Taking the High Road in the EV Logistics Transition: Workforce Development Strategies for the Inland Empire and Beyond
Executive Summary
The transition to Electric Vehicles (EV) or Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV), part of the broader clean energy transition, promises to improve environmental and public health by reducing harmful air pollution caused by diesel and gas emissions. This report examines the workforce implications of these potential benefits, along with challenges and pitfalls related to this transition within the freight logistics sector of California’s Inland Empire (IE), one of the largest logistics hubs in the US. Drawing from a combination of policy analysis, workshop proceedings, co-authors’ previous research, and original interviews and discussions with stakeholders, including workers, unions, regulators, utilities, community-based organizations, educators, and technical experts, we argue that public and private initiatives to electrify medium-duty and heavy-duty (MD/HD) trucks must combine high environmental standards with principles of equity and good labor standards to ensure that this transition will lead to secure, family-sustaining careers and benefit all workers, including women, immigrants, workers of color, and LGBTQ+ workers.
To achieve this, we recommend the expansion of programs aligned with the core principles of California’s High Road Training Partnerships (HRTPs), which are state-supported, industry-driven workforce programs that prioritize job quality, worker voice, and economic equity. Official HRTPs have specific criteria set by the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB), but they are not without flaws. This report therefore emphasizes best practices within California’s logistics industry more generally while highlighting equity-oriented apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs that are not necessarily HRTPs but nonetheless align with HRTP core principles. We discuss the actual and potential roles of Community Workforce Agreements (also known as Project Labor Agreements) and Community Benefit Agreements in creating HRTP-aligned training initiatives; these are legally binding agreements forged between community and/or labor organizations, employers, and policy-makers. We then briefly highlight other workforce development and green economy initiatives by unions and worker centers that support the development of a more equitable and sustainable economy in the Inland Empire.
Key Recommendations
More specifically, to ensure the the EV transition delivers its promised environmental, health, and economic benefits equitably, we recommend the following:
1. Tie public EV-related funding and subsidies to high labor standards, including requirements for living wages, benefits, local hiring, worker voice, and safety protections.
2. Establish government procurement policies that include high labor standards (e.g. wage floors, skill standards, local hiring) for EV-related infrastructure projects.
3. Expand and strengthen HRTPs and HRTP-aligned apprenticeship programs to prepare workers for EV and green economy jobs.
4. Ensure long-term, stable public funding streams (federal, state, and local) to support EV infrastructure, job training, and worker protections.
5. Integrate gender, racial, and immigrant equity principles into all EV workforce development programs to ensure that underrepresented groups benefit from new jobs.
6. Strengthen worker and community engagement in EV policy planning to address health, safety, and environmental hazards and community benefits associated with EV production, lithium battery extraction, and grid expansion.
7. Support displaced workers, especially from fossil fuel industries, through targeted retraining, transition assistance, wage subsidies, and skill certifications tied to high-road careers.