Building The Workforce to Prevent Wildfires
Through Training Workers
Our workers are safer, more efficient and more professional than the competition because they complete 24 separate trainings in hazardous fuels management, wildfire resilience education and NWCG-certified courses like:
- Basic Wildland Firefighter (S-130)
- Wildland Safety Training Annual Refresher (RT-130)
- Wildland Chainsaws (S-212), Ignitions Operations (S-219)
- Followership to Leadership (L-280).
Our training series also includes a variety of on-the-ground training opportunities such as: understory thinning, shaded fuel break development, roadside hazardous fuels reduction, defensible space work, WFAP assessments, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and more.
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Through Paying Family Sustaining Wages
Building off the work of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Living Wage Calculator, RFCA and NBJWJ have determined $35/hour to reflect the true cost of living in Sonoma County. By comparison, the average job in vegetation management in Sonoma County pays $15-18 per hour. These family sustaining wages allow us to grow and professionalize the workforce necessary to meet the scale and demand of vegetation management.
Through Working With Our Partners
Our biggest local partner is North Bay Jobs with Justice (NBJwJ), a growing grassroots coalition of over 30 community and labor organizations building power and winning economic and racial justice on the frontlines of climate change in Sonoma, Napa and Marin Counties. Resilience Works trains and employs members of NBJwJ's membership, allowing them to enjoy increased wages and opportunity in the growing sector of climate mitigation. Some of our other local partners include:
- The Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District
- Audubon Canyon Ranch’s Fire Forward Program
- Tribal Eco-Restoration Alliance
- The Watershed Research and Training Center
- Sonoma Ecology Center