“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.” -Margaret J. Wheatley
“Company towns” were places throughout the United States where one company was the principal employer. In addition to providing needed jobs, the company owned some of the town's amenities, such as stores and recreational facilities. These towns were often near areas rich in natural resources. For example, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where my grandmother lived, was rich in iron ore and lumber. Henry Ford operated sawmills and factories in the region. The company owned homes where employees lived with their families.
When I was a child, my grandmother recounted a story about a woman she knew who, as a little girl, lived with her family in one of these Ford homes. When her father died, the widow and her children had little time to vacate the house and find a new place to live.
In nearby Niagara, Wisconsin, where my mother grew up, the paper plant that employed much of the town for many years built a skating rink for the town's children. The mill produced tons of paper for newspapers and magazines; every family in Niagara had members working in it. The paper mill's ownership repeatedly changed over the years as the mill became less profitable, and the town became increasingly economically depressed. In 2008, the last version of the paper mill shut its doors with little notice, and the remaining 300 people with jobs in the town of 1500 were out of work.
In company towns of the 20th century, the dynamic was one in which the employer held the power. While they offered needed jobs, there was no recognition of the inherent value of the community and its resources, human and natural. The company was an employer and benefactor, and it was seen as their right to extract what they could, both in terms of natural resources and human labor, often for little cost.
The more modern version of this sort of “noblesse oblige” story is when companies propose development and get sweet deals from the local government, often in tax abatements. In return, they offer jobs and represent the promise of more revenue for the towns or cities. Much of the time, local governments court this kind of investment and, as an aside, pay lip service to asking companies or developers to study the impact of what they are about to do. For example, there are very few thorough and honest environmental reviews of the effects of these endeavors.
Unlike a century earlier, companies (or developers) are often required to host community meetings where various stakeholders "participate," asking questions and expressing concerns. These meetings do not usually meet the criteria for actual dialogue or relationship-building. The multiple stakeholders know the deal and jockey for position to get some benefit for the community in return. The benefit might be a promise that a company will hire people locally or build a park. If the project is building housing, stakeholders ask developers to offer a certain number of affordable housing units to working class or lower income people. It is not uncommon that the final plans for these projects don't include real community input.
Developers or companies often meet separately with stakeholders to get buy-in to their plans, making non-binding commitments. Commonly, as the project moves along, they’d backtrack or downsize many of their plans for community enrichment, citing costs. The community enrichment plans honored are often those requested from more privileged stakeholders in the larger community.
This model is slowly changing as stakeholders learn the value of building genuine and ongoing alliances. Through the slow and necessary work of relationship building, communities are coming together to demand a seat at the table during all stages of development. While their efforts still might lead to different outcomes than desired, these coalitions are getting savvier and commanding attention. And even when the status quo reigns, the relationships built within the alliances continue to strengthen.
A community benefits agreement (CBA) is an empowerment mechanism by which community representatives can negotiate with developers and corporations for things that will enrich their community. Community benefits agreements reflect a new understanding of the existing value of communities, and there are expectations that companies must be good neighbors and collaborative partners to do business. Importantly, CBAs have teeth; they are contractual agreements that companies cannot go back on.
CBAs are now being used throughout the country, especially in low-income communities in major cities. For example, in 2012, a coalition of 30 organizations, including residents, businesses, and nonprofits, created a job policy for a former abandoned army base that was converted into a high-tech trade and logistic complex. The agreement secured livable wages for all workers and required that Oakland residents fill half the construction and permanent jobs. It also required that ex-offenders be eligible for employment. And for the first time in the United States, the agreement did not allow the use of temp agencies.
And in 2013, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, a coalition of community groups in the Bronx, signed an agreement with the developer for the Kingsbridge National Ice Center. The developer planned to convert a former military armory into a hockey sports complex. The CBA guaranteed living wages and that 51 percent of non-construction jobs would go to neighborhood residents. It also established a developer-funded scholarship fund that would enable residents to learn to install and maintain the site's geothermal and solar power systems.
One area where alliances between communities show promise is in the development of alternative energy. The demand for minerals critical for the energy transition is rapidly increasing. Corporations stand to receive enormous subsidies to participate in the transition to renewable energy. There is now an opportunity for communities to come together and demand early and meaningful participation in these developments.
One of the most urgent areas needing binding CBAs is mining for the minerals necessary for the coming energy transition. Most of the mineral reserves in the United States lie within 35 miles of Native American reservations. Although these communities are some of the largest landowners in the country, they are collectively some of the poorest. Historically, mining on tribal lands has amounted to broken agreements, long-term health problems, and economic exploitation.
When done responsibly, mining can be a sustainable resource and support socioeconomic growth for these communities. Native communities are joining environmental groups to achieve equitable corporate partnerships. They want jobs and meaningful participation in all phases of development. They also want workforce development and mandatory clean water and electricity access. Indigenous peoples must be directly involved in overseeing sustainable techniques to protect the communities' health.
Yet CBAs are not the norm, and mining companies often pay lip service to the desire for community partnerships. U.S. policy needs to catch up to the growing international acknowledgment of Indigenous rights to self-determine the resources on their land. For example, unlike Canada, it does not require the consent of local Indigenous peoples for regulatory approval.
Local and federal policy must change to recognize the inherent value of communities and natural resources in negotiating with companies, especially where our tax dollars support these efforts. We are at a crossroads where the choice is to view communities of people and the natural resources around them as disposable or as essential resources in facing today's substantial challenges. To reach our goals, we must choose the latter option.
Li, I don’t know if you’re reading anything by Chris Balme, but his recent substack sums up so much of what I experience daily, and I’m guessing, a lot of what informs your writing and your explorations in Communities. I wanted to share with you…I think it may resonate familiarly.
https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisbalme/p/a-trap-for-the-earnestand-three-ways?r=phbak&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post