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Shontaé Cannon-Buckley is the Member Relations Manager at US Climate Action Network, of which LNS is a member, and recently was the lead organizer of the 2024 Midwest Regional Meeting, at which union members and climate and environmental justice organizers shared knowledge and built power for a sustainable midwest and beyond.

Shontaé Cannon-Buckley's life's work and goal centers around abolition and ending mass incarceration in the United States. Shontaé had led campaigns around environmental justice in the City of Buffalo and Turtle Island (United States) at large, working for the past 10 years to reduce harm in all walks of life whether that be to the earth or carceral individuals. She believes we have to have sustainable and well resourced options while continuing to grow and build, and must do whatever we can to prioritize all life. To this end, Shontaé advocates we must reduce, reuse, relearn and transform to end climate change and other systems of harm. She believes in organizing at the intersections of embodied leadership, healing justice and political education. Shontaé resides in Buffalo, New York with her family and array of pets; she states her best work has come as a mother, to Nayeli and Walter-Orlu. Shontaé will always use her voice and actions to better her children’s future and the seventh generation to come.

According to the LA Times, the police arrests followed “a violent mob attack on a UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment.” The police did little or nothing to interfere with the attack. Then the university, instead of asking for containment and arrest of the violent mob, told the police to break up the nonviolent pro-Palestinian occupation and arrest its participants. The police not only broke up the occupation but beat and roughed up the demonstrators before throwing them in jail.

The university, the media, and a wide swath of politicians, in a wave of classic victim-blaming, alleged that the protesting students – rather than the violent anti-Palestinian mob, the police, and the university itself – were responsible for the violence on campus. 

As a labor historian I am reminded of the notorious Memorial Day Massacre during the 1937 “Little Steel” strike. A film by a Paramount News cameraman showed a crowd walking across the prairie to join the picket line. 300 Chicago police formed a line and blocked their path, then fired on the crowd. As the crowd fled, police shot and killed ten people; many others were permanently disabled or suffered serious head injuries from police beatings; most of the union supporters were arrested. But the newsreel footage was suppressed by Paramount while the police, media, and politicians alleged that deranged Communist demonstrators had attacked the police without provocation. Only when a Senate committee investigating civil rights violations against workers subpoenaed and then released the raw footage did the truth come out. The outrage that followed provided critical impetus for the rising industrial union movement.

The University of California strikes show how labor action can be a vehicle for protecting the rights of all workers and indeed of all people. Rafael Jaime, UCLA graduate worker and president of UAW local 4811, said,

At the heart of this is our right to free speech and peaceful protest. If members of the academic community are maced and beaten down for peacefully demonstrating on this issue, our ability to speak up on all issues is threatened. As days pass with no remedies for UC’s unfair labor practices, academic workers on more and more campuses are preparing to stand up to demand that our rights to free speech, protest and collective action be respected.

Trade unionists who may have thought that this kind violent attack on workers was a thing of the bad old days should think again. Employers, the Republican party, and the political right are trying to redefine worker organization not as a legal, indeed pro-social activity, but as a criminal threat to society. Unions and workers need to prepare for the likelihood that we are all likely to face more and more of this kind of repression.

Many trade unionists know how to fight repression – with solidarity. When the University of California workers decided to strike, the powerful California Labor Federation voted to grant a strike sanction to the union, thereby encouraging other unions and their members to honor any potential picket lines if their contracts allow them to. Said Lorena Gonzalez, head of the Federation,

It’s an act of solidarity, it’s a symbol and a message for all workers in California. Whether you agree or disagree with what the protesters were doing, the larger question is, should workers be retaliated against for their right to free speech and protest?” 

LNS organizer Oren Kadosh recently provided testimony to the Board of the Cincinnati Public Schools district on green investment alternatives to education budget cuts. Oren spoke at the invitation of the Cincinnati Education Justice Coalition (CEJC). You can hear his full testimony on the meeting livestream at 48:30.

