There are an estimated 30 million workers employed in the energy sector worldwide. Mary are precarious jobs that lack union representation and basic worker rights.
United Mine Workers of America,
Union Leaders from 18 countries Convene in New York to Discuss Rising Use of Fossil Fuels, Climate Crisis, and the Need for Bold `Energy Transition' Measures to Protect Workers, Communities and the Environment
Trade Union Roundtable on Energy Emergency: Developing Trade Union Strategies for a Global Transition
October 10 - 12, 2012; NYC District Council of Carpenters, 395 Hudson Street, New York City. See:
http://energyemergencyenergytransition.org/
Convened by the Cornell Global Labor Institute (GLI), a program of the Worker Institute at Cornell, and the New York Office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
To arrange interviews with participants and for other inquiries, please contact:
Cornell GLI: 917 886 1419
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: 917 409 1036
For information on participants:
http://energyemergencyenergytransition.org/program/participants/
Union leaders from 18 countries will arrive in New York on Wednesday (October 10th) for a rare three-day "Energy Emergency, Energy Transition" roundtable to discuss the dramatic projected increase in the use of fossil fuels; the growing power of oil, coal and gas corporations to shape government policy; the deteriorating conditions facing workers in the energy sector; and the disturbing new evidence of runaway climate change. Unions will debate ways to work with others to advance democratic control over energy choices and scale up renewable and low carbon sources of energy in a way that both reduces emissions and pollution and creates decent jobs.
Unions attending the meeting note that governments have failed to negotiate a global climate agreement and that the recent Rio+20 talks concluded with no firm commitments to promote renewable energy or fight climate change. Meanwhile, the World Bank continues to promote fossil fuels and push for more privatization and liberalization. These policies make matters worse for workers, consumers, and the environment. Meanwhile, oil, coal and gas corporations are on course to bring more and more fossil fuels into the global energy system, including `extreme energy' such as shale gas harvested through `fracking' and tar sands oil from Canada.
Leading climatologist James Hansen, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, will address the 75-person gathering during the first session on Wednesday morning, October 10th. Hansen's most recent study on climate change suggests that extreme weather events in the United States in 2012 are solid evidence of the growing impact of global warming and of the need for urgent action. "Unions are an important force globally," says Hansen. "They represent hundreds of millions of workers and their families. The thought of having them joining in the effort to bring about an energy revolution to fight climate change is very exciting. Stabilizing the climate is a battle for survival that needs everyone involved."
Others addressing the group include leading commentator James Gustave Speth, Professor of Law, Vermont Law School; Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch, and Robert Howarth, a Cornell scientist concerned with the global warming effects of methane leakage from `fracking' for shale gas.
From the U.S. labor movement, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 President John Samuelsen will discuss mass transit as a key to environmentally sustainable economic rebound. "Mass transit is under attack from budget cutting and privatization at a time when we need the good jobs that public transportation provides, the economic boost of rebuilding and developing our transportation infrastructure, the affordable mobility for our riders, and cleaner air for all," he said.
The Amalgamated Transit Union will be represented by the leader of the Greyhound bus drivers, Local 1700 President Bruce Hamilton. Along with TWU, Domestic Workers United, and RWDSU, Hamilton's union opposed the Keystone XL pipeline in 2011. "Our union is concerned about pollution and its effects on drivers, transit riders and the health of the public. We take these issues very seriously."
National Nurses Union Vice President president DeAnn McEwen will describe how reforming the financial system - one measure being the Financial Transaction Tax - is key to a truly sustainable economy. "A `Robin Hood Tax' of this nature," she said, "would be an important first step in controlling Wall Street speculation and limiting the anarchy of financial markets. It could also help us meet important social and environmental needs - including health and climate protection." The New York City District Council of Carpenters is hosting the meeting. Recently elected Executive Secretary Treasurer, Michael Bilello, said "The District Council of Carpenters is looking forward to getting some ideas and inspiration from these unions as we face our own challenges here at home. Our union recognizes the importance of the bigger economic and global picture, and the need for organizing and solidarity across different sectors and internationally."
Unions from South Africa, Argentina, and Brazil are among those attending the roundtable that have been urging unions globally to develop a `new discourse' on the green economy, one that challenges the idea that putting a price on natural resources is the best way to promote sustainable development. "We reject this approach," said Adolfo Ortman, an officer with Argentinean Workers Central (Central de los Trabajadores Argentinos, CTA). "Putting a price on carbon will simply privatize the atmosphere and reward those polluters who did the damage in the first place. Workers and communities need to reclaim the energy economy in order to protect both ourselves and the earth." Mexican electrical workers can attest to the ferocity of the attacks on unions and workers' rights occurring in the energy sector. The 45,000 members of the electrician's union (Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas, or SME) were driven out of the industry by the Mexican government in 2009, and have been waging a global campaign to get back their jobs. Representing SME, Jose Humberto Montes de Oca Luna, Secretary of the Exterior, said, "The present energy system abuses both workers and the environment in equal measure. The meeting in New York will help us find a better way." Focusing on solutions, Cedric Gina, president of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa, said his union has made bringing renewable energy into the public sector. "Renewable energy is too important to be left in private hands, and produced only when profits are guaranteed. We are here in New York to support those who understand the need for democratic control over the energy sector."
The Cornell Global Labor Institute and the New York Office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation are convening the roundtable. Six Global Union Federations (IndustriALL Global Union, International Transport Workers' Federation, Public Services International, Union Network International, Education International, and the International Union of Food Workers) are partnering in the effort.
Cornell Global Labor Institute (GLI) is part of the new Worker Institute at Cornell launched in September 2012. The GLI works with unions on climate change, energy and transport issues, and economic alternatives. Participants will also debate the contents of a GLI discussion document, titled Resist, Reclaim, Restructure: Unions and the Struggle for Energy Democracy. A draft of the document can be reviewed here:
http://energyemergencyenergytransition.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/EnergyEmergencyRoundtableDiscussionDocResist-ReclaimRestructure.pdf
The Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung is an internationally operating, progressive non-profit institution for civic education. In cooperation with many organizations around the globe, it works on democratic and social participation, empowerment of disadvantaged groups, alternatives for economic and social development, conflict prevention, and peaceful conflict resolution. The foundation's New York Office, one of seventeen regional offices, opened its doors in 2012. It works around issues concerning the United Nations and collaborates with North American progressives in universities, unions, social movements, progressive institutions and think tanks.
