellwether for 2022 through social media pushes, fundraising, and coordinating its network of organizers in Virginia and around the country.

What is A Federal Jobs Guarantee?

Evan Mceldowney |

We live in a moment of historic crises — a health crisis, an inequality crisis, a racial justice crisis, and a climate crisis that looms over it all. We’ve got no shortage of work to do to address these crises, and build a better society that works for all of us.

With so much work to be done, there’s no reason anyone in the richest country in the history of the world should be unemployed, underemployed, or working a job that isn’t in the national interest.  It’s time to fulfill FDR’s promise, and Dr. King’s dream. It’s time for the government to guarantee good jobs for all.


A jobs guarantee is central to the mission of a Green New Deal and in the Green New Deal resolution already. It protects people from the risk of unemployment and establishes a labor force to do the critical work of building green infrastructure and caring for one another. It’s the best way for us to marshal the full resources of our government and people to transition our energy grid and transform our society. This year, when so many of us are un or underemployed due to COVID and the economic recession, we want to emphasize this critical component of a Green New Deal and demand the government guarantee a good job to anyone who wants one.

What is a Green New Deal Federal Job Guarantee?

What is a job guarantee?

The job guarantee is a federal government program to provide a good job to every person who wants one.

The job guarantee is a long-pursued goal of the American progressive tradition. In the 1940s, labor unions in the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) demanded a job guarantee. Franklin D. Roosevelt supported the right to a job in his never-realized “Second Bill of Rights.” Later, the 1963 March on Washington demanded a jobs guarantee alongside civil rights, understanding that economic justice was a core component of the fight for racial justice. Coretta Scott King went on to lead a grassroots movement for a job guarantee after her husband’s death.

The job guarantee is bigger than just securing jobs for people in the short-term. It’s about permanently enshrining the right to dignified work as a fundamental human right. The right to good employment is uplifted in the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but this right has never been realized within the United States. 

Why is a job guarantee a critical component of the Green New Deal? ?

The job guarantee is central to the mission of the Green New Deal and is a core plank of the Green New Deal resolution. It protects people from the risk of unemployment and establishes a labor force to do the critical work of building green infrastructure and caring for one another. It’s the best way for us to marshal the full resources of our government and people to transition our energy grid and transform our society. This year, when so many of us are un or underemployed due to COVID and the economic recession, we want to emphasize this critical component of a Green New Deal and demand the government guarantee a good job to anyone who wants one.

Who can actually enact or pass a job guarantee? 

A job guarantee can be enacted by Congress and signed into law by the President.

How would I get a job through the job guarantee?

The job guarantee would be administered by the federal Department of Labor, which would establish local job offices in each town or county around the country. You show up there, and sign up for a job!

Local jobs available will be determined by the DOL, who will identify needs and opportunities through consultation with municipal and state governments, as well as local community organizations. Care will be taken to ensure that job guarantee jobs are additive to the overall job pool, rather than replacing work that was previously already happening.

How can we ensure that a jobs guarantee will prioritize Black, brown and working class communities that need good jobs the most? How will a jobs guarantee advance racial and economic justice?

Compared to other government programs, the job guarantee is well-designed to reach the people who need it most. That’s because the mandate of the program is to give every single person a job. There’s no means-testing, no qualifications one must prove, few bureaucratic hoops to jump through. These are reasons why the job guarantee has been a core demand of the Black radical tradition as well as the U.S. labor movement.

It will take 2-3 years for the program to scale up enough to meet all demand for employment. In this stage, the DoL should target the build-out to prioritize areas where economic disinvestment and the racial employment gap are highest.

Is a job guarantee popular in the public?

Yes. Recent polling from Data for Progress and The Justice Collaborative Institute (source) shows strong bipartisan support for a federal job guarantee. Sixty-four percent of likely voters, including 78% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans, said they would support a federal job guarantee program as part of the government’s response to the economic crisis.

Is Sunrise still fighting for a Green New Deal? Are there other things we want to fight for this year?

Hell yeah we are. The job guarantee is a key component of the Green New Deal and has been central to the fight all along. We think this spring is the right time to bring it forward as the leading public demand, but we’re not letting go of our other demands either. Check out the Green New Deal Year 1 memo from our national political manager Lauren Maunus for an outline of what else we’re fighting for at the federal level.

How is the job guarantee different from universal basic income, and why isn’t Sunrise campaigning around that?

Universal Basic Income, or UBI, calls for giving everyone a fixed and usually monthly payment that they can spend however they want or need. The proposed amount can vary from $1,000 per month, like Andrew Yang called for to much larger amounts. Like the job guarantee, the goal of UBI is to make sure every person in this country should have rights to meet their basic needs regardless of race, class, age, or education. 

Many of us across the movement support both and it doesn’t need to be an either or. That said, there are a couple reasons why Sunrise is campaigning for a job guarantee in particular. The first is practical — we’re in a moment of many crises and there is an incredible amount of work to do. As a movement to tackle climate change, it’s our job to make the connection between the need for action on climate change and millions of jobs, and the job guarantee is a powerful way for us to emphasize just how many jobs it would create. 

Even though Sunrise is all about pushing the bounds of what’s possible, our assessment is that given public opinion right now, a job guarantee has the potential to be much bigger and more fundamentally improve more peoples’ lives than the kind of UBI that has gained traction recently.  

Where can I read more about the job guarantee?

The Federal Job Guarantee—A Policy to Achieve Permanent Full Employment by Mark Paul , William Darity, Jr., and Darrick Hamilton

The Job Guarantee: Design, Jobs and Implementation by Pavlina Tcherneva

Federal Job Guarantee Resolution Factsheet by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley

Climate Jobs Guarantee Policy Primer: A Job Guarantee to put America to work stopping climate change by Sunrise policy team, April 2018

SIGN UP TO LEARN ABOUT OUR GOOD JOBS FOR ALL CAMPAIGN AND GET INVOLVED!

