When Ford released its new hybrid vehicle last week, some environmental groups jeered. But some, including the Sierra Club and others, adopted the positive reinforcement strategy—noting that Ford needs to do more, but applauding the hybrid as a step toward weaning America off its oil habit. Here, Rickert of the Apollo Alliance, argues the new Ford product shows practices that benefit the environment can also benefit workers.
Jeff Rickert is the research director of the Apollo Alliance—a coalition of labor unions, environmental groups and civil rights organizations advocating for a bold investment in clean energy to create jobs and move towards energy independence.
Last week, an American company made history. The Ford Motor Company rolled out its first-ever hybrid vehicle—the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV. The release of the Ford Escape marks the first hybrid vehicle made in America for the American consumer market. It is also the first hybrid in the popular small SUV market.
The production of the Ford Escape signals a narrowing divide in the jobs-versus-environment debate. While some environmentalists rightly point out that Ford still has far to go to improve the fuel efficiency of its fleet, the Escape is without a doubt a step in the right direction. And, as the first hybrid vehicle produced by unionized workers in the United States, the Escape proves that investment in a cleaner environment can create good jobs—jobs with family- supporting wages and benefits like health insurance and pensions.
The nation finds itself at the nexus of a number of crises tied to jobs and oil. American workers face the outsourcing of good manufacturing jobs; a persistent gas and oil crisis has resulted in high prices at the pump; the economy's growth has been slowed by both of these. All this comes against the backdrop of a war whose costs mount daily—both in dollars and the lives of American soldiers and contractors.
The Ford Escape represents the kind of investment that will help the American economy balance its growing energy demand with its environmental responsibilities. The Escape Hybrid will achieve 30 to 36 miles per gallon, or more than a 50 percent improvement over the standard Escape. It will also have extremely low emissions, achieving the California Advanced Technology Partially Zero Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV) standard.
Its production—along with the introduction of hybrid technology in other model lines—is a step toward reducing our oil dependence through fuel efficiency. It will lower emissions that contribute to climate change and environmental health problems. It will also provide financial relief at the gas pump for American consumers by reducing the gallons of gas required for their commutes.
More importantly, it is a foray into a growing market currently dominated by foreign auto producers. The demand for hybrids is growing at an exponential pace. Until now, this demand was entirely met by producers abroad, cutting into the security of an industry that has helped build a stable and highly skilled middle class in America.
To continue to compete in this market, however, America will need to amplify investment. At the current pace of production, companies like Toyota and Honda will continue to dominate the hybrid market. American auto companies, and the nation, will need to commit the resources necessary to bring production of advanced technology vehicles to scale to compete for consumers’ purchases. An immediate and rapid investment to retool assembly lines and fix the incentives for conservation facing American manufacturers is the sort of policy urged by the Apollo Alliance . The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of labor unions, environmental groups, and civil right organization advocating for a bold investment in clean energy to create jobs and move towards energy independence.
"Ford's new hybrid SUV demonstrates that American ingenuity is the solution to inventing our way out of our oil addiction," said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wa., board member of the Apollo Alliance. "But companies like Ford can't do it alone. We need the American government to step up to the plate and make strategic investments to spur private-sector development of clean energy and efficiency technologies like hybrid engines. We need a new Apollo project for good jobs and energy independence, a bold national commitment that will end our over reliance on oil and create millions of new jobs over the next decade."
This message was echoed last week when labor unions and environmentalists convened to celebrate the release of the Escape as it rolled off the line in Kansas City, Mo. The event marked the start of the Green Machines tour—an event organized by the Ecology Center in Michigan—to highlight the work of American producers to meet the growing demand for efficient vehicles. Members of the labor-environmental coalition organizing the Kansas City Green Machines event included The Ecology Center, UAW Local 249, the Sierra Club, United Steelworkers of America, the Apollo Alliance, the Burroughs Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City and the Institute for Labor Studies.
Ending America’s addiction to oil and securing good jobs at home will require a commitment on the scope and scale of John Kennedy's mission to send a man to the moon. We can only achieve this goal with real public leadership to create a cliimate for further business innovation. The release of the first hybrid made in America reminds us that this mission is within our reach.