Educators, students, and families across the country are currently facing school district budget cuts and a return to austerity, as COVID relief funds for schools start to dry up. At the same time, massive amounts of public green investment is available for schools to help cover upfront costs and plug those budget shortfalls with energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other healthy, green schools projects. School administrators have a choice - pursue harmful cuts on the backs of our workers and students -- or jump start green investment in our schools instead. As Oren testified, 

Instead of cutting to ‘keep the lights on,’ districts could be replacing those lights with advanced energy efficient ones, cutting electricity usage in half, rather than cutting school staff and resources. 

It is not just public education, but all manner of public services, such as public mass transit systems, that are facing these harmful budget cuts. The harm ripples out to workers, communities, and our climate, as well as all manner of poor and working people who rely on public services.

California Labor for Climate Jobs coalition members in Sacramento May 8, 2024. Photo credit Brooke Anderson

by LNS California Organizer Veronica Wilson

California Labor for Climate Jobs held their first ever Lobby Day in Sacramento, California in early May, calling for the California Worker Climate Bill of Rights. The coalition of 15 unions represents more than one million workers across the state, organizing for a worker-led transition to a just and climate-safe economy. 

Standing together in the gardens of the State Capitol, unionists from 10 or more industries including food packing, education, oil and gas, auto manufacturing, caregiving, and public services were joined by labor and immigrant rights champion Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (Los Angeles) and environmental justice leader Sen. Lena Gonzalez  (Long Beach). UFCW Western States Council Executive Director Amber Parish noted that “The current poverty and pollution economy is failing working people, and the fundamental life systems we rely on…Now is the time to push for worker-focused climate solutions.” California Federation of Teachers president Jeff Freitas spoke about the proposed Climate Resilient Schools Act (SB1182), urging,

Schools need to be safe from excess heat, many heat days in a row, poor air quality…in places like the Central Valley… and from smoke because we’re seeing unprecedented fires in this state. We’re fighting to improve our schools throughout our state, for our students, for our communities and for all the workers there.

Donna Hearth of United Steelworkers Local 5 told a devastating story of Jerome Serrano, a process operator who was critically burned in an explosion last year at the Marathon Martinez refinery, recently converted to biofuels, underscoring urgency to pass AB3258, calling for safety in all refineries, no matter the feedstock. Union leaders from the manufacturing sector voiced their urgency for SB1375, establishing a set-aside fund for workforce development in federal- and state-funded climate investments and workers’ access to training records.

In nearly 40 legislative office visits, union members talked about their workplace experiences in a changing climate and urgency to support CLCJ’s policy priorities. The press event was posted on CLCJ’s Facebook page and the day of action was covered in the CalMatters newsletter, California News Service, and on the Pacifica Evening News.

By LNS Transit Planner Bakari Height

At a transit rider organizing training one dreary Saturday morning in Pittsburgh, I listened to transit riders speak on how advocates can be an ally for the disabled community.  Those notes ring in my mind on how this community is usually excluded from the labor and climate movements: I have rarely come in contact with planners that make ADA accessibility the bottom line for planning decisions.  This absence came up as well in the Disability in Transit Panel on Transit Equity Day 2024,which pointed out how many labor unions don’t receive adequate training on how to execute bus lifts, nor address bus overcrowding for people in wheelchairs. 

These oversights in transportation planning are addressed in Anna Zivart’s new book: “When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency”, which is out now!  Anna will be discussing her experiences and how we can change these narratives on the Transit Equity Network on Friday, June 7th at Noon EST.  Subscribe to the Transit Equity Network Facebook and YouTube pages to learn more about the great work from all of our labor and climate transportation advocates!

