union
Newsletter
Credit: Denise McQuillen/Pixabay
School bus factory workers in Georgia demonstrate potential for EV-driven union gains
Workers at the Blue Bird school bus factory in Georgia have shown that unionizing for better conditions is possible, even in the traditionally anti-union South, amid a push for electric vehicle production.
In short:
- The Blue Bird factory, receiving federal funds to produce electric school buses, successfully unionized with the United Steelworkers in May 2023.
- The union negotiated a contract providing significant wage increases, new retirement benefits, and a profit-sharing plan.
- This union win highlights how federal green investments can also support labor movements.
Key quote:
"There was unfairness, favoritism, workload... Lord, we worked sometimes six and seven days a week, and people needed to go home and see their families sometimes."
— Carolyn Allen, Blue Bird worker and union representative
Why this matters:
As the U.S. transitions to greener technologies, ensuring fair labor practices and good working conditions is essential. The success at Blue Bird suggests that environmental and labor goals can align, benefiting both workers and the climate.
Keep reading...Show less
Newsletter
commons.wikimedia.org
Biden's clean energy factory jobs may elude U.S. union workers
In the six months since passage of Biden's signature climate change law, a majority of the $50 billion of announced investments in domestic manufacturing to support the clean energy transition has been in states with laws that make it harder for workers to unionize.
Newsletter
The green transition must be union-powered
Instead of seeing the climate fight as siloed from the labor movement, Matthew Huber, a geography professor at Syracuse University, argues that working-class struggle has ecological stakes and that union power can be harnessed to disrupt the production of fossil fuels.
www.msnbc.com
Why a shift from the United Mine Workers is so important
The fact that the nation's largest coal miners' union is eyeing a future in which it will move away from fossil fuels is extraordinary.
www.politico.com
New candidates for Agriculture secretary emerge as Biden faces pushback on Heitkamp
Insiders want the short list to be expanded beyond Heidi Heitkamp and Marcia Fudge.
stateimpact.npr.org
Mine workers’ union wants more protections against COVID-19
The United Mineworkers of America is asking the federal government to issue emergency rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 inside coal mines.
stateimpact.npr.org
Bonuses paid to PES refinery executives infuriate ex-workers and environmentalists
Infuriating. Unfair. Repulsive. Those are some of the printable words used by former employees of Philadelphia Energy Solutions about the news that company executives got about $4.5 million in bonuses before PES filed for bankruptcy.
ORIGINAL REPORTING
MOST POPULAR
CLIMATE
