green unionism

By Jeremy Brecher - Labor Network for Sustainability, April 30, 2023

As key states start reducing their use of coal, oil, and gas, what will happen to the workers who produce, transport, and burn those fossil fuels? The previous Commentary, “Protecting Workers and Communities – From Below: Part 1: On the Ground” described local programs to protect workers and communities from side effects of power plant closings and other climate protection measures. This Commentary portrays state-level programs to guard workers and communities against loss of livelihoods and income from climate protection policies.

While the transition to climate-safe energy will create far more jobs than it will eliminate, that is cold comfort for those whose jobs may be threatened – after all, every job is important if it is your job. So many of those who are advocating for state policies for climate protection are also advocating protections for workers and communities that may be adversely affected by climate measures. And many of the states that are transitioning away from climate-destroying fossil fuels to climate-safe renewable energy are developing policies and programs to protect workers and communities from damaging side effects of that transition. While such provisions are still far from adequate, they provide initial experiments that can lay the groundwork for expanded protections at both state and national levels.

By Todd E. Vachon - Labor Network for Sustainability, April 30, 2023

Conventional wisdom often holds that the interest of workers in jobs and the interest of environmentalists in preserving nature are diametrically opposed, and that they inevitably lead to conflict between environmental advocates and organized labor. A small but growing Labor-Climate Movement, however, is challenging that frame. It is trying to draw the labor movement into the fight for climate protection while persuading the climate movement that it must take a stand for workers and social justice.

Todd E. Vachon’s Clean Air and Good Jobs is perhaps the first book to take a deep dive into the history, goals, and strategy of the Labor-Climate Movement. It combines scholarly research, extensive interviews, and the author’s own participation and observation in the movement to provide what is at once an accessible introduction and an in-depth account of the individuals and organizations that are creating a “just transition” alternative to the disastrous “jobs vs. environment” dichotomy.

If you want to know more about the labor-climate movement – its past, present, and future — read Clean Air and Good Jobs!

Proud disclosure statement: Todd E. Vachon is not only Assistant Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations and Director of the Labor Education Action Research Network at Rutgers University, but also a longtime LNS stalwart.

By Adam Keller - Valley Labor Report, April 30, 2023

By Staff - Labor Network for Sustainability, April 30, 2023

The Labor Network for Sustainability recently endorsed the call of Railroad Workers United for public ownership of American railroads. A video panel on railroad nationalization sponsored by Solutionary Rail included LNS Transit Organizer Bakari Height.

To view the panel:

By Adam Keller - Valley Labor Report, April 30, 2023

By Diego Valerio - Labor Network for Sustainability, April 30, 2023

Powershift is a network that mobilize the collective power of young people to mitigate climate change and create a just, clean energy future and resilient, thriving communities for all. In April a Powershift Convergence brought together thousands of climate and social justice activists in Bvlbancha/New Orleans. Diego Valerio, a first-year apprentice in IBEW Local 716 in Houston, Texas who has been organizing worker-led campaigns with the Texas Climate Jobs Project and who has been active with the Labor Network for Sustainability’s Young Worker Project, provides theses reflections on the Convergence:

I attended the latest Powershift Convergence alongside other union workers, LNS staff, and other allies to discuss and learn about the intersection of labor, youth, and environmental justice organizing with resilience in the Gulf South. Workers from the building trades and educator unions facilitated programming to center the idea that prioritizing the well-being of workers is essential when considering a green transition, and to uplift the need for a just transition.

Participants from organized labor encouraged other participants to think more concretely about ensuring that those who are most vulnerable to job losses or other detrimental impacts are supported, particularly through adequate training and education to transition workers into green jobs. They also advocated that the jobs created in the green transition are unionized, and to create social safety nets for those who are unable to transition to new opportunities.

Those at the bottom are often the ones who face the most significant challenges and consequences, and their involvement and empowerment can generate a greater impact. At Powershift I had the opportunity to interact with many inspiring individuals whose passion and commitment to making a positive impact left a lasting impression on me. I am grateful for these experiences and am determined to contribute to the movement in any way I can going forward.

By staff - Labor Network for Sustainability, April 30, 2023

According to a new study by the nonprofit Energy Futures Initiative, the Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer will create 1.5 million climate and energy security jobs by 2030 – seven years from now. Over 100,000 will be in manufacturing, with 60,000 coming from battery production alone. Nearly 600,000 jobs will be created in the construction sector, for example constructing electrical transmission lines. The electric utility sector will gain 190,000 jobs.

For the full report:

https://energyfuturesinitiative.org/reports/jobs-emissions-and-economic-growth-what-the-inflation-reduction-act-means-for-working-families-jobs-emissions-and-economic-growth/

By staff - Labor Network for Sustainability, April 30, 2023

How are workers around the world viewing climate change and its impact on their jobs, their labor conditions, and their industries? For a quick, revealing glimpse at the answer, take a look at the 15-minute video Talking Union, Talking Climate. It provides a dialogue among workers in California, Norway, and Nigeria about labor conditions in the fossil fuel industry, the shift to a green economy, and what a just transition might be.

The video was made by Vivian Price, a former union electrician, now professor and researcher on labor and climate change and a co-author of the LNS report Workers and Communities in Transition: Report of the Just Transition Listening Project. The three workers are Charlie Sandoval, United Steelworkers, California, Kristian Enoksen,Industri Energi, Norway, Orike Didi, PENGASSAN, Nigeria.

By Anna Markova - Greener Jobs Alliance, April 29, 2023

The weather’s turning warmer – have you got a heatwave plan at work?

The new TUC video and leaflet shows how union reps and activists can plan for heatwaves and cold snaps, save their workplace money on energy bills, and take climate action at work. 

Watch the video here.

• 2023 is predicted to beat heat records again – if workers struggled with hot temperatures last year where you work, this year will likely be worse. 
• Employers will be worried about the cost of keeping the workplace warm in the winter and cool in the summer – energy bills went up two- to three-fold last year and are expected to stay high.

You can protect workers from extreme heat, save energy and mobilise union members by taking climate action.

Read the guide here.

Did you try doing this and want to share your experience? Would you like some more support with future-proofing the building you work in? Emailclimate@tuc.org.uk. 

By staff - Nautilus International, April 28, 2023

Nautilus has warned offshore wind employers against seeking to continue to exploit migrant labour following the expected end of the Offshore Wind Workers Concession (OWWC) on 30 April.

Nautilus has consistently campaigned against the OWWC for disincentivising employers from hiring and training UK maritime professionals to work in the rapidly growing industrial sector of offshore wind in UK territorial waters.

Nautilus International general secretary Mark Dickinson said: ‘The end of the OWWC is a welcome move from government. Employers have had almost six years to develop UK maritime professionals in the skills needed for the growth of offshore wind. Instead, they have used this concession to utilise workers from abroad, often on much less pay and weaker conditions, undermining job opportunities and secure employment for UK resident seafarers.

‘Government must commit to a fair visa system ensuring that any seafarer recruited from abroad to work in the UK offshore wind sector is needed and that they receive wages and conditions reflective of UK standards.

‘If government are serious about their commitment to investing in the UK maritime workforce as highlighted in Maritime 2050, they must ensure a level playing field for seafarers across the offshore wind sector.’

The Home Office have said: ‘The OWWC is time limited and leave to enter under the terms of the concession will not be granted beyond 30 April 2023. The concession will not be renewed beyond this date.’

The concession was introduced as a temporary measure in 2017 and has been extended six times.
Nautilus has raised concerns that while this concession may end, employers may seek to find alternative ways to import and exploit workers from abroad, such as using the Migration Advisory Committee shortage occupation list.