• Find out where recycling goes and what the final products are. If you don’t have recycling, find out what solid waste company is used and if they have programs for recycling. Many green jobs are started by using locally recycled goods. And, recycling can be a green collar job if the labor standards are good.
     
  • Write a letter to the editor stating that you want to see the resources and political will necessary to bring green-collar jobs to your community If you’d like assistance, email .
     
  • Visit the local workforce development office or TN Career Center to inquire about local training or educational opportunities for green-collar jobs: Report back to SOCM for tracking. See a map of the Local Workforce Investment Areas/Career Centers and contact information here: http://www.tennessee.gov/labor-wfd/cc/ccareas_local.htm and here: http://www.tennessee.gov/labor-wfd/TNlwiaMAP.htm.
     
  • Run for office or support candidates who encourage green job development. Go here for a list of deadlines: http://tnsos.org/elections/ElectionCalendar.php?showall&CalendarType=All%20Key.
     
  • Find jobs labeled green near you and explore what they look like. The TN Dept. of Labor has a list in their Growing Green: The Potential for Green Job Growth in TN (2008), available here: http://bree.tnanytime.org/energy/sites/default/files/GrowingGreenInTN2008.pdf. If you would like to know of others nearby, email .
     
  • Talk to your neighbors, friends, co-workers, or recently laid off folks in your community about organizing a local meeting where SOCM can work with you to do a presentation on green-collar job initiatives in the state.
     
  • Join SOCM’s Green Collar Job Committee: Make connections with others who are working for the same thing you are! Click the following link to join SOCM: http://www.socm.org/index.cfm/m/3