Photo credit JTRamsey

The BUILD GREEN Act, recently re-introduced in Congress by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Robert Garcia, would authorize the US Department of Transportation to distribute $500 billion over ten years to electrify existing transportation and build new electric transportation infrastructure. This investment is enough to fund the federal share of every transit project in the Capital Investment Grant pipeline, as well as build transformative new projects. While the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA - the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”) may provide some modest funding for transit expansion, according to the Green New Deal Network it is not anywhere near enough. LNS believes expanding green public transit and micro-mobility access is a critical necessity for economic, racial, and climate justice.

Photo credit J. M. Pearson

On May 15th the Railroad Workers United hosted a public webinar about their campaign for public rail ownership, which is currently ramping up. Hear how corporate greed is strangling our ability to have a worldclass railroad system for people and the planet. LNS is a close partner in the campaign.

Learn more and plug in to support: https://www.publicrailnow.org/about/ 

Check out the webinar recording: https://www.publicrailnow.org/media/webinar-recordings/

Over the week of Earth Day union educators, youth, and the climate movement organized and participated in actions calling for green, healthy investment and for President Biden to declare a national Climate Emergency. From New York City to Los Angeles and from Chicago to San Antonio, educators acted at their schools and in the streets with the youth climate movement to escalate the pressure for urgent climate action that will save the  two systems we need in order to have a living future: our environment and our public schools. 

Educators and youth want green, resilient community schools, with modern, healthy, energy-efficient facilities. To achieve this they also want to see the era of fossil fuels and environmental racism brought to an end. By declaring a national Climate Emergency, the White House could direct green investment to communities and school districts in need and save our schools from budget austerity, all while restricting fossil fuel production that is destroying our students’ futures.

On June 20 Third Act Union will present an on-line conversation with Jeremy Brecher on “Labor and the Climate Crisis Today.” According to the announcement for the talk, 

While unions and environmentalists have long been portrayed as opponents, that is beginning to change. The recent UAW strike aimed for a "just transition" to electric vehicle production. Many unions at a state level are campaigning not only for green jobs but for a transition to climate-safe energy. New climate caucuses and networks are forming within a number of unions. And some unions are initiating their own "green" training and construction projects. Join us to learn about these initiatives – many of them little-known.

Jeremy Brecher is co-founder and senior strategic advisor for the Labor Network for Sustainability. He is the author of more than a dozen books on labor and social movements, including the labor history classic Strike! His new book The Green New Deal from Below: How Ordinary People Are Building a Just and Climate-Safe Economy will be published in November, 2024.

About Third Act Union:

Bill Mckibben started Third Act three years ago so retired citizens would have a place where they could fight on the two existential issues of our day–the struggles to save our planet and our democracy, and the relationship between them.  As Third Act engages on every front of the climate struggle, we focus on the underlying issue: we have to stop burning fossil fuels, keep them in the ground. Third Act Union provides a way for retired union members to join in this struggle.

Register for the talk: bit.ly/3AU-JeremyBrecher

Connect with Third Act Union: www.thirdact.org/union

Hear Jeremy’s May 5 talk to 350.org Connecticut on the “budding but not always smooth romance” between labor and climate movements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB3kaZwKdKA

Two thousand student workers at the University of California Santa Cruz stopped work May 20 in the first of a series of compounding strikes protesting the university’s response to pro-Palestinian protests. The university in turn has filed charges with the California Public Employment Relations Board accusing the union of violating the no-strike clause of its contract and is asking for an injunction to block the strike.

The United Auto Workers (UAW), represents 48,000 graduate student teaching assistants, researchers and other academic workers at University of California’s 10 campuses. 79% of voting members across the state authorized the union leadership to call for rolling “stand up” strikes – tactic used successfully in the UAW’s strike against the big three auto companies last year.

The strikes are based on charges the union has brought for unfair labor practices. The union complaint focuses on the arrests of pro-Palestinian graduate student protesters at UCLA and suspensions and other discipline at UC San Diego and UC Irvine. It accuses the universities of retaliating against student workers and unlawfully changing workplace policies to suppress pro-Palestinian speech.

