Some unions dissented early from AFL-CIO climate policy.  In 1990 the Steelworkers, America’s largest and most diversified manufacturing union with a strong history of environmentalism created an executive board committee on environmental issues and issued a policy statement saying that global warming “may be the single greatest problem we face. Some have compared its possible consequences to the aftermath of nuclear war.” The union cooperated with the Sierra Club and some other environmental organizations to oppose the WTO and demand that trade agreements include enforceable labor and environmental standards - an alliance made famous by the 1999 Battle of Seattle. (more…)

Obama’s climate czar Carol Browner said last week there will be no U.S. climate protection legislation before the Copenhagen conference and that she doesn’t know if a global agreement on binding cuts in greenhouse gas emissions can be made in Copenhagen.  She added that she had hope for progress because the world’s top leaders recognize global warming is a problem.  (more…)

By Joe Uehlein with Jeremy Brecher, Tim Costello, and Brendan Smith

Workers have often felt threatened by measures to protect the environment. Today such fears are likely to be augmented, especially in a time of soaring unemployment, by the large changes necessary to protect the climate from global warming.

Environmentalists have often addressed this challenge by pointing out that a transition to green energy would create far more jobs than it would eliminate. While that may be true, it entirely misses the point. The fact that some people get new jobs provides little solace for the individuals and communities who have lost theirs.

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