The next few months are a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Thanks to movements like ours, Joe Biden and Congressional leadership have promised to pass historic COVID relief and economic recovery legislation, and put climate action
at the forefront. Our mission is to make them deliver for our generation and for the millions of people across America struggling right now.

Join the Rays, a growing community of Sunriser’s committed to fighting for good jobs for all, COVID relief and the climate action we need. We are named after the rays of light that stretch out as the sun rises. We will shine light on the need for good jobs for all, and build broad support across the country.

Get Involved

Letter to the Movement: The Time For Excuses is Over.

Evan Mceldowney |

As I watched the inauguration, I was struck by the deeply conflicting emotions I have surrounding this day. The Trump presidency has been a nightmare to so many, but the fact is we still face massive crises in every direction.

I know I’m not alone in those feelings of conflict. We stand at a crossroads, an intersection of many paths forward for America, and it’s up to us to determine which path we take. Yes, it’s true that ahead of us are terrifying crises of state and humanity like COVID, inequality, political division and climate change, but the roads to prosperity have never been closer.

One path ahead of us you’re going to hear about is a “return to normal”. But “normal” was already failing. Even had we contained the COVID pandemic, treatment would have destroyed the pocketbooks of those who got sick as surely as cancer does every day. The Paris Accords did not put us on track to avert cascading climate change. And Republicans have been working to hold onto minority rule through voter suppression and gerrymandering, bolstered by unjust systems of representation like the Electoral College.

Refusing to acknowledge the abject failure of our current reality led the ascendant Obama administration to lose control of both Houses of Congress and over half of the Democratically held state legislatures. We can’t afford to repeat those mistakes again.

There’s another path ahead of us, and it’s the one FDR seized when he was elected in 1932: the path of bold leadership, of mobilizing the resources of the federal government to feed, protect, house and employ everyone in America. FDR went on to be elected four times in a row, and the coalition lasted until the racist backlash following the Civil Rights Movement.

For decades, Democrats have chosen the former path, and it’s destroyed the lives of everyday families. They won’t embrace the Rooseveltian vision of the Green New Deal without some pushing. That’s where we come in.

Our role in 2021 will be very different in some ways, because so many of the goals we have been training and organizing for are now attainable.

When we launched we had two priorities: make climate change the top issue in American politics and build the movement to make our demands for millions of good jobs to stop the climate crisis impossible to ignore.

And we were successful! Over several years, we built almost 500 local hubs who organized protests, phonebanked for local candidates, and saw the first ever presidential debates seriously address climate change. We defended the co-authors of the Green New Deal (Markey and AOC) and other champions from primaries, and added new members to their ranks.

But now, we have a new priority: make real the promise of a country that cares for its people by making our voices and our demands impossible to ignore. Because forging the new path forward will not be a walk in the park, it will be a climb to the mountaintop.

In this moment, we will hear calls for unity and healing. But know this — there is no unity without delivering real action on the crises that impact all Americans. And there is no healing without accountability for the harms that have been done, not just in the last four years, but over the last four hundred.

The armed, violent insurrectionists that staged the attempted coup on Jan 6 were aided, abetted, and incited by the Republican Party’s efforts to undermine the election and prioritize power over all else. We won’t win a better democracy through bipartisan compromise with power holders who answer only to the call of billionaire donors and the white supremacy that keeps them in power. The Republican Party has shown how far they will go to perpetuate white supremacist fearmongering, which escalated to direct violence in the attempted coup last week. Their goal is government distrust and failure, so that Democrats lose in 2022 and 2024 and they can further entrench their permanent minority rule.

They don’t want climate action; they’re still denying humanity’s role or peddling lies about the market and innovation taking care of everything, when they’re not flat out denying the existence of climate change. All to appease Big Oil CEOs who pad their pockets.

What good is there in compromising with those who want to return to the America of the 1850s Confederacy or the 1950s civil rights opposition? Or who are content to watch the earth burn?

We’ll win the democracy of our dreams, not by compromising with Confederates, but by amping up the pressure on the hesitant links in the Democratic Party: the deciding votes in the Senate and the House, and the President.

Democrats have no more excuses. No Republican Senate blocking them, no Trump White House. The time for excuses is over. Now is the time for Democrats to deliver, and it’s on us to make them.

There’s nobody else coming. We can’t pass this off to the next generation, as prior generations did to us. It’s on us to act, now, to fight for the future we believe in. We must be the ones we’ve been waiting for.

We know the consequences if we fail: more of the same, more disillusionment in government, all while the building climate crisis demands more and more government action, and future Republican majorities that empower even more obstructionism and denial.

We’ve been through our darkest hours, the last four years of the Trump administration. Now, it’s time for the sun to rise.

We Are Kicking Off the Decade of the Green New Deal

Trump is out, and Biden is in! Democrats control the House and the Senate! The stage is set: In the next few months, we have our best chance to start making the Green New Deal a reality. Join us to celebrate and envision what the path forward could look like: What we need to see Biden and Congress do in these first 100 days, and the role our movement needs to play in making that happen.

Join Our Mass Call On 1/28

Green New Deal Year One: What We’re Fighting For

Evan Mceldowney |

Nothing is won without a fight. With Democratic control of Congress and the White House, the possibilities of what we can achieve together are limited only by the optimism of our imagination and our will to build a movement so big and powerful our demands are impossible to ignore. For the past few years we’ve fought tooth and nail to make the climate crisis the top issue in American politics. We’ve done that by tying our survival as a species to a pivotal massive transformation of our entire economy to create millions of good-paying union jobs. Now, it’s our duty to follow through on that bold vision by making core tenets of the Green New Deal a reality.

Today, we celebrate and take a breath. Tomorrow, we start holding Biden’s feet to the fire in a nation-wide Day of Action to let him, Congress, and the whole country know: no compromise and excuses when it comes to addressing the crises we face. We have a historic opportunity to transform this country, and we’re damn well gonna put up a fight. 

