Edison Lights the Way After the Riots : Utility leads the private sector in launching job training and other programs

True economic recovery for the riot zones of Los Angeles, Compton and Long Beach requires a significant and sustained commitment by business and government. Southern California Edison, a major corporate player in the region, is taking the lead in the private sector with an impressive commitment of $35 million in cash, services and other donations over the next five years.

The utility is donating a large, vacant building it owns in Compton as headquarters for a job-training center. Edison will also spend $1 million to renovate that 15,000-square-foot structure. The center is expected to provide job training for hundreds of men and women every year. A second center, at the utility’s Alamitos Generating Station in Long Beach, will provide job training in that area.

Edison can’t do this big job alone. John E. Bryson, the utility’s chief executive officer, is challenging government, schools, unions and other businesses to provide training in carpentry, plumbing, masonry and other skills that can lead to decent jobs today. Bryson is also seeking commitments for classes in telecommunications, satellite communications and other skills that will be in demand in the next decade.

To increase the odds for success in these programs, Edison employees will act as mentors to students at both centers.

The utility will also help graduates of the programs find permanent jobs. This kind of meaningful training, as the federal Job Corps has proven, can eventually lift an entire family out of poverty.

Job training is only one of Edison’s commitments in the wake of the riots. To help customers who lost businesses or homes in the violence, the utility will forgive their current bills. To help these customers rebuild, the utility will provide low-interest loans on energy-saving equipment. Certainly, other utilities and corporations should follow suit.

Edison is focusing much of its aid on areas where the utility provides service, although the job training and other benefits will be open to people who live elsewhere.

The utility’s generosity also includes making available equipment, volunteers and money to community organizations that are serving the damaged areas, plus $500,000 for educational programs intended to help “at risk” students, including those not fluent in English.

Edison’s $35 million will address immediate riot-related needs and long-term needs in poor areas that have suffered from years of neglect. The donations will contribute to the physical and social recovery of the riot zones.

A thorough regional revitalization will take similarly courageous and lengthy commitments by many other corporations with similar foresight.