labor and environment

By Megan Gordon and Alex Callahan, et. al. - Pembina Institute, December 14, 2023

Canada has 26 years remaining to achieve net-zero by 2050. The focus of energy experts and government officials to date has been on the technical solutions needed to achieve deep emissions reductions. What is becoming increasingly clear is that a shift of this magnitude cannot happen without the participation of the workers and communities that drive Canada’s economic engine and who will drive its decarbonization efforts. Engaging Canadian workers and communities in the transition to net-zero requires a broad, systems-focused, and wholistic approach.

Reducing emissions without a plan for workers leaves workers and industries with unanswered questions. The Sustainable Jobs Blueprint series co-developed by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Pembina Institute aims to offer a pathway to ensure industrial change and decarbonization is informed by social dialogue focused on creating new, good jobs, ensuring workers have a clear path forward.

This second report offers advice on the tactics the federal government can use as it makes investments and develops programs, with the goal of better and more fair outcomes for present and future workers as well as communities. We recommend the federal government take steps to advance the following seven worker- and economy-focused actions, discussed in greater detail in the report.

Download a copy of this publication here (Link).

By Union Jake, Steve Early, and Adam Keller - Valley Labor Report, November 30, 2023

By Ben Crawford and David Whyte - Institute of Employment Rights: Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice, November 23, 2023

For further background, visit this site.

Co-authors of the report, David Whyte, Queen Mary University of London and Ben Crawford, The London School of Economics, argue that the transition away from a carbon-based economy relies on the collective action of workers and their organisations, challenging an economic system focused on extracting value at any cost. While the primary analysis addresses the British context, the authors acknowledge the global nature of ecological sustainability and its transformation of social existence both within and outside the workplace.

Focusing on the economic sphere of production as the engine of climate change, the authors contend that the future of the planet relies heavily on workers' power and collective action. Contrary to decisions made in boardrooms and cabinets, they stress that a sustainable transition depends on workers and their communities organising a new social and economic system.

Co-author of report Professor David Whyte, and Director of the Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice, Queen Mary University of London explains: “Time is running out for us. We don’t have time to wait politely until employers decide to do the right thing. This is why a transition to a low carbon economy has to be led by workers taking action in their workplaces. A sustainable planet has to be based on sustainable jobs and sustainable ways of working and living.”

Trade unions, historically not prioritising climate change in bargaining, have a rich history of environmentalism and struggles against the commodification of labour. The pamphlet argues for a "secret solidarity" between workers and nature, emphasising the shared interest in slowing down production processes causing social and environmental harm.

To achieve a transition at the necessary scale and pace, the pamphlet proposes priorities for the trade-union movement:

1. Empowering Members: Workers must put climate change on an industrial footing, building a grassroots power base through coordinated workplace representatives and political education.
2. Integrating Climate Bargaining: Climate bargaining should be integrated into campaigns for employment rights, demanding a statutory basis for the right to bargain on climate and ecology.
3. Allocating Resources: Trade unions must allocate greater resources to climate campaigning, countering the false dichotomy between jobs and a green economy and advocating for public ownership of key sectors.
4. Engaging Globally: Unions should organise and recruit along global supply chains, recognising the need for international coordination and bargaining.

The report concludes by urging a transformative approach to just transition, where workers and trade unionists rethink the production and purpose of value, ensuring products and services align with socially useful and sustainable goals. The call is clear: workers must harness their collective power to lead the way towards a low-carbon economy.

Download a copy of this publication here (PDF).

By Kalina Arabadjieva, et. al. - European Trade Union Institute, October 30, 2023

By Larisa Manescu - Common Dreams, October 30, 2023

WASHINGTON - The United Auto Workers has announced tentative agreements in their contract negotiations with the “Big Three” Automakers: Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors.

Wins from the tentative agreements:

• All three agreements will increase base wages by 25% through April 2028;
• Ford’s deal creates a pathway to allow workers at future battery plants, including the new EV complex in Tennessee, to join the union and be included in the master agreement;
• Stellantis’ deal will reopen the idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois and add a new battery plant in Belvidere;
• General Motors battery production workers will be included under the master UAW contract.

Tens of thousands of UAW workers have been on strike across the U.S. since the UAW contract expired on September 16. The Sierra Club, alongside many in the environment movement, has loudly echoed the demands of auto workers to ensure that the clean energy transition is a just transition.

Next, the tentative agreements for each automaker must be voted on and ratified by UAW members.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:

“As UAW President Shawn Fain has said from the start, ‘Record profits mean record contracts.’ For workers and further ensuring a just transition to clean energy, these tentative contracts are truly historic.

“The transformation of the auto sector – and the economy more broadly – to meet U.S. climate commitments represents a generational opportunity to build an economy that works for everyone. This work will not be easy, but in negotiating historic contracts, UAW has reminded the world what is possible!”

By Ayesha Qazi-Lampert, Kate Delany, David Hughes, Todd Vachon, and Jovanna Rosen - Freedom School, October 16, 2023

By Francesca Gabbriellini and Paola Imperatore - Berliner Gazette, October 16, 2023

Francesca Gabbriellini and Paola Imperatore · Working-Class Environmentalism from Berliner Gazette on Vimeo.

By Svjetlana Nedimović - Berliner Gazette, October 16, 2023

Svjetlana Nedimović · Resisting Green Capital from Berliner Gazette on Vimeo.

By staff - Labor Network for Sustainability, October 6, 2023

A recent article in In These Times by journalist Sarah Lazare says, “Mainstream media coverage of the UAW strike has implied that workers’ demands stand in conflict with achieving climate goals. That’s BS.”

By Larisa Manescu - Common Dreams, October 6, 2023

WASHINGTON - Today, the United Auto Workers announced progress in their contract negotiations with one of the “Big Three” Automakers – General Motors – stating that the automaker has agreed to include battery production workers in the UAW contract, one of the key demands of the union.

Over 25,000 UAW workers have been on strike since the UAW contract expired on September 16. The Sierra Club, alongside many in the environment movement, has been echoing the demand of auto workers to ensure that the clean energy transition is a just transition.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:

“Today we celebrate alongside the United Auto Workers this major advancement in building a more just transition to a clean energy future. Tomorrow, we will participate in a Day of Action to keep the pressure up on the ‘Big Three’ automakers to deliver on all of the union’s demands. Ensuring battery production workers are represented in the UAW contract is critical to ensuring America’s transition to electric vehicles puts workers front and center. We are glad to see GM begin to deliver on a just transition, marking a significant momentum in negotiations. Now all eyes are on Ford and Stellantis to listen to their workers. It’s clear that the public pressure is working – onward!”