GREEN NEW DEAL YEAR 1: WHAT WE’RE FIGHTING FOR

1. Deliver immediate and direct relief to people, not to corporate CEOs or fossil fuel polluters.

These are common sense measures that we needed nine months ago and have only become more urgent since then. Everyone, regardless of immigration status, should have what they need to survive. 

  • Recurring $2,000 checks
    • Democrats won the Senate on the strength of their promise of $2,000 checks. It is essential that they deliver on that promise immediately to strengthen the trust of the American people. They should take up Vice President Kamala Harris’ legislation for $2000 recurring checks for the duration of the pandemic.
  • Unemployment insurance
    • Build on the success of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program by providing $600 weekly to anybody who is unemployed as a result of the pandemic.
  • State and local aid
    • Support public schools, libraries, fire departments, colleges and universities, public employees and pensioners, and all other essential programs that depend on state and local government funding, by replacing revenue that states and municipalities have lost due to the pandemic.
  • Ban evictions and utility shutoffs
    • Nobody should be evicted or lose their water and heat because of financial difficulties during a pandemic. Extend and enforce the federal eviction ban issued by the CDC, establish a nationwide moratorium on utility shut-offs, and enforce both aggressively.

2. Put an end to Republic minority rule and ensure a true multiracial democracy that works for all of us.

Every time GOP elites win power, they use it to erode democracy and dismantle the life-saving government programs of the first New Deal. Their goal is permanent minority rule by a few rich white businessmen. Democrats must move firmly to expand democracy and make government work for the people. 

  • Protect and expand the right to vote, realize a multi-racial democracy in America
    • The rights of democracy have never included all of us — but through the efforts of many generations, the right to vote has been expanded from a few property-owning white men to all citizens regardless of wealth, gender or race. We must protect this right and make it real by removing barriers to voting. Pass the For the People Act (HR1), which improves voter access and registration, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (HR4), which prohibits states and municipalities from engaging in voter suppression, and the Fair Representation Act (HR4000) which would ensure and allow rank choice voting and true proportional representation.
  • Hold Trump and his enablers accountable
    • Impeach and convict Trump so he may never again hold the office of president. Expel the seditious members of Congress who conspired with the plot to undermine the democratic process and incited domestic insurrection.
  • End the filibuster
    • The filibuster is a rule that allows any one Senator to block laws that are supported by the majority of the Senate. That’s minority rule. That’s not democracy! We must eliminate the filibuster to pass much of a Green New Deal into law. 
  • Expand the Supreme Court and federal judiciary
    • The Supreme Court is out of step with the views of the majority of Americans. Republicans have built a disproportionate court majority by using dirty tricks to block Obama’s appointments and confirm those of Trump. Expand the courts to respect the will of the people.
  • Ensure Statehood for Washington DC, and give Puerto Rico the choice
    • Washington, D.C.’s population exceeds that of Wyoming and Vermont, yet D.C.’s residents remain unrepresented in the US Senate. No taxation without representation. Make D.C. a state. Similarly, admit Puerto Rico as a state, should Puerto Ricans decide that they desire statehood.
  • Use the full force of the government to mobilize on climate
    • The Green New Deal is an economy-wide effort that requires effective coordination across all government agencies and levels of government. The newly created White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy should be given a mandate to coordinate bold action across all government agencies, including goals and timelines for decarbonizing all sectors of the economy, and the power to hold the cabinet, agencies, and departments accountable. The federal government should set emissions limits on climate pollution and transform its operations to 100% clean, renewable energy by no later than 2025. They should also ensure that government spending and purchasing is climate- and worker-friendly, and shift existing funding pools to solar and wind energy, electric vehicles, regenerative agriculture, and financing for rural communities. 
  • Mobilize our resources to the fullest
    • The Green New Deal is an economy-wide effort that requires effective mobilization of resources across the public and private sector, and strong mechanisms for the government to hold the private sector accountable. Congress should create a National Investment Authority or Infrastructure Bank to serve this function by repeating and improving upon the New Deal-era Reconstruction Finance Corporation and driving public and private capital to clean and equitable infrastructure projects. Additionally, the Biden Administration should declare a climate emergency and use the Defense Production Act to spur green manufacturing. President Biden should also use his bully pulpit to push Congress to do what it takes to pass his agenda, including abolishing the filibuster, to make real his commitments for economic relief and green recovery across the country. 
  • End the era of impunity for white collar criminals
    • The men who burned the Earth, broke the government, and impoverished millions of people must be held accountable. Fossil fuel executives and other agents of corruption must be brought to trial by Congress and the Biden administration. In no case should the regulation of carbon pollution or liability for the damage caused by the fossil fuel industry be waived or pre-empted.

3. Create millions of good jobs, reverse systemic inequality, and put a halt to the climate crisis through a historic green recovery.

Democrats should show us that they are on the side of working people by guaranteeing every American a good job, expanding workers’ rights like we haven’t seen since the 1930s, and delivering investment equitably to every community, whether Black, white, brown, or Indigenous, whether urban or rural. This isn’t just good politics — it’s necessary to limit warming to the manageable level of 1.5° C, revive an economy ravaged by COVID-19, and undo the racial and economic inequality that is killing us.

