Steelworkers’ ‘Blue-Green Alliance’ Seeks
New Good Jobs and a Clean Environment

American labor is increasing its efforts to promote the latest energy technology as a way to create millions of new good jobs, while assuring a cleaner environment. With our economy in bad shape, layoffs on the rise and good jobs being continually outsourced, the new “green” technology can be a boon to the nation’s workers, as they are being priced out of the global job market.

A significant initiative, the “Blue-Green Alliance,” has been created by a partnership between the United Steel Workers (USW), North America’s largest trade union in manufacturing, with 850,000 members, and the Sierra Club, the nation’s largest grassroots organization, with 750,000 members.. The Alliance will “pursue a joint public policy agenda under the banner of “Good Jobs, a Clean Environment and a Safer World.”

“We have reached a point in the development of a global economy where we can either use our planet’s resources for long-term sustainability or to create an ever more dangerous polarization of wealth and poverty,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club.

Leo Gerard, USW president, commented: “Good jobs and a clean environment are important to American workers — we cannot have one without the other. In fact, secure 21st century jobs are those that will help solve the problem of global warming with energy efficiency and renewable energy.”

Gerard and Pope also stated they would launch a “New Vision for America” tour to highlight the economic benefits of dealing with global warming. The tour will feature events in several cities across the country whose mayors have embraced the Climate Protection Agreement, a movement of more than 200 U.S. mayors who have vowed to take action in support of the Kyoto Treaty on global warming.

The Alliance will be headquartered in Minneapolis in the USW District 11 office. Its executive director will be David Foster, former District 11 director. The Alliance’s organizers will be housed at USW offices around the country.

California Labor to Hold Event on ‘Adopting to Change’

On June 11-13, the California Federation of Labor and allied organizations will hold a conference in Los Angeles on how unions can adopt to a changing economy and environment, with the emphasis on building workforce partnerships. The conference will explore the convergence of climate change policy, the transition to a green economy and growing economic insecurity.

An advance statement by the sponsors says: “Realizing a green economy and its social and stimulatory benefits demands that we address a fundamental challenge: the incongruity between our training and education structures and fast-changing technology, polarization and demographic shifts. The ability of our major public and private institutions to adjust to 21st century realities requires bold economic and labor-market policies, political leadership and taking creative practices to scale.

“The general sessions and workshops confront these themes head-on. Participants will hear experts discuss the potential opportunities for new employment in “green-collar jobs,” and how to build the educational, economic and social supports to make the transition successful.”

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