As a public servant, I am a member of AFSCME Local 3599, the Upstate Environmental Protection Technical and Professional Employees, part of District Council 37 of New York City. Our local’s highly technical and professional members ensure approximately ten million people receive high quality drinking water.

Not only are government unions protectors of the environment, they have also been strong advocates for climate-friendly policies.

In 2019, government workers and their supporters forced an end to President Trump’s shutdown of the government and used the threat of a general strike to keep the government open. 

Our annual Transit Equity Day featured people from around the country taking action for better, more reliable, and more equitable transit. Our livestream for the event also showcased many little-known local transit justice initiatives.

A diversified transportation system will not only reduce emissions faster, provide more mobility for more people, and lessen the burden of mineral extraction for batteries–but also stimulate millions of new, dignified jobs across the supply chain.

January 2025 was the warmest January on record, with average global temperatures of 3.13 degrees Fahrenheit (1.74 degrees Celsius) – significantly above the target set by the Paris Climate Agreement. 

Jeremy Brecher’s new book The Green New Deal from Below is hitting the media. Watch a Rutgers LEARN webinar about the book.

A new article by Loyola University professor Urooj Raja says that “essential workers” are “bearing the brunt of climate change.” 

Each issue of Making a Living on a Living Planet we feature a member of the LNS network. This time it’s LNS’ new Young Worker Organizer Martina Manicastri.

The Labor Network for Sustainability mourns the catastrophic loss of life and homes in California.

According to a statement on the Los Angeles fires by the Labor Network for Sustainability, “The fires are not a natural disaster.”

Mass mutual aid operations, demands for disaster preparedness, and calls for climate readiness are just a few examples of the working class responding to the climate catastrophe brought by the extreme Santa Ana windstorm and devastating wildfires on January 7th in Los Angeles.

Unions such as the Los Angeles Federation of Labor and the California Teachers Association are providing resources to impacted communities. We applaud UTLA’s leadership in the unified response from united unions in the LA Unified School District to protect children and their families during this ongoing tragedy.

The Labor Network for Sustainability issued a report January 1st titled Defending Society Against MAGA Tyranny: A Prospectus for Action. The report, authored by labor historian and LNS co-founder and senior strategic advisor Jeremy Brecher, says…

This past December, I had the privilege of traveling to four incredible cities across the globe to discuss how we can build the power necessary to challenge the fossil fuel industry, strengthen worker power, and protect our planet. Each stop underscored the urgency of our mission and the shared struggles we face in this fight.