  • Set binding timelines to beat the climate clock
    • Ensure we are well on our way towards a 100% clean, renewable energy economy by the end of the decade. 100% clean, renewable electricity by no later than 2035, 100% zero-emission vehicles by no later than 2030, 100% clean buildings by 2025, and aggressive standards across industry and agriculture as well.
  • Guarantee a good job to every person who wants one
    • Meaningful, family-sustaining work is a human right. Now is the time to enshrine this right in law through a job guarantee, which was championed by the labor movement of the 1930s and the Black freedom movement of the 1960s. As part of a job guarantee, create a Civilian Climate Corps to employ hundreds of thousands of people to do the urgent work of repairing and strengthening our communities in the face of climate change. 
  • Get to work decarbonizing America 
    • Create at minimum 10 million green jobs: retrofit and upgrade all commercial and residential buildings to 100% sustainability, focusing on public schools, colleges, and universities and expanding and retrofitting public housing and upgrading low-income homes; expand regenerative agriculture and level the playing field for family farmers through supply management and enforcing antitrust laws; build accessible and low-carbon public transit for all; expand wind and solar energy, including rooftop solar; and modernize and democratize our energy grid. 
  • Get to work caring for each other and the planet
    • Not all green jobs require a hard hat. Create low-carbon, green jobs in education, the arts, public recreation, childcare, elder care, health care, and responding to heat waves and disasters. Fix, replace, and expand water infrastructure to guarantee clean water for all, and care for the planet by restoring natural ecosystems and remediating toxic sites.
  • Go big on investment
    • Direct federal investments towards decarbonizing our economy should total at least $10 trillion over 10 years, with $4 trillion in the first 4 years. The $2 trillion over 4 years promised in Biden’s Build Back Better plan is headed in the right direction, but still insufficient for the scale of the crisis we face.
  • 40% for the frontlines
    • At least 40% of decarbonizing investments—equating to at least $1.6 trillion over 4 years and $4 trillion over 10 years—must go directly to communities on the frontlines of pollution and historically excluded from investment. This commitment to environmental justice was already promised in Biden’s Build Back Better plan, as well as the THRIVE Resolution, and must undergird all Green New Deal-style investments.  
  • Empower workers in the workplace and in the economy
    • Pass the PRO Act to protect the right of workers to organize and form a union. Prevent exploitation by requiring that all Green New Deal projects adopt strong wage standards and project labor agreements. Encourage expansion of worker ownership, including worker co-ops, as a way to democratize the economy and build community wealth. Protect workers at home and abroad by reforming trade agreements to prioritize workers and climate over corporations.
  • Ensure a just transition for impacted communities
    • Workers in fossil fuels and other polluting industries have given their lives and bodies to power this country. We owe it to them to make their families and communities whole as the economy transitions away from fossil fuels, through direct provision of five years of wage and benefit guarantees, other benefits, and targeted industrial policy to establish diversified and healthy economies in former extractive regions and deindustrializing communities. The energy transition is happening one way or another; the government has a responsibility to manage this transition for the benefit of all, and with impacted workers and community members as equal partners in the process.
  • Respect and protect the sovereignty of Indigenous nations
    • Indigenous nations are independent of the United States and are the sovereign protectors of their territories, but they have been repeatedly harmed through genocide, broken treaties, forced assimilation, and the theft of sacred land for extractive projects.  The Biden administration should sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and ensure free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples for all decisions that affect them and their traditional territories. Indigenous peoples are, and should be seen as, leaders in the project of healing our land and culture.
  • Use climate action as a form of reparations
    • The Green New Deal is a once-in-a-century reinvention of our society; we must take this opportunity to eliminate the foundational inequalities that have plagued America since its founding. Black people in this country are owed reparations for the historic injustices of slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, and ongoing discrimination to this day. People of the Global South are owed climate reparations–through the Green Climate Fund and more– to manage the impacts of climate change, which have fallen disproportionately on the Global South despite being driven by nations of the Global North.
  • When we say for all, we mean it
    • All job programs and all benefits of these programs must be accessible to everybody, regardless of citizenship status or criminal record. Ensure that everyone reaps the benefits of clean air, clean soil, and clean water by developing and implementing a “No Hotspots” policy to prevent unjust pollution disparities.
  • Don’t dig the hole deeper
    • We are already extracting and burning more fossil fuels than the planet can bear. No government investments, bailouts or subsidies may go to support fossil fuel polluters or the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure at home or abroad. Permits should be immediately denied or rescinded for the Dakota Access, Line 3, Keystone XL, and all other pipelines under federal jurisdiction. Cease all current permits and prohibit any future development of fossil fuels on public lands and waters. Use a “climate test” that ensures no federal investments undermine our mission to limit warming to 1.5° C. 

We Are Kicking Off the Decade of the Green New Deal

Trump is out, and Biden is in! Democrats control the House and the Senate! The stage is set: In the next few months, we have our best chance to start making the Green New Deal a reality. Join us to celebrate and envision what the path forward could look like: What we need to see Biden and Congress do in these first 100 days, and the role our movement needs to play in making that happen.

Join Our Mass Call On 1/28

The Only Way to Respond to The Capital Coup…

Jes Negron |

The Changing Political Climate

Last week was, somehow, an example of both everything we have the power to achieve and everything we have to lose.

Our work in Georgia supporting partners to get out the vote resulted in historic wins. The results of the election made it more clear than ever that the other side is not willing to compromise, and the opportunity for change lies in making an investment in communities who have been ignored and actively suppressed, and fighting for what we need and deserve.

To bring that point home, mere moments after we began celebrating Georgia’s achievement in earnest, we were gutted by news from the US Capitol. Armed militia waving confederate flags strolled past police without resistance, chanting that this is “their country” and that they “want it back.” They strolled in to the Capital building and attempted a coup to change the legal results of the US presidential election.

This is what we’re up against. White supremacist fear mongers using violence to spread hatred and resist the inevitable change that will strip them of their privilege. Every win we achieve is tempered by the enormity of what systemic injustice we have left to dismantle.

There is no compromise with confederates. There is no middle ground. There is no negotiating with the GOP tyrants who inspired and enabled the pathetic excuse for a coup we saw this week. It’s time to support Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman in their efforts to investigate and remove members of Congress involved in instigating the violence. It’s time to use the majority advantage this party finally has to make the change we need.

“Today’s coup attempt at the capitol highlights that our nation is at a crossroads and both ways forward are on full display – the ugly reality of white supremacy, hate, and white nationalism versus a multiracial coalition of people working to restore the soul of America. There is no middle ground, and Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, cannot “compromise,” “ negotiate,” or “come to the table” with the GOP tyrants who enabled today’s violent terrorism. If Democrats deliver bold solutions that create jobs, ensure justice, and heal a divided nation, this year could launch a new era of politics like FDR and the New Deal and Democrats will be rewarded for decades to come.”

