Labor Readies for Copenhagen
Cornell ILR's Global Labor Institute is preparing to travel to Copenhagen with a United States labor delegation for the United Nations' Conference on Climate Change in December.
A "Jobs, Justice, Climate" rally Sept. 21 in New York City "helped further set the stage for historic union participation" in the Denmark talks, said Sean Sweeney, institute director.
For the past two years, the Global Labor Institute has helped more United States' unions "engage the UN process and thus become more cognizant of the need for global agreement that's fair, ambitious and binding," Sweeney said in an interview this week.
The institute is organizing workshops in Copenhagen with two global union federations representing workers in the transport, food and agriculture sectors, he said. Jill Kubit and Lara Skinner of the Global Labor Institute will provide technical support for the events.
At the September rally, attended by 700 leaders and activists from the labor and environmental movements, Sweeney introduced the keynote speaker, newly-elected AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
"AFL-CIO … and all the unions in North America … are strongly on board the global campaign to reduce carbon emissions and stabilize climate change," Trumka said. "Working together with environmental organizations … we hope to reverse practices that put our very survival at risk."
The full text of Trumka's speech can be seen at http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/sp09212009.cfm.
Held at the New York Society for Ethical Culture during Climate Week NYC, the event was organized by the Global Labor Institute and Realizing Rights, an organization directed by Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland.
Robinson moderated the program, which included performances by singer Judy Collins and musician Kaki King.
Also speaking was Mohamed Naheed, president of the Maldives and leader of the "V10"-- the 10 vulnerable countries and regions where climate change has already had severe impacts on agriculture and coastal flooding.
Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, referred to the gulf between what's regarded as politically feasible and what science says is necessary in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Other speakers included: Sharan Burrow, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); Juan Somavia, director general of the International Labour Organization; Kumi Naidoo, co-chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP); Jonathan Pershing, deputy special envoy for climate change, U.S. Department of State; Ethan Nuss, Chesapeake Climate Action Network; Carlton Brown, Full Spectrum New York, and climate witnesses Sharon Hanshaw and Constance Okollet.
A cross section of unions attending the event included: Laborers International Union of North America, Service Employees International Union, AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Utility Workers, Actor’s Equity, Seafarers, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Bakery and Confectionary Workers, Domestic Workers United, Musicians, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Writers Guild of America (WGA), United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Transport Workers Union Local 100.
Transport Workers Union Vice President Roger Toussaint spoke at the Sept 21 rally about the need for more sustainable and climate-friendly transportation systems.
The Laborers, SEIU, TWU, AFSCME, Utility Workers, and IBEW -- which attended the September rally -- are sending representatives to the Copenhagen conference, along with the AFL-CIO, Communications Workers of America (CWA), United Mineworkers, Boilermakers, United Steelworkers and the Amalgamated Transit Union, Sweeney said.
They will be "joining a global labor delegation that will be pushing hard for green investments and transition assistance in the new climate treaty," he said.