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LABOR & CLIMATE NEWS
UAW President: “Use Auto Profits to Address Inequality and the Climate Crisis”
In a September op-ed, UAW President Shawn Fain and Congressman Ro Khanna say record auto profits should be used to address inequality and the climate crisis.
Exposing Efforts to Divide Climate and Labor Advocates
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.”
Labor Joins Climate March
In a climate mobilization endorsed by 30 labor unions, an estimated 75,000 people took part in a March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City on September 17. Chris Silvera, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 808, addressed the rally…
Youth Climate Corps Launched
President Joe Biden announced a new initiative to train young people for jobs in the clean energy economy.
Help for Fossil Fuel Communities
The federal government is launching a series of Rapid Response Teams (RRT) to help communities impacted by recent or impending closing of fossil fuel facilities.
Local Green New Deals Are Creating Jobs
Despite opposition to a national Green New Deal by rightwing politicians and the fossil fuel industry, many “Little Green New Deals” are under way at the local and state level. A new commentary by LNS co-founder and senior advisor Jeremy Brecher called “The Green New Deal from Below Means Jobs” describes how they are already expanding the number and improving the quality of jobs.
Labor Joining September 17 NYC Climate March
On September 17 thousands of people will march in New York City calling on President Biden to make good on his promises to deliver a just transition for workers and our communities, to provide solutions to the economic and climate injustices we face, and to end fossil fuels. Five hundred organizations have endorsed the march. For more information on the March including list of endorsers visit https://www.endfossilfuels.us
LNS Webinar: Where Is This Train Going?
Ever wonder why train tickets are so high but service is so low? What is the cause of all these derailments? What can the public do? Railroad Workers United has created a campaign to transfer this ownership of the Class 1 railroads to the public, but they need your support! Please join us for a webinar series where we will hear from: railroad labor members, environmental and climate justice partners, and transportation academics.
Climate Movement Stands with UAW
The Labor Network for Sustainability is spearheading a climate movement solidarity initiative for United Auto Workers (UAW) currently bargaining a union contract with Big 3 Auto companies (General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis). The initiative launched on August 14 with a Climate Movement open letter to Big 3 Auto CEOs, urging them to ensure that the auto industry’s clean energy transition is a just transition by accepting UAW’s contract demands.
Report on LNS Just Transition Convening
Over July 21st and 22nd, the Labor Network for Sustainability hosted a two-day convening in Denver, Colorado entitled: “The State of Transition: Lessons from Colorado and Beyond!” LNS convened labor, climate, environmental justice, and social movement allies to broaden and deepen an understanding of existing just transition efforts and to gain insights on how we can better support labor-climate organizing on the ground.
LNS Supports Workers’ Demand to Build Green Locomotives
1400 workers in Erie, PA have been out on strike since June, demanding that their employer, Wabtec, start producing green locomotives. In a statement of solidarity, the Labor Network for Sustainability said…
Amazon Workers Walk Out to Demand Climate Protection
Hundreds of workers at Amazon’s main headquarters in Seattle held a walkout May 31 to protest the company’s backtracking on its commitments to climate protection.
Workers vs. Heat
UPS Workers Win Heat Protections Faced with a threatened strike – including “practice picket lines” — by its 340,000 union employees, UPS has agreed to a contract that provides major gains in wages and working conditions for its Teamsters’ members. The contract includes elimination of a “two-tier” wage rate; significant wage increases, especially for the lowest paid workers; and combining part-time jobs to provide new full-time jobs.
Montana Youth Win “Strongest Decision on Climate Change”
On August 14 Montana district court Judge Kathy Seeley declared Montana’s fossil fuel-promoting laws unconstitutional and enjoined their implementation. In a 103-page order, Judge Seeley said that by prohibiting government agencies from considering climate impacts when deciding whether or not to permit energy projects, Montana is contributing to the climate crisis and stopping the state from addressing that crisis.
Blueprint Issued for Chicago Green New Deal
On July 6, newly elected Mayor Brandon Johnson’s transition team provided the city plan for a “Chicago Green New Deal.” Mayor Johnson, a longtime Chicago teacher and union organizer, ran a social justice campaign stressing the disproportionate impacts polluting industry and changing climate have on communities of color and low-income neighborhoods.