-Varshini Prakash

We Have to Deliver Bold Solutions

With Democratic control of all three branches of government, we have the opportunity to push for transformative action this year to address the environmental, economic, and social rot and decay that got us here. The last week proved we need change and they owe it to us.

It was movement organizing that got control of the House and the Senate.

It was movement organizing that delivered a presidential win to Biden.

It will be movement organizing that now holds each of them accountable to the relief we need, the jobs that will save us, and the promises they’ve made.

The Demands Of The Green New Deal

  1. People need money—not corporate CEOs or fossil fuel polluters. The pandemic has torn the country apart. People have lost jobs and homes, and many of those who caught the virus and didn’t end up as one of the over 300,000 dead are now drowning in medical debt. Everyone needs $2,000 monthly checks to ease these burdens, along with other safety nets like unemployment insurance and aid to keep state and local budgets afloat.
  2. Transform our democracy to one that works for all of us. We need to put an end to minority rule—the idea that an entire state can have fewer people than a single city and yet have more political power is an artifact of an obsolete (and racist) past. We need to uphold the ideal that all people deserve representation by granting DC statehood, passing the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and securing Puerto Rican self-determination. The Supreme Court should be expanded and the filibuster—the largest obstacle we face in passing the legislation we need—must be abolished.
  3. We must put a halt to the climate crisis. There is a timer looming over our heads as we barrel into catastrophe after catastrophe year over year. The new administration must take action immediately by passing a historic green recovery and creating millions of good jobs designed to tackle climate change and heal our communities.

So how do we make this happen? By doing what our movement is built to do, what we do best: take action to set the bar and pressure these politicians to keep their promises.

It’s a hard path forward. Our current system has failed us, has failed Indigenous communities, communities of color, young people, and more. But we have no choice but to fight to stop the climate crisis and transform this country. 

In just the last 12 months, half our country was on fire, tornadoes ravaged through towns, and hurricanes slammed our coasts. Each moment that passes brings us closer to a point of no return. 

But the good news is that our organizing has already shifted what’s possible and on the table to win. Majority Leader Schumer said he’d put THRIVE, a historic green recovery, to create millions of jobs and stop the climate crisis, at the top of his agenda—the time for that is now. Speaker Pelosi said she’d make a green infrastructure bill a top priority—the time for that is now. Biden won because he promised aggressive and immediate climate action—the time for that is now.

Now, it’s up to our movement to unleash our people power to hold these representatives’ feet to the fire and force the change we need. Democrats have no more excuses. They won. We have to make them act like it. 

On January 21st, the first full day of the Biden Administration, our generation will come together in a day of action from every corner of the country and demand that Biden’s White House and Members of Congress provide direct relief to the American people, enact sweeping democracy reform and roll out a historic jobs plan that will combat the climate crisis.

We’ll gather at Members of Congress offices, or at their homes, to make sure they hear our demands loud and clear. We will hold rallies and marches, take non-violent direct action and give our elected officials a wake up call. People power put Joe Biden in the White House and gave Democrats the edge in Congress. And now, people power is going to force our elected officials to make the change we need.

The Decade of the Green New Deal Starts Right Now

Sign up to take action on January 21st 

Averting Climate Change: Lessons from the New Deal

Jes Negron |

If you’re like most young people, 2020 has felt like a complete and unmitigated disaster. It’s been the year so bad that a fleet of murder hornets appeared, then disappeared somehow, without any of us noticing.

We’ve spent most of the year trapped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Trapped in isolation within our homes, trying to avoid the virus and keep our loved ones safe. Trapped in jobs that didn’t seem to care if they exposed us every day, with insufficient protections, all for a wage that barely paid our bills to begin with. Trapped in a year that seems like it will never come to an end.

Millions of us lost our jobs and struggled to get by, unsure how to pay for rent and groceries, let alone our student debt. All the while, the wealthiest billionaires saw their wealth skyrocket, revealing the perverse inequality baked into our economy. While our world collapsed, they added to their dragon’s hoard.

And the government that should have stepped in to help? Between an incompetent and vain president who ignored science, an obstructionist Senate Majority Leader, and a Democratic House Majority afraid to be bold, the American people have largely gone unsupported.

Worse, there’s a lingering sense that this chaos is just a preview of our future. COVID has shined a harsh spotlight on the fault lines running through the foundations of our society, from our health infrastructure to our economy. It’s more clear than ever before that we’re not prepared—medically or socially—for society-wide disasters.

As if that weren’t concerning enough, we are careening head first into the climate catastrophe, which threatens to crack those foundations wide open.

Just this summer:

  • Following a decade of drought, the West US blazed uncontrollably for weeks, shattering fire records.
  • Record hurricanes bombarded the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic states.
  • Freak floods and a storm dubbed a “land hurricane” ravaged the Midwest.

And, while the pandemic will begin to subside as the vaccine rolls out, climate change is only getting worse. We can’t afford to fail our climate change response as we just did our COVID response.

Yellow background with green text reading "Climate change is the single greatest threat humanity has ever faced. We can stop it, but it's going to take a society-wide mobilization. Climate Mandate 2020"

Biden’s Climate Mandate

Going into 2021, president Biden will inherit these disasters. He will take over the worst economic recession since the Great Depression and take office as the last president able to act in time to avert irreversible climate change.

Biden has a unique opportunity to tackle both crises simultaneously—rebuilding our economy while averting climate change—with the same solution: a Green New Deal.

Biden ran on a campaign pledge to create millions of good-paying jobs and put us on a path to achieving a carbon-pollution free electric sector by 2035. Now he just has to do it.

This would be a massive industrial mobilization the likes of which we haven’t seen since the last time our society was on the verge of collapse: the 1930s.

We can learn from what happened then.

