Just days after the most recent oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach, Governor Gavin Newson came to Orange County. After approximately 25,000 gallons of crude oil flowed into the Pacific Ocean, in response to the renewed call to ban offshore drilling, the governor commented: “It is not complicated to ban new drilling. The deeper question is how do you transition and still protect the workforce?”

I belong to what Newson said about the labor force. As a member of United Steelworkers Local 675, I have worked at the Los Angeles refinery for more than 22 years. USW represents thousands of workers in Los Angeles, Kern, and Contra Costa counties who operate refineries, oil wells, pipelines, and terminals. In the past 100 years, our workers have appeared and worked hard during earthquakes, riots, world wars, fires, and recent pandemics. We provide fuel for air travel, backup generators for hospitals, and materials for syringes that are vital to our control of the coronavirus crisis.

We felt that our work was threatened even before calling again to stop drilling. When we watch a football game, we will see repeated advertisements for hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as now for electric trucks such as the Ford F-150 Lightning. In California, every new car sold after 2035 is an electric car.

Write on the wall. As California pursues its goal of reducing emissions by 40% by 2030, the closure of the oil and gas industry means that approximately 37,000 fossil fuel workers will need to be re-employed, while another 20,000 workers will voluntarily retire in the next nine years.

My father always said: "If you don't plan, you plan to fail." Although the energy transition is inevitable, the fair version is not. Workers know what happens when the entire industry disappears: The company is behind us, squeezing the last drop of work from a dying car factory, steel plant or coal mine, and shutting it down overnight, destroying the community and causing workers to lose their jobs and pensions. Gold and health care. The fear of unemployment is real because there is no plan when to start phasing out the business.

Newsom said new California oil drilling must be withdrawn from homes and schools

The driving force behind Governor Gavin Newsom's decision was the public health risks associated with oil and gas production.

We are also concerned for our communities: the loss of tax revenue will weaken county and city budgets and hinder our schools, libraries and other services. Our loss of high-paying jobs will have a serious ripple effect, especially in Kern County and Contra Costa County.

Many people talk about "just transition", but we have never seen it. Until we see a detailed, well-funded national safety net and job creation, no worker or community member will believe that a fair transition is possible.

In order to provide these safety nets, California needs to establish a fair transition fund for fossil fuel workers, covering wage replacement, income and pension protection, health care benefits, relocation, and peer counseling for professional and personal support. It should provide opportunities for education and training for existing and future safe and healthy jobs. California also needs to consider the funding gap that communities face as the tax base shrinks so that schools and libraries can remain open.

In the long run, labor transformation should mean creating stable jobs with good salaries and benefits. Now, our income far exceeds the minimum wage, which means we can support our family. Many of us can own houses with fossil fuel jobs, and some of us earn six figures. If we start a new job, we hope to continue to support the people we love.

Why the California Oil Workers Union lags behind clean energy

Spoiler alert: this is about work.

By investing in California’s climate goals, we can create good new jobs for fossil fuel workers and others. USW Local 675 is one of 20 unions supporting the California Climate Employment Program, including three fossil fuel unions, which was published in June and is led by economist Robert Pollin.

Using funds from the California budget, federal funds, bonds, and new revenue sources, the plan outlines $70 billion in public investment annually for safety net programs and renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, infrastructure upgrades, and ecological agriculture. The goal is to reduce emissions and create 1 million new jobs in California by 2030. This will create opportunities for electricians, carpenters, bus drivers, teachers, engineers, planners and maintenance workers-including workers affected by the pandemic.

The best way to ensure that these are good jobs and reduce the gap is to ensure that they are union jobs. Data shows that union representation means higher wages, better benefits and working conditions, and a better life for workers and the communities they support.

With a well-funded and fair transition plan—meeting the urgent needs of workers and communities for safety nets, and providing a bold vision to reorganize our economy—we can quickly kick-start the recovery and push California's workers, communities, and the planet to a better place. The safe direction of the future.

Norman Rogers is the second vice president of United Steelworkers Local 675.

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