Farm work no more

REBECCA PLEVIN/Vida en el Valle

(Published Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 05:06PM)

FRESNO -- José Luis Pérez Robles has picked peaches, cleaned cotton, and worked in construction.

Today, thanks to a green jobs training program open to farmworkers and their dependents, the 27-year-old Selma resident has transitioned out of these seasonal jobs, and into the emerging, solar energy industry.

Last Thursday morning, Robles, who is now a solar installing supervisor for GRID Alternatives, took a quick break from installing solar panels on the roof of a low-income family's home. He said that while the future of the region's renewable energy industry is still unclear, his career path in the industry is as bright as the San Joaquín Valley summer sun.

"I know that if I stick with solar, I'm in good shape," said Robles, who wore a bright orange shirt and a wide-brimmed straw hat. "And not just economically -- I'm doing my part of changing the world, and helping out the environment."

Robles is one of a growing number of former farmworkers and children of farmworkers who are receiving training that is intended to enable them to move out of agriculture -- the Valley's dominant industry -- and into green jobs, which many predict will be the Valley's next boom industry.

Farmworkers who receive training to transition into green jobs could find more stable jobs with higher salaries, job benefits, and the ability to financially support their families, said David Strauss, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs.

"We think these are life-changing situations for people that probably would be otherwise doomed to a life in the fields," Strauss said. There is nothing wrong with fieldwork, he added, but the jobs can be poorly compensated and dangerous.

"We think getting them into positions such as these green jobs really helps change their lives and the lives of their children."

When the country's economic recession caused the Valley's construction industry to grind to a halt, Robles' job options eroded, too.

He turned for help to Proteus, which offers training and employment to residents of Tulare, Kings, Fresno and Kern counties.

The organization gave him the option of, "getting just a job, or getting my education and getting a better job," said Robles, who began working, in order to support his family, as soon as he graduated from Selma High School.

In January, he enrolled in a six-week solar panel design and installation course, one of three green jobs courses offered by Proteus. During the course, he received hands-on training in solar panel installation by volunteering with GRID Alternatives.

He graduated in March, and was hired four days later as a solar warehouse assistant for GRID Alternatives. He was promoted to solar installing supervisor in June.

In the past two years, about 71 percent of students who have graduated from Proteus' green jobs programs have found employment in the field, according to Héctor Uriarte, Proteus' green jobs coordinator.

Entry level jobs in the industry pay betwen $12 and $15 per hour. The state minimum wage is $8 per hour.

"I don't have to worry now about how I'm going to pay my bills," Robles said. "Now I'm making enough to pay my bills, and maybe a little bit extra to spend on my kids, or save for my kids' education."

Last Thursday, Robles helped students currently enrolled in Proteus' green jobs programs to install solar panels on the roof of a southeast Fresno home.

The current students come from backgrounds similar to Robles; they are young men who have experienced the tough work and low pay of agriculture jobs, and are looking for another opportunity.

"I started working in the field -- everyone was working there, so I might as well just work there," recalled 20-year-old Luis Aguilar, of Porterville. "But you have to try to get something better for your life."

He said he had never imagined working in the solar industry but, "I took a chance, and I'm liking it right now."

Inocencio Barrozo, 20, pruned grapes after he graduated from Washington-Union High School. He thought he would continue to work in the fields, but was deterred by the long hours and low wages.

"I like what I'm doing right now," he said of the course. "I pretty much am going to be looking for a job in the same thing."

Uriarte, of Proteus, sees a huge potential for green jobs to transform the regional economy, and the qualify of life of Valley residents.

"We are sitting on the next gold rush," Uriarte said of the solar industry. "This is something that could be harnessed to help our community, and little by little, the community is beginning to become aware of it, and understand the magnitude of it."

"We live in such a depressed economy -- all of our communities need this stability and economic growth."

Some people, though, are cautious when describing green jobs' ability to change the Valley economy, and the lives of farmworkers.

Ernie Flores, director of the Central Valley Opportunity Center, said his organization is building a larger training center, where they plan to offer green jobs training programs.

Still, he is concerned that clients in Stanislaus, Merced, and Madera counties — who generally speak little English, have little formal schooling, and have few employments skills outside of agriculture — will have to compete with those who were displaced from the construction industry and manufacturing for the entry-level green industry jobs.

“We will have clients who are trained and will be able to be competitive for those available jobs, but it all depends on how much of the promise of green jobs is actually going to be realized, how much of it is just being thrown out there by politicians,” Flores said.

The green industry, he said, “will materialize to some extent, but it is not going to be a cure all for all the manufacturing that has closed down.”

Robles, however, is more optimistic. He encourages others to consider enrolling in Proteus’ green jobs training courses.

“I would encourage them to give Proteus a call and get some information on how they can extend their education,” he said. “I’m pretty sure if they take advantage of it, they will land a good job like I did.”