Trump and Hoover—Two Failed Presidents

In 1929, the stock market crashed, sending the economy into a free fall, with one in four Americans unemployed. As the Great Depression roiled on, then-president Herbert Hoover refused to pursue government aid, which he saw as “handouts,” and instead praised American “rugged individualism” as the path out.

Rather than admit the severity of the crisis, he took to the air to say, “any lack of confidence in the economic future or the strength of business in the United States is foolish.” In 1930, Hoover said, “The worst is behind us”—words Trump echoed in April. History would go on to prove them both wrong.

At the same time, unsustainable farming practices had completely destroyed the Great Plains across Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado. Dried up topsoil was torn away by winds and lifted into massive “black blizzards”  that ravaged the region, in some cases carried all the way to the East coast. These storms left a wake of respiratory ailments, including coughing spasms, shortness of breath, asthma, bronchitis, and influenza. Many developed silicosis, a condition normally found in underground miners. Hundreds died of the so-called “brown plague,” dust pneumonia.

It was an economic and ecological catastrophe. At the same time, fascism was on the rise around the world, ultimately sparking World War II. Sound familiar?

Yellow background with green text reading, "When FDR took office at the beginning of the Great Depression, he stood at a crossroads: continue business as usual, or mobilize every government power at his disposal to help working Americans."

In the face of massive unemployment and ecological destruction, FDR needed to rebuild our economy, repair the environment, and revive trust in the potential of government. To do that, he needed to think big. He famously pledged himself to “a new deal for the American people,” and that work fundamentally reshaped American society.

The New Deal was a Green New Deal

As a part of the New Deal, FDR established a number of federal jobs programs, which put Americans to work upgrading or building the infrastructure we needed—from buildings and homes, to roads and bridges, to dams and power. This is the same work we need today.

As we consider today the monumental task of overhauling our energy infrastructure away from fossil fuels and onto clean energy, as well as overhauling the rest of our infrastructure to be more energy efficient, we can learn a lot from the federal programs FDR instituted.

Civilian Conservation Corps → Climate Change Corps

Then

Green hued landscape illustration on a yellow background, with greed words reading, "The civilian conservation corps hired young people to plant trees and respond to natural disasters like forest fires, hurricanes, floods, and droughts."

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal jobs program that put young people to work on public lands, tending to forests and planting trees, and responding to natural emergencies like forest fires and floods.

Now

Every region of the United States faces escalated natural disasters (courtesy of climate change): fires on the West coast, floods in the Midwest, hurricanes in the Gulf and the East Coast. A renewed Civilian Conservation Corps (perhaps renamed Climate Change Corps) could create jobs working to prevent or respond to those disasters, rebuilding trust in the words Ronald Reagan maligned: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

When the Civilian Conservation Corps launched, 300,000 young people signed up in the first 6 months. Many of them had NEVER held jobs before, and the CCC lifted them out of poverty.

To wrangle with a pandemic-induced recession, we can offer people a unique job: saving the world from climate change.

Illustration of hands shaking with decorative border on yellow background with green words reading, "As escalating natural disasters hit America from coast to coast, a renewed civilian conservation corps overseen by the Office of Climate Mobilization, could once again build trust in the words: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

Civil Works Administration/Works Progress Administration

Then

The Civil Works Administration was a short-term federal jobs program that employed 4.5 million workers in construction jobs improving or constructing infrastructure like buildings and bridges.

It was so popular that, after its expiration, it was replaced by the Works Progress Administration, which would go on to employ 8.5 million workers, who built more than:

  • 650,000 miles of new and improved roads
  • 10,000 buildings including houses and schools
  • 16,000 miles of new water lines

Now

America’s transit and infrastructure consistently ranks among the worst compared to countries of similar wealth. Our roads and bridges are crumbling and our public housing supply is inadequate, while existing units are unhealthy and outdated. 

Housing and transportation combined account for almost 50% of US emissions. Upgrading the energy efficiency of our nation’s housing and roads would go a long way toward meeting our necessary climate change goals.

Rural Electrification Administration → Rural Broadband Administration (7037)

Then

The Rural Electrification Administration rolled out electric power to rural areas across the United States. Before the REA, fewer than 11% of US farms had electric power. By the end of the program, 97% did. The program was extremely cost efficient as well, costing less than $825 per mile (private power companies claimed it would cost $1500-$2000 per mile).

Now

Rural areas largely have access to electricity. But when it comes to the dominant utility of the 21st century—internet—rural areas have been left behind. A newly established Rural Broadband Administration could expand internet access to underserved communities, while upgrading our electric grid as we transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy.

National Youth Administration (Executive Order 7806)

Then

Spearheaded by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the National Youth Administration was a work and education program for young people which paid college students and other young people for part-time work, including job training.

Now

Young people have been hardest hit by the economic impacts of the recession, with the unemployment rate of workers 16-29 peaking above 30%. While college was relatively affordable decades ago, the costs have since ballooned.

President Biden should work to make college affordable—and ultimately free—for all who wish to attend, and forgive the skyrocketing student loan debt crisis to prevent the younger generation’s economic prospects from being underwater for further decades.

New Deal Executive Orders

While much of the New Deal was done in coordination with Congress, FDR exercised a level of executive power never before seen in the US, and never seen since.

His work included a record-shattering 3728 executive orders. In fact, each of the programs detailed above was established at least partially via executive order, not to mention the many regulations and appointments made to oversee the New Deal.

Horizontal bar visualization comparing number of executive orders between presidents with text reading, "His work included a record-shattering 3728 Executive Orders during his presidency." Bars read: "Franklin Delano Roosevelt 3728, Trump 194, Obama 276, Bush 291, Clinton 364, H.W. Bush 166, Reagan 381, Carter 320, Ford 169, Nixon 346, Johnson 325, Kennedy 214, Eisenhower 484, Truman 907"

On the campaign trail, Joe Biden said he wanted to be a Rooseveltian president.

To live up to that, he needs to adopt a central mandate that unites the work of our government to meet the existential crises of our time.

