Introducing CBARC

At Jobs to Move America (JMA), we have trailblazed the use of community benefits agreements (CBAs) in the manufacturing sector. We are proud to officially launch the Community Benefits Agreement Resource Center (CBARC) as a unique initiative to ground our work and to provide support, guidance, and resources to further grow and encourage robust and equitable agreements.

Through CBARC, we are hopeful that communities and employers will be able to further discuss and develop strong, beneficial agreements that center workers and their communities, while also helping industry leaders seeking to build a diverse and skilled workforce for the next generation of advanced and clean technologies. 

CBARC plans to provide a variety of materials and resources to those seeking to develop community benefits frameworks that benefit workers and communities most impacted by the development of advanced and green technologies. We will be further developing our resource library to provide more of these CBA development tools over the coming months and year.

To date, CBARC staff have also participated in several public engagement opportunities to share our vision for strong and equitable CBAs. These include panels and conferences with:

• The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine
• The Center for Economic Workforce Development (CEWD), Jobs for the Future and What Works+
• The Center for Community Change
• Netroots Nation
• “America is All-In and The Bullard Center for Environmental Justice
• The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
• The Economic Policy Institute’s Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN)

We will also continue to participate in public conversations about the benefits and mechanics of CBAs, attend panels and conferences hosted by a variety of community, government, and industry stakeholders in order to promote and effectuate best practices and to adapt existing frameworks for local communities and organizations working on these endeavors.

As we continue to build on our work and provide additional resources and support, we encourage community and industry stakeholders to reach out to us so we can engage in meaningful conversations about how we can ensure that all of us – workers, communities, and businesses working in green technology – have an opportunity to thrive.