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The USW and the Sierra Club are working together on local campaigns in 17 states across the nation. The Blue Green Alliance creates a formal structure for expanding these campaigns into carefully crafted initiatives, elevating our outreach to our constituencies, and, ultimately, creating a renewed, vibrant base of Americans who will work for good jobs, a clean environment, and a safer world.
Arizona: In 2005, the Sierra Club and other environmental allies supported striking members of the United Steelworkers (USW) at the ASARCO copper smelter in Hayden -- one the biggest polluters in Arizona. Earlier, Public Health Institute-sponsored training brought together Steelworkers and the Sierra Club – as well as other environmental and labor unions –in southeast Arizona to discuss common ground issues around mining. Describing the meeting, Terry Bonds, Steelworkers District 12 Director said, “The purpose is to work together in the Copper Basin communities to assure our families, and especially our children, are safe from environmental hazards.”
California: In February 2006, a coalition consisting of the Steelworkers, Sierra Club, and other major environmental groups filed a petition to have PFOA, a Teflon-related substance, listed as "a chemical that is known to the state to cause cancer" under California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly referred to as Proposition 65. USW President Leo W. Gerard said, "We are forming a broad based coalition to defend workers and the public from irresponsible actions by private industries that may expose us and future generations to environmental and personal harm. The cancer risks to consumers and workers from PFOA are preventable and entirely unnecessary.” USW and Sierra Club continue to advocate for an expedited review and listing of the chemical under Proposition 65. In 2005, the Steelworkers and Sierra Club set the stage for this joint action when they assembled a gathering of more than 100 leaders from unions and environmental groups to discuss opportunities to work together. Since then, unions and environmental groups have joined forces across the state to limit the spread of “big box” super-centers, defend strong building standards and advocate for good jobs. The Steelworkers also supported Sierra Club's shareholder resolution at Chevron-Texaco, asking the company to disclose the risks of drilling for oil on sensitive lands like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
More sweeping regulation of toxic chemicals may be on the way in California. In March, a report commissioned by the Legislature and produced by the University of California proposed a State policy framework for moving toward "green chemistry" in manufacturing. The report proposed policies requiring industry investment in design and use of chemicals that are less toxic, that do not accumulate in the body, and that break down more readily in the environment. The proposals also call for use of safer materials and less energy, and production of less hazardous waste. In June, the State Senate's Committee on Environmental Quality convened a legislative hearing on the UC report. To a standing-room-only crowd, Dave Campbell, a USW leader in California with a long history of environmental activism, added his support for the report and for strong, comprehensive chemicals policy in California. The USW had already sent a letter expressing the same sentiments. In the coming months, we expect the State Senate to convene a "work group" including union members, environmental health advocates such as Charlotte Brody, Executive Director of Commonweal and a Blue Green Alliance partner, and environmentalists to provide additional guidance in the formulation of policy and recommended legislation and that the Steelworkers will be included in that process.
Colorado: Since 2004, Sierra Club and the Steelworkers jointly intervened in clean air permit proceedings to call for improvements at the Rocky Mountain Steel Mill in Pueblo. The goal is to improve efficiency and profitability at the mill and help clean up the air in the workplace and the surrounding community. Sierra Club also supported the Steelworkers’ struggle for a fair contract at that plant. Building on this alliance, the two groups and the Public Health Institute sponsored two joint trainings on working together in Colorado Springs and Denver focusing on global warming and alliance building.
Delaware: In April of 2006, United Steelworkers, Sierra Club and other environmental organizations attended the DuPont annual meeting in Wilmington to draw attention to the company’s abominable environmental record and call on the company to disclose to shareholders financial information related to a complete phase out of the Teflon-related chemical, PFOA. DuPont employees and environmentalists from Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, North Carolina and New Jersey attended the event. The action received widespread media coverage.
Iowa: The Iowa Blue Green Alliance includes USW, Sierra Club as well as other faith, community and environmental groups, Apollo Alliance and others. Currently, the alliance focuses on trade, energy, transportation, toxics and protecting wild areas. In 2005, Sierra Club and USW were among the sponsors of "Stop Outsourcing Our Future," a series of town hall meetings “for people concerned about good jobs, the environment, and a healthy future for their community.” In 2004, the Blue-Green Alliance mobilized and held a press event on the national Clean Energy and Jobs report.
Louisiana: Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Steelworkers and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice teamed up to address one of New Orleans' most pressing yet unaddressed problems: toxic soil. Currently, residential properties throughout New Orleans are contaminated with dangerous heavy metals such as arsenic--some samples of which were 40 times greater than the permitted level--making it unsafe for residents to return to their homes. USW and DSCEJ are removing polluted soil and replacing it with new sod. USW and DSCEJ are also providing safety and health training to residents and workers returning to hazardous workplace and living environments. Participants also include Sierra Club and other environmental and community groups. USW brings an uncommon expertise to the "Safe Way Back Home" initiative. Members work in the nation’s most dangerous industries -- including oil refineries, chemical plants, and rubber factories--and they have been trained to work in toxic environments.
Minnesota: The Minnesota Blue Green Alliance was launched in May of 2003. In September, USW District 11 and Sierra Club’s Northstar Chapter formally announced their partnership in Minnesota. There are over 30 groups involved in this coalition including Sierra Club North Star Chapter, Steelworkers District 11, MN State AFL-CIO, Clean Water Action, Apollo Alliance, AFSCME Council 6, SEIU Minnesota State Council, Teamsters Joint Council 32, Minnesota Building Trades, Environment 2004, Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ME3), Izaac Walton League of America Midwest Office, Institute for a Sustainable Future, and the League of Rural Voters. In recent months, USW and Sierra Club have jointly sponsored meetings in Eveleth, Hibbing and Tower to talk about how the groups can work together.
