Angeles Chapter Goes to Washington, D.C.

By Joan Jones Holtz
International Issues Committee
Angeles Chapter

From left: Angeles Chapter activist Susana Reyes, Sierra Club President Allison Chin, Angeles Chapter activists Sandra Cattell and Joan H0ltz in Washington D.C. at the Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference. No credit given

Chapter Activists Attend Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference

On February 3rd an Angeles Chapter delegation, Susana Reyes, Sandra Catell, Isaac Leiberman, Bart Reed, Jim Stewart, Joan Jones Holtz, and Southern California Field Director Bill Corcoran, traveled to Washington, D.C. to take part in the 2nd annual Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference. This conference, organized by the Blue Green Alliance attracted a whopping 2,500 participants, up considerably from the 700 who attended the first conference last year in Pittsburgh.

Nearly three years ago Sierra Club's Executive Director Carl Pope, and United Steel Workers president Leo Gerard forged the Blue/Green Alliance, a coalition of labor and environmentalists. These two men understood that labor and environmentalists working together strengthens our voices and insure greater chances for success in the many areas of mutual concern. Moving toward a green economy, developing domestic renewable energy while creating good, green jobs helps us all.

Our delegation, along with many others, was housed in the beautiful and historic Omni Shoreham Hotel, one of the conference sites. That evening, at a nearby restaurant the Sierra Club hosted a festive, standng-room-only reception for all of the approximately 250 Sierra Club members who traveled from all over the country. Club dignitaries gave speeches of welcome to Sierra Club president Allison Chin. Sierra Club Political Director Cathy Duvall prepared us for the Congressional visits which were to take place the following day.

The next morning, Wednesday, David Foster, Director of the Blue Green Alliance called the conference to order and reminded us of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

He said that now we need a New Deal for the world, that the current stimulus package (currently being debated in Congress) must be the 1st down payment on a new green economy.

Leo Gerard began his remarks by recognizing those corporations who had stepped up to the plate, recognized the unions and had helped sponsor the Conference. He reminded us that the old idea that environmental protections take jobs away is a false dichotomy and we shouldn't fall for it. We'll all be better off being green. He said that the same energy we used in the recent presidential campaign to elect a new president must now be used to retrofit the economy. He noted that 58% of our goods come from China, yet China produces more pollution by producing those goods.

Achim Steiner, UN Environmental Programs, called attention to global over fishing and said that there may be no more commercial fisheries within our lifetime-the result of arrogance and ignorance.

Larry Cohen, President of Communication Workers International warned that workers can't be another commodity to be thrown into a trash heap, that the U.S. is the only democracy where joining a union could result in firing and threats of jobs being off-shored to China.

In late morning, after the opening remarks, hundreds of volunteers representing labor, the environment, community activists, businesses and academia, formed together into lobbying teams and made their ways to Capitol Hill to ask members of Congress to support new policies that lead to energy independence and encourage job creation and retention.. Both must occur for our nation's new prosperity.

On our way to our visits we stopped at a rousing rally , sponsored by the Sierra Club in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. This act gives workers the right to organize and collective bargaining without harassment. Labor leaders have said that without support from the environmental movement, chances of passage are dim.

On Thursday morning, Richard Trumka, Secretary/Treasurer of the AFL-CIO called attention to the effects our Labor/Environment coalition has had on members of Congress. He said that unfettered markets and current free trade models have failed. He quoted President Obama who said that Labor is not part of the problem, but part of the solution. There is no middle class without labor.

On Thursday evening the meeting hall was transformed into a huge reception with exotic foods, a live band, and a speech from Jim Hightower. A film describing the successful LA Port battle followed. This campaign was spearheaded and engineered by Angeles Chapter activist Tom Politeo who was featured prominently in the film.

The closing session, Friday morning, began with a serenade from the Washington, DC Labor Chorus. Then, Winona LaDuke, Executive Director of Honor the Earth took the stage and received a standing ovation as she described efforts by Native Americans to bring green energy to their communities. Many of those communities suffer from 65% unemployment.

Popular Van Jones, founder and president of Green for All, said that we are at the cusp of a very profound movement. The old economy hurt people and hurt the planet. A new economy must help people and help the planet. California's Phil Angeleides, chair of the Apollo Alliance said our old economy has been based on manipulation and greed.

James Hoffa of the Teamsters Union pointed out the successes of the Blue Green Alliance. The success of the LA Port battle is an illustration of what can happen when Labor and Environmentalists work together. Also, as a result of the Blue Green Alliance, the Teamsters no longer support drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but oppose it.

As we left the conference there was much energy and optimism. We all felt part of a great revolution, ready to work for a new green society. We will not go back to old, failed policies, but will work, as we did in the recent election cycle, toward a green energy independence with a new economy that honors the value of our labor force. And we will see that the old free trade policies become fair trade policies with environmental safeguards and respect of human rights.