At a time when millions are out of work, we need a federal office with the power and access to coordinate federal agencies in a society-wide mobilization that employs millions, decarbonizing our economy.

Government building illustrations on a yellow background with text "We can structure a similar economic mobilization, and it should come straight from the office of the President. This will require he creation of a new Office of Climate Mobilization that works across the cabinet to align every federal department to this national mission.

Imagine the possibilities if every department in the Cabinet worked together:

  • Millions of new energy-efficient public housing units built by the Department of Housing and Urban Development…
  • …connected to the region around them by efficient roads and well-developed public transit under the Secretary of Transportation…
  • …all integrated into an expanded, fully green electrical grid overseen by the Department of Energy…
  • …while the workers on each project are protected by an aggressive Department of Labor.

With our entire executive branch working in tandem, we can meet the challenge of climate change and create millions of good jobs.

Illustrated city on yellow background with text "We need a massive investment in infrastructure from the construction and installation of new green energy facilities, to the upgrading of our buildings' energy efficiency, to the revival of our public transportation."

Where the New Deal went wrong

Joe Biden should also learn from FDR’s mistakes.

For electoral support, FDR compromised with racist Southern Democrats, ignoring or in some cases worsening racial segregation. That can’t happen today. Biden must do the reverse, investing first and most in communities that are on the frontlines of environmental injustice.

That requires having the right people at the table. Biden’s administration can’t be dominated by corporate interests; it needs to be filled with organizers who have a history of fighting for working people and for justice.

Biden Must Declare a Climate Emergency

In 1933, Roosevelt invoked the National Emergencies Act to act in the face of the Great Depression.

Biden should follow suit.

This weekend, Biden said “Just like we need a unified national response to COVID-19, we need a unified national response to climate change. We need to meet the moment with the urgency it demands as we would during any national emergency.“

We agree. For starters, he should declare the climate crisis a national emergency, invoking the NEA (as FDR did), and the Defense Production Act. This isn’t politics; it’s reality. We are in a crisis, and emergency alarms have been blaring for some time. It’s time to act like it.

If you’ve been following the news about COVID, you’ll know that – after ongoing pressure – Trump leveraged the Defense Production Act (albeit not very well) to secure medical equipment during the pandemic, and Biden is considering doing so to speed vaccine production and distribution (he definitely should).

We can go much farther.

The Defense Production Act can be used to spark a “clean energy revolution”, to use the words on Biden’s climate plan.

We need a federal job creation plan that puts people to work:

  • building a comprehensive renewable energy grid
  • establishing clean energy public transportation systems
  • retrofitting buildings, roads, and highways for energy efficiency
  • responding to climate emergencies, saving families caught in the path of wildfires and hurricanes, and helping them rebuild or relocate in the aftermath.
  • creating systems of climate resilience in communities susceptible to climate emergencies.
  • constructing energy efficient affordable or public housing across the nation.
  • and more.

This isn’t the time for tweaks and regulations. It’s the time to turn the full eye of our government, industry, and society towards averting climate change, before it’s too late for humanity.

The Role of the Movement

This is Joe Biden’s FDR moment. If he meets it, we can avert climate change and create millions of good jobs with the same plan, leaving us with cleaner air and water and soil.

But it’s not going to just happen by itself. We have to fight for it.

Like Biden, FDR was elected and pushed into action by popular movements demanding change in a time of crisis. FDR wasn’t elected a radical, but he was pushed by movement organizers into action. Once, after meeting with a group of activists, he said, “I agree with you, now go out and make me do it.”

That’s our job: to continue laying on so much public pressure that Biden—and Congress—will not deprioritize the urgency of climate change, the necessity of bold action.

When he first met with his Labor Secretary, Frances Perkins, she presented Roosevelt with a series of progressive proposals (including Social Security and a minimum wage), and said, “Nothing like this has ever been done in the United States before. You know that, don’t you?”

That’s our job: to dream up the unthinkable and fight for it. Frances Perkins’ statement holds true now. Nothing like this has ever been done in the United States before.

As a result of the pressure placed on FDR over his terms, he lived up to her prophecy and changed the nature of American government.

It’s up to us to make sure Biden continues to live up to this moment. This month’s progressive environmental picks (Gina McCarthy and Ali Zaidi in particular) are a good first step, and the new appointees to the National Economic Council are also promising. Having one of the earliest Green New Deal cosponsors as Secretary of the Interior certainly won’t hurt.

But the work can’t stop there.

We’re gearing up to mobilize for the organizing that will bring about the next steps. The Decade of the Green New Deal starts now. And we need you.
Join us Tuesday, December 22, from 8-10pm EST for our GND year 1 training.

It’s our party now

Jes Negron |

In 74 days, Joe Biden will be the President of the United States. It’s official (finally).

But it feels bittersweet. 70 million people still voted for Donald Trump. I hoped for a firm rejection of Trumpism and a “fuck you, you fascist fuck” landslide. I hoped that a worsening climate crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, and economic recession would be enough for voters to wake up. But no. Racism nearly won again. In this moment of near national collapse, 47% of Americans still clung to their unapologetic white supremacist President. They lost—but this narrow margin still cuts deep. As a Black, queer woman—it hurts. I had a bit of faith in my country this time around, to cast a ballot that says: I matter. Once again, I am disappointed.

But not in us. We worked our asses off and carried more than our fair share this election (see our long list of achievements) because even if nearly half the country won’t say it, we will: we matter.

There is a long fight ahead of us to abolish and rebuild the systems that do not think we matter. But over the next decade, we will align America’s moral compass and point it toward the common good of all people: justice, equity, and science.

We will point ourselves toward the decade of the Green New Deal. Today is Day Zero.

Movements won this election for Joe Biden. Sunrise and other grassroots community organizations understood the stakes, put our differences aside, and mobilized our political power machine for climate, economic, immigration, and racial justice. We organized hard, contacted millions of voters, and cast the deciding ballots in critical areas for this election.  

