Introducing BEAM’s Good Jobs Framework
As BEAM Circular works to grow the circular bioeconomy, we aim to ensure that jobs created in this emerging sector reflect the priorities of our local communities. This means investing in the creation of good jobs that pay livable wages, provide dignity for workers, grow shared prosperity in the regions we serve, and enable community members to shape the future they hope to build for themselves and their families.
To guide and support these efforts, BEAM Circular has developed a Good Jobs Framework that identifies eight essential components of a high-quality job. These include:
Family-Sustaining Wages: Wages that allow families to meet their needs without public assistance, grounded in local costs of living. Target wage in the North San Joaquin Valley: $32/hr.
Employment Benefits: Health, retirement, and paid leave policies that support stability and wellness.
Right to Organize & Unionize: Support workers' rights to advocate.
Opportunities for Professional Growth: Career ladders and skill-building opportunities for advancement.
Stable & Predictable Schedules: Consistent work hours that allow for life planning and stability.
Sense of Purpose: Work that aligns with worker and community values.
Safe & Healthy Work Conditions: Workplaces free from hazards that promote physical and mental well-being.
Supportive Work Environment: Inclusive, respectful culture that values team input and well-being.
These elements reflect what our local workers and communities consistently name as foundational to a just and functional economy. The priorities outlined in the Good Jobs Framework are grounded in the input of thousands of community members from across the North San Joaquin Valley, gathered over the course of over three years of engagement with residents, workers, and community-based organizations. This input draws upon dozens of direct community conversations led by BEAM Circular, and also incorporates insights from aligned inclusive economic development initiatives including Stanislaus 2030 and North Valley THRIVE. In addition to synthesizing community input, these partner initiatives contributed key research that meaningfully shaped our definitions and distinctions across “good,” “promising,” and “quality” jobs.
The Framework was directly shaped in partnership with our Community Steering Committee, which played a central role in surfacing lived experiences and practical recommendations from across our region. The BEAM Community Steering Committee (CSC) is a group of 17 organizations and community members from a broad range of neighborhoods and populations spanning the three counties of the North San Joaquin Valley. The CSC plays a vital role in integrating diverse local perspectives into BEAM Circular’s activities by advising on strategies for equitable resource distribution, co-designing public education efforts, and supporting the development of community benefit initiatives. The CSC met monthly over the course of six months to discuss, shape, and ultimately approve the Good Jobs Framework, grounding it in the realities and aspirations of our region.
More than a set of value statements, the Framework is designed to support action, offering a “North Star” for good jobs development with multiple audiences in mind. For employers, it provides a foundation for aligning practices with long-term workforce stability. For small businesses, it offers a roadmap and resources that make adopting good job practices more feasible. For partners including workforce organizations, community advocates, and policymakers, it offers a reference point to guide future strategies and economic development investments. BEAM Circular will use it to assess our own practices related to investment criteria and long-term impact evaluation, and to inform ongoing collaboration with industry partners.
The Framework has been directly designed by and for the local communities of California’s North San Joaquin Valley. However, we invite other regions to leverage this Framework as a tool that may inform your own development of strategies and investments that nurture the creation of good jobs grounded in your own community’s priorities and visions for the future.
As the circular bioeconomy continues to take shape, we offer the BEAM Good Jobs Framework as a practical tool for ensuring that as this opportunity industry grows, it does so in a way that prioritizes the people and places that make it possible.
Thank you to our local community members, labor partners, employers, and all collaborators who shaped this resource!