"Sierra Club, steelworkers to host global warming meeting Friday," Duluth News Tribune, February 8, 2007. Read the article. Missouri: The Missouri Blue Green Alliance focuses on clean energy, environmental justice, and right-to-know issues. The groups involved are Sierra Club, Steelworkers, Missouri State AFL-CIO, Missouri Votes Conservation, the local Catholic Archdiocese, Missouri Farmers Union, Missouri Organic Farmers Association, Family Farmers for the Environment, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Missouri ProVote and League of Women Voters. The groups has held several successful joint press events including one applauding the launch of the new Ford hybrid at the UAW hall in Kansas City in 2004.
Pennsylvania: During the summer of 2006, the Pennsylvania Blue Green Alliance sponsored leadership training programs held during USW’s “summer school.” These sessions, held at the union’s Linden Hall in Dawson, PA, featured a workshop activity designed by the Public Health Institute. Each workshop presented a panel of environmentalists and union leaders who described their personal experiences (both the good and the not so good) in attempting to build blue-green alliances. The last portion featured a power-point presentation by BGA executive Director David Foster, outlining alliance strategy.
New Jersey: The New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) is a 15-year-old statewide labor environmental alliance that includes the Sierra Club and the Steelworkers. The organization’s program includes a campaign to pass mandatory chemical security regulations -- and both USW and Sierra Club are primary partners. The coalition also forced the state to withdraw a proposal that would have concealed information about hazards to workers, communities and the environment. In November 2005, USW and Sierra Club helped WEC win requirements – the first in the US – that 43 of NJ’s potentially most hazardous chemical plants evaluate whether they can adopt “built-in” safety measures – called “inherently safer technology.” Other provisions require management to conduct vulnerability assessments, forward OSHA Process Safety Management Standard violations to DEP, and include workers’ and unions’ input.
Ohio: The Ohio Blue Green Alliance is focused on advancing an energy efficient future that reduces our dependence on foreign oil; responsible trade policies that invest in Ohio jobs and protect the environment; public transportation improvements; high performance buildings; and a moratorium on factory farms. Member organizations represent 635,000 Ohioans. In 2005 and 2006, USW and Sierra joined in action against DuPont after tests showed that PFOA, a Teflon-related chemical used by the company, contaminated air and drinking water supplies in West Virginia and Southeast Ohio near DuPont’s plant in Parkersburg, W. VA. In 2005, The Steelworkers joined with Sierra Club and other community and environmental groups to conduct water testing and hold press conferences calling attention to pollution from AK Steel facilities in Middletown, Ohio and Rockport, Indiana. Some of the groups involved in the Ohio alliance are Steelworkers, Sierra Club, Ohio AFL-CIO, IUE-CWA, FLOC, Ohio Farmers Union, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, Ohio Environmental Council, Policy Matters Ohio, Apollo Alliance, Environmental Health Watch and the OH League of Conservation Voters.
South Carolina: The Sierra Club and the Steelworkers are working together to hold Giant Cement Inc. – which employs 137 members of USW Local 216 at the Harleyville, SC plant – accountable for a variety of environmental transgressions, including the burning of large quantities of hazardous waste, numerous Clean Air Act violations, frequent in-plant fires and many hazardous spills and leaks.
Texas: The Sierra Club and the Steelworkers worked together in El Paso, Texas to promote clean, safe jobs for El Paso's future and to hold ASARCO accountable for its environmental violations – including lead pollution – and its obligations to former workers at its El Paso smelter.
Utah: Steelworker and Sierra Club leaders and other environmental and conservations groups worked together in Salt Lake City on a successful effort to stop Kennecott Copper from dumping toxic chemicals into the Jordan River. The Public Health Institute also sponsored a training that drew many Steelworkers from the Kennecott mines, as well as representatives from AFL-CIO and Sierra Club members. The training focused on global warming, alliance building and issues around working in the Kennecott mines. A feature article on this training was published in Orion Magazine in March 2005.
Virginia: In 2006 in Richmond Virginia, Steelworkers and local union leaders joined with Sierra Club to call for a full investigation into possible pollution from the Teflon-related chemical, PFOA, as a result of discharge from the Spruance Plant into the St. James River. Steelworker and Sierra Club representatives collected discharge samples that contained PFOA and pointed environmental agencies to an unpermitted discharge site. Voicing concerns over worker and community exposures, they want regulators to determine if PFOA or substances containing PFOA are still being used at the plant and being discharged into local waterways.
Washington: The Washington Blue-Green Alliance was launched in 2003. The alliance has grown to 30 organizations including USW, Sierra Club, Apollo Alliance, NW Energy Coalition, WA State Labor Council and the WA Building Trades. Currently, the alliance is focusing on renewable energy issues, toxics and building a statewide Fair Trade Coalition.
Wyoming: Steelworker and Sierra Club members met last year for three days in Rock Springs, Wyoming to discuss areas of common ground with a focus on how coalbed methane development is affecting workers and the environment in Wyoming. The sessions were conducted in cooperation with the Public Health Institute, and included a dramatic “fly-over” of the region to view environmental impacts. Participants came away with a list of issues to work on together, including improving workers’ rights and protecting Wyoming’s wild places – and they issued a joint public statement asserting that some Wyoming landscapes targeted by oil, gas and coalbed methane companies “should be off-limits to further energy development.” This work continues with active involvement by the AFL-CIO.
Labor's Love of Outdoors," By Jeff Gearino, Caspar Star Tribune, November 14, 2006. Read the article.
