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Jobs to Move America (JMA) is a U.S. non-profit 501 (c)(3) strategic policy center that works with manufacturers and communities to create more just, equitable, and diverse jobs. JMA is also a major advocate for union jobs and is partners with over 12 unions.

JMA’s motto is “public good for the most public good” which reflects their work in transforming public spending and corporate behavior. JMA advocates for economic, environmental and racial justice at the forefront of their work. Since its creation in 2013, JMA has been instrumental in the creation of over 2,500 direct factory jobs in the United States and several thousand more indirect jobs across the U.S. focusing particularly in Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Alabama, Mississippi, and California.

History
Jobs to Move America (JMA) began in 2013 with a vision to incentivize the expansion of the US manufacturing industry in a way that would create tens of thousands of new and improved jobs and opportunities for good, career path employment for disadvantaged people across the US. Initially incubated by LAANE and led by LAANE’s founding executive director, Madeline Janis, JMA took on the huge challenge of moving good jobs in transportation manufacturing back to the US.

Through its work, JMA has partnered and worked with hundreds of community groups, labor unions, and environmental allies to create “public good for the most public good.”

Policy work
To achieve its goals, JMA created a new policy framework, called the US Employment Plan (USEP), that can be inserted into the requests for proposals (RFP’s) issued by public transportation agencies when they purchase manufactured equipment for transportation and infrastructure projects. The USEP gives credit within the RFP process to manufacturers that propose to create more and better jobs in the US and to invest in workforce development and apprenticeship programs tied to the execution of an awarded contract.

This policy framework was greenlighted by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in 2014 for use by all transit agencies using federal dollars on bus and railcar purchases with prior approval. In 2016, the department broadened this authorization to make inclusion of programs like the USEP a right for transit agencies without approval.

The USEP was first piloted in 2011 by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and has since been used by agencies across the country, including in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and Minneapolis-St. Paul, to create thousands of jobs for local communities. In New York City, Amtrak used the USEP on a contract awarded to Alstom that would create 1,300 jobs in more than 90 cities across the U.S. In Chicago, the Chicago Transportation Authority used the USEP on a contract with CRRC, which resulted in a new factory on the Southeast side of Chicago, creating over 200 jobs during construction and at least 170 jobs during full production. In Los Angeles, LA Metro applied the USEP on a contract with Kinkisharyo that resulted in a new factory in Los Angeles County and the creation of 404 high quality jobs.

The strategy to win USEPs and more broadly crafted manufacturing careers policies uses the ability of broad coalitions representing local communities, labor, environmentalists and others to exert pressure on public agencies to give priority to bidders on RFPs who commit to recruit, train, hire and retain people of color, women and other disadvantaged workers, including people with records and veterans, and locate their factories domestically.

Collaboration
JMA has worked extensively on creating and perfecting Community Benefits Agreements, or CBAs, which are legally binding agreements between corporations and communities that contain detailed commitments to workers and the local community. Companies are incentivized to enter into CBAs through policy tools such as the U.S. Employment Plan. JMA’s CBAs focus on creating pathways into high-quality, unionized careers for folks facing barriers to employment, such as people of color, women, systems-impacted people, veterans, unhoused or housing insecure individuals, and others. The goal of CBAs is to hold corporations accountable while helping those corporations build economically sustainable systems.

In 2016, JMA Illinois signed a CBA with rail car manufacturer CRRC, and IBEW Local 134, and SMART Local 73, that included a commitment to card check neutrality and created a jobs pipeline for marginalized communities and organizing rights for two labor unions. CRRC is working with the JMA Illinois Coalition to develop a jobs pipeline that includes recruiting and training Black, Latinx, and women workers as well as veterans and formerly incarcerated people, all of whom are underrepresented in manufacturing careers. The jobs pipeline includes both soft and hard skills training, a pre-apprenticeship, and case management support.

In 2017, JMA California signed a CBA with electric bus manufacturer BYD, and SMART Local 105,  covering the manufacturer’s Lancaster, CA plant. The CBA committed BYD to making deep investments in pre-apprenticeship and training programs and set out a goal of recruiting and hiring 40 percent of its workforce from populations facing significant barriers to employment, including people of color, veterans, and returning citizens. The CBA also included a commitment from BYD to work with the JMA coalition to provide other support for workers, such as providing transportation for those without access to a car. When the CBA was renewed in 2020, JMA found that BYD had surpassed its 40 percent commitment and as a result of the targeted hiring program, workers of color comprise 90 percent of BYD’s workforce, with African American workers representing 30 percent of the total workforce. In comparison, workers of color make up just 32.6 percent of the national transportation equipment manufacturing workforce, with African American representation at just 14.1 percent.

In 2020, JMA California signed a CBA with electric bus manufacturer Proterra, and USW Local 675. The CBA included commitments from Proterra to train, support, and hire workers for skilled union jobs in zero-emissions bus manufacturing at Proterra’s City of Industry facility, with a specific goal of 50 percent of new hires coming from communities facing significant barriers to employment, including people of color, veterans, and returning citizens. It also contained commitments to the development of a pre-hire training program, which has run three cohorts since 2020.

In 2022, JMA signed its first multi-state agreement with New Flyer, the largest bus manufacturer in North America. The CBA applies to New Flyer's facilities in Anniston, Alabama and Ontario, California, making this the first CBA in the Deep South. The CBA establishes goals of 45% of new hires and 20% of promotions from groups traditionally not in manufacturing. This includes people of color, women, and veterans.

In the news:
Washington Post article on JMA's agreement with bus manufacturer New Flyer to hire and promote more women, people of color, and other historically marginalized groups: Labor leaders hail bus maker pact to hire more women, minority workers.

Opinion piece by Patricia Todd, the Southern Director at JMA on whether Mercedes, Amazon, and Walmart are deserving of tax subsidies:  Alabama Political Reporter article.

Associated Press article on JMA’s involvement in the campaign to unionize Amazon workers: Amazon, union organizers face off again in Alabama.

External Links:

 * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JobstoMoveAmerica/
 * Twitter: https://twitter.com/JobsMoveAmerica
 * Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/jobs-to-move-america/mycompany/
 * Insta: https://www.instagram.com/jobstomoveamerica/?hl=en
 * Website:  https://jobstomoveamerica.org