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Cites Good Jobs, A Clean Environment
and A Safer World as key points
United Steelworkers (USW) and Sierra Club announced the formation of an alliance Tuesday, June 18 to pursue a joint public policy agenda. The Blue/Green Alliance’s primary focus is Good Jobs, A Clean Environment and A Safer World.
USW is North America’s largest private sector manufacturing union with 850,000, and the Sierra Club is the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization with 750,000 members.
“Our alliance is bringing together what many Americans would view as polar opposites in American society,” Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club said. “While our history tells us that is not true, what is true is that Americans want a powerful and positive vision of their future.”
The alliance allows both organizations to address the great challenges of the global economy in today’s age.
“In 21st Century global economy, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability mean the same thing,” USW International President Leo Gerard said. “You can’t have one without the other. Good jobs and good environment practices go hand-in-hand. It’s both or neither.”
Photo by Bill Burke - Page One Photo
Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club signing agreement with USW International President Leo W. Gerard
Gerard and Pope both signed the alliance, which stated: “This alliance will focus its resources on those issues which have the greatest potential to unite the American people in pursuit of a global economy that is more just and equitable and founded on principles of environmental and economic sustainability.”
Moreover, Gerard and Pope also announced plans to launch a “New Vision for America” tour. It is designed to highlight the economic benefits of dealing with global warming.
“USW believes that global warming is the most serious environmental challenge facing our work and our countries,” Gerard said.
“New Vision for America” tour hopes to feature events in several cities that embraced the Climate Protection Agreement, a movement of more than 200 U.S. mayors who support the Kyoto Treaty on global warming.
The Kyoto Treaty is an agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention to Climate Change (UNFCCC). Countries all around the world are asked to ratify this treaty to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and five other green house gases.
“We need to engage the rest of the world around the Kyoto process,” Gerard said. “We need to pursue emission reductions, greater fuel efficiency and invest renewable energy.”
USW and the Sierra Club currently have joint programs in 15 states, and they hope the Blue/Green Alliance and the implementation of the “New Vision for America” will build on these existing programs. In the past, the organizations have also worked together on several issues, including Clean Air Act, trade reform and corporate responsibility.
Work for the Blue/Green Alliance will begin in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio and Washington. Eventually, USW and the Sierra Club hope to expand their reach to at least 10 more states in the next two years.
“This is a time of great hope and challenge,” Pope said. “Technology and productivity have reached a point where these tools can transform our economy into one where the environmental solution creates the stable jobs of the future.”
David Foster is the first executive director of the alliance, which will be headquartered in Minneapolis, MN in the USW District #11 office. In addition, Blue/Green organizers will be housed in different USW offices around the country.
USW also released it new Environmental Policy Statement in conjunction with the Alliance announcement. The document provides North American workers with a strategic vision on how to fight for both job security and an improved quality of life.
“We look forward to this alliance as a new way of defining our mission in the global economy. Over the last hundred years, our predecessors created a set of organization and social protections – from social security and Medicare to the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts – that defined our values as a country,” Gerard said. “The Blue/Green Alliance was created to create a similar set of social protections.”
Good Jobs, A Clean Environment, A Safer World
A strategic partnership of the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club
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BLUE GREEN ALLIANCE
