Unions as environmental actors

Abstract

Building on a long history of concerns with the working environment, unions are now addressing issues arising from the debates and policies on the human causes of climate change. This article examines how unions are responding to such issues. Many unions are extending their capacities in relation to environmental concerns and in the process are refocusing their purpose. This is, however, not straightforward: unions are caught in a tension between pressures to ensure job creation and pressures towards environmental responsibility. While unions address climate change as independent organizations, more comprehensive outcomes may be possible via emergent forms of unionism that bring unions and their local communities together in solidaristic ways.Ré sumé S'appuyant sur une longue expérience des problèmes relatifs à l'environnement de travail, les syndicats abordent aujourd'hui des questions, soulevées par les débats et les politiques, sur les causes humaines du changement climatique. Le présent article examine la manière dont les syndicats répondent à de telles questions. De nombreux syndicats étendent leurs compétences liées aux problèmes environnementaux et ce faisant redéfinissent leurs objectifs. Ceci n'est toutefois pas simple: les syndicats sont tiraillés entre d'une part, la nécessité d'assurer la création d'emplois et d'autre part, celle d'assumer la responsabilité environnementale. Certes, les syndicats abordent le changement climatique en tant qu'organisations indépendantes, mais il y a d'autres formes de syndicalisation regroupant les syndicats et leurs communautés locales dans un esprit de solidarité qui se font jour et qui rendent possible des résultats beaucoup plus larges. ZusammenfassungAufbauend auf ihrer langen Erfahrung mit Fragen der Arbeitswelt befassen sich Gewerkschaften inzwischen auch mit Themen, die sich aus den Debatten und Strategien zu den menschlichen Downloaded from Ursachen des Klimawandels ergeben. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, wie die Gewerkschaften auf diese Themen reagieren. Viele Gewerkschaften stärken ihre Kapazitäten in Bezug auf Umweltfragen und richten während dieses Prozesses ihre Zielsetzungen neu aus. Dies ist jedoch alles andere als einfach: die Gewerkschaften bewegen sich in einem Spannungsfeld zwischen dem Druck, die Schaffung neuer Arbeitsplätze sicher zu stellen und andererseits im Umweltbereich Verantwortung zu über-nehmen. Gewerkschaften gehen Fragen des Klimawandels als unabhängige Organisationen an. Durch neue Formen der Gewerkschaftsbewegung, die Gewerkschaften und ihre ö rtlichen Gemeinschaften in solidaristischen Bewegungen zusammenbringen, kö nnten jedoch umfassendere Ergebnisse erzielt werden.

Union Renewal and Workplace Greening — Three Case Studies

“…More broadly, a politicized environmental agenda — mainstreamed into their pay and reward strategies, extended deeper into non‐traditional bargaining terrain (CSR; procurement; production/working processes; product/service design) and even beyond the workplace (Snell and Fairbrother : 419–20) — may be more fruitful. As Lundstrom et al .…”

“…But although not yet a core union concern increasing numbers of British unions are becoming environmentally active (Farnhill 2016). Past research has shown some positive benefits for unions of environmental activism (Gregory et al 1999;Snell and Fairbrother 2010;TUC 2008TUC , 2010TUC , 2014 and union grey materials suggests workplace greening forms the bulk of their environmental activities. Workplace greening comprises site-or employerspecific bottom-up interventions involving union branches -ideally working in partnership with employers -conducting environmental audits to secure measurable energy savings and improvements in organizations' recycling, waste, water usage and procurement practices.…”

Renewing Union Narrative Resources: How Union Capabilities Make a Difference

“…Be it in terms of reframing gender issues (Yates 2010) or climate change and environmental sustainability (Snell and Fairbrother 2010) or engagement in international alliances (Lévesque and Murray 2010a;Turnbull 2006), many studies identify capabilities such as framing as an important discriminating factor in understanding variations in union capacity. Framing also appears to be an essential ingredient in enlarging repertories of union action and contention (Fox Piven and Cloward 2000;Ganz 2004;Tarrow 2005).…”

What kind of expertise is needed for low energy construction?

“…according to this "radical transition" approach, to achieve the necessary carbon reductions will require an integrated and regulated energy supply, natural resources and transport systems, "socially/environmentally useful production" and "extended producer responsibility". The approach implies that, through the development of personal capabilities and occupational capacity, labour -or in Biernacki's (1995) terminology "labor power" -becomes a more active agent with real autonomy to challenge the institutional structures of VET and employment and to champion the reduction in carbon emissions, for instance in the UK through green representatives (Snell and Fairbrother 2010).…”