For five-hundred years the “cause of labor” has been the “hope of the world.” In this workshop—specifically designed for environmentalists—we will explore the history of unions and workers’ organizations, the role of the labor movement in creating a just and democratic society, and the future of the labor movement by exploring labor-environmental movement partnerships. Participants will explore the United Auto Workers clean water campaign of the 1960s, United Farm Workers role in launching what we now know as “environmental justice” in the 1970s, environmental ordnances of the Jay, Maine Paper Workers in the 1980s, and Redwood Summer in the 1990s. What can these partnerships teach us for the just transitions ahead and creating an ecologically sustainable future of all working-people? Join us to find out.
Labor Educator, Scontras Labor Center, University of Southern Maine
Union organizer, labor educator, and author, Kevin Van Meter, Ph.D. is a teaching fellow at the Dr. Charles A. Scontras Center for Labor and Community Education at the University of Southern Maine. Kevin writes about contemporary labor issues, labor history, and neighboring social... Read More →
