At oil and gas drilling sites in New Mexico, people work long hours doing hard, dangerous labor.
Marcela Díaz of Somos un Pueblo Unido, an immigrant-led, workers’ rights nonprofit, says more than 40% of the workforce is Latino.
Díaz: “Most of our members in this industry in this region are not unionized. They don’t have pensions. If they’re undocumented, they won’t have access to their social security benefits. And when there are downturns … they don’t have access to unemployment.”
Díaz says that as the clean energy industry grows, many oil and gas workers are eager to transition to new jobs.
But it’s hard to get the necessary training when you’re working long hours, or if you lack English language skills, or live in a rural area.
Díaz: “We just don’t have the kinds of programs that we need in these communities.”
So her group is pushing for more accessible workforce training programs and support that would make it easier for workers to participate.
For example, a new state pilot program will pay workers, regardless of their immigration status, to participate in workforce training programs in renewable energy and other fields.
Díaz says it’s an important step toward helping people who have provided essential labor for the state’s oil and gas industry move into safer, clean energy jobs.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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