A pair of pilot programs meant to financially support and retrain thousands of oil industry workers at risk of losing their jobs due to the state’s climate policies are headed for termination, a year after their launch.
The move comes as those representing the oil industry’s workforce are advocating for the opposite — more public aid as California aggressively pursues its clean energy future. They say a growing number of the Californians who helped build the state’s oil and gas energy systems face an uncertain fate.
“That’s a slap in the face is what that is,” said Tyson Bagley, a second-generation oil worker, said about the state’s support up to this point. “If they want to do this transition the right way, they need our workers, our voices at the table.”