In particular, Joe Biden has young voters of color to thank. We turned out to vote in record highs—the highest in history—but not for him. We voted to save ourselves. We are fighting for existential survival on three fronts: the climate crisis, COVID-19, and white supremacy. And we cast our ballot only to vote out an openly racist administration that is especially hellbent on the destruction of our people and planet. The American system, by design, works to oppress our voice and exploit our bodies. We do not expect Joe Biden to fix it. We expect him to stand aside and allow us to fix it. Biden owes his victory and his administration to us. And we will not let him forget it.

During the election cycle, we pushed Biden as far as possible. In his $2 trillion “Build Back Better Plan” we won some important commitments: 100% clean energy by 2035, big investment in frontline communities, and the creation of 10 million or more new jobs.

We backed Biden’s plan for the sake of defeating Trump. But it’s time for his Green New Deal Jr. to grow up. Some key pieces are missing: end fracking and just transition for fossil fuel workers and communities. We went backwards on climate under Trump, so we need to take some extra steps forward to make up for lost time. And fast. Science and justice demand a full Green New Deal. 

The people demand bold and progressive climate action too. Our progressive messaging carried this win for Joe Biden, and campaigns that pandered to moderate and centrist voters lost. See: Amy McGrath in Kentucky. Progressive candidates with Green New Deal platforms won big across the board. The Squad grew this election, but our majority in the House of Representatives shrunk.

Florida is a perfect example. We lost there by a 4% margin, but an overwhelming majority passed a $15 state minimum wage. Floridians voted for progressive policy and against a centrist candidate. The Democratic party ignored that winning populist, leftist energy, stubbornly stuck to their old playbook, and lost the state. Look at Fair Fight and New Georgia Project, or Arizona’s LUCHA. These organizations invested in progressive, long-term community organizing, rooted in the needs of working people and aimed at deep structural change. They flipped their states, not the Democratic party.

Centrism won’t solve systemic racism, unprecedented economic inequality, and existential climate collapse. People know it, and that’s how they voted. They voted for something visionary and different—on the left and right.

Read the room Pelosi and Perez, Feinstein and Schumer. People do not want status quo centrism. You nearly cost us the election but we won it back, and we will never listen to you again. You’ve proven you are out of touch with modern politics and it’s time to pass the torch to the next generation of the party.

And we are going big and bold and progressive.

I will be honest—it will be difficult to push through the big, structural changes required for our vision of a Green New Deal without a majority in the Senate. But hope isn’t lost there. We still have a good shot with these two run-off races in a freshly blue Georgia. Over the next few weeks, we have to throw all our movement energy behind Reverend Warnock and John Ossoff and try to flip the Senate. 

I’m going to Georgia to knock doors, and I know I’ll be seeing some of you there too.

And, even without the Senate, Biden has a clear path for immediate climate action and the mandate of the people to lay the foundation for the Green New Deal.

We have a long list for President Biden on Day One. I hope he plans on a working lunch:

  • Establish an Office of Climate Mobilization and appoint a director that reports directly to the President to coordinate an all-government mobilization to confront the crisis, just like we mobilized to address the existential threat of Nazi Germany in WWII.  
  • Appoint a Climate Cabinet that would work with the Climate Mobilization Director to ensure that every agency — Treasury, Labor, Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, and more — is working towards a Green New Deal
  • Declare a climate emergency, and mobilize the full powers of the federal government to combat the crisis, including new standards for clean electricity, vehicles, and buildings, and putting government spending to work towards a clean energy economy.
  • Take action on environmental justice at home and abroad by re-establishing and  strengthening environmental justice laws and re-entering the Paris Climate Agreement 
  • Stop digging the hole deeper by ending fossil fuel leasing on public lands and waters and refusing to subsidize or bail out fossil fuel polluters. Revoke permits for Keystone XL Pipelines and shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline. 
  • Establish a climate test to ensure that no new infrastructure is built that would worsen the climate crisis 
  • Advance Indigenous sovereignty and ensure free, prior and informed consent for Indigenous peoples for all decisions that affect them and their traditional territories
  • Instruct the Department of Justice to prosecute the fossil fuel executives that knowingly caused the climate crisis and inflicted intentional harm.

(And this is the just short version of our list.)

On Day One, he can start our decade of the Green New Deal. The people’s mandate demands it. He said so himself in a speech on Friday.

We elected him, he represents us, and now we have to make sure he delivers on his promise to be a President to all people—including those long forgotten and neglected by the system. We will hold him to it. To use his own words: climate is a “moral obligation” and it is the “number one issue to face humanity.”

We will make sure he remembers that we sacrificed our youth to fight for this planet. That we have other dreams besides climate organizing and activism. We’re trapped, unable do anything else with this carbon clock ticking in our ears, water rising past our knees, heat searing the back of our necks—it’s too fucking hot. Joe Biden needs to feel that heat too.

So now it’s time for our movement to do what it does best: Organize. Recruit. Train. Act. We continue to build up the most powerful political machine in American politics. Young people of color won this election—and young people of color will make this movement stronger. This isn’t just the white climate kids’ movement anymore—this is an intersectional movement for justice. Racial justice, economic justice, immigration justice—it’s all climate justice. And in our decade of the Green New Deal, justice will be front and center.

We need to organize and pressure Biden with all our might to make sure justice is his priority, too. 

And that’s just until 2022. The midterm Senate map is heavily in our favor. We can win big and pack a Senate with Green New Deal champions. And we will. We could have done it this year, but the party elites scoffed at progressivism. They chided us to be patient and trust that moderate centrist candidates would unify the country.

Predictably, they were wrong. Over 70 million Trump votes. Six House seats lost. A Senate majority hinging on Georgia run-off election miracles. 

The Democratic party failed us and nearly cost us our future. If not for the movements who mobilized despite them, Trump may have won. The old, corporate Democrats are done. The writing is on the wall.

This is our party now.

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