Graduate workers at UCLA, the University of Southern California, the University of California at San Diego, Brown University and Harvard University have filed similar unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board over how their university administrations unilaterally changed policies and responded to Gaza protests.

For a video featuring UAW members explaining the strike: https://x.com/uaw_4811/status/1791512207563583777

Photo credit عباد ديرانية, Wikipedia Commons

We proudly stand with the brave students and workers who are facing repression, violence, retaliation, and arrest on their campuses for protesting the complicity of the U.S. and their universities in a genocide. With nearly 35,000 Palestinians reportedly murdered since October 7, and no end in sight, ceasefire is a moral and existential imperative.

University activism has long served as a backbone for progressive movements we celebrate today. The student encampments and protests for Gaza are part of this proud tradition. So are the climate, labor, and social movement organizations that have expressed solidarity with pro-Palestine protesters, and campus unions organizing to hold university administrators accountable for their shameful and repressive actions. We call on our partners and allies to join and stand on the right side of history.

For full text of the statement: Statement of Solidarity with Students, Workers, and Palestine - Labor Network for Sustainability

Image credit NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego

The world just made the largest ever recorded leap in the amount of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere. The global average concentration of carbon dioxide in March this year was 4.7 parts per million higher than it was in March last year. 

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/09/carbon-dioxide-atmosphere-record

2022 had the highest profits on record for publicly traded US oil companies. The country’s top-10 listed operators by value had a combined net income of $313bn in 2021-23, almost triple the amount in 2017-2019. Oil and gas production in the US hit record levels in 2023.

Source: Adam Tooze, Chartbook 423, May 11, 2024 https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/top-links-423-the-most-profitable

In May, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council passed a key resolution to KEEP THE LAW (SB1137) that prohibits toxic oil drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, day care centers, parks, healthcare facilities and businesses in California. The resolution is a boost in solidarity with more than 200 community organizations, environmental groups, and elected officials in support of the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California. Among major supporters, five statewide or western region unions, AFSCME CA PEOPLE, SEIU CA, California Federation of Teachers (CFT), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States, and Communications Workers of America D-9, plus several important locals, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Unite HERE Local 11, and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) 152, want to keep the law. See the full list of supporters here. Of the resolution, Jim Miller, AFT Local 1931 Vice President, said,

As the founder of the Environmental Caucus of the San Diego Imperial Counties Labor Council, I am pleased that local labor is making efforts to show solidarity with environmental allies and communities of concern. In the end, the fight against climate catastrophe and the fight against our historic level of economic inequality are deeply interconnected. We can’t win one fight without engaging in the other.

The campaign website underscores the health impacts of drilling, cites research showing who is hurt most, and puts forward recommendations to keep Californians healthy and safe. It states,

Nearly 30,000 oil and gas wells in California sit within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, hospitals and other public areas, exposing nearly 3 million people, disproportionately communities of color, to emissions that can cause birth defects, respiratory illnesses and cancer. An independent scientific advisory panel in 2021 advised California officials that a 3,200-foot setback between oil wells and sensitive receptors is the minimum distance to protect public health.

The choice will ultimately be in the hands of voters come November. As an effort to keep the law that communities fought and won as a result of more than a decade of organizing and demanding healthy places to live, work and play, the ballot measure is an opportunity to unify efforts of environmental justice, environment and labor movements, and fend off corporate attacks on democracy.

Photo credit Farmworker Association of Florida

HB433, recently signed into law by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, prohibits any municipality in the state from passing heat protections for workers. 

The legislation came in response to efforts by farm workers in Miami-Dade county to legally require heat protections, such as rest breaks and access to water and shade.

Florida is facing record heat. Last August Orlando hit 100F, breaking a record set in 1938. The National Weather Service’s outlook for summer 2024 predicts Florida temperatures will be even warmer than normal.

Governor DeSantis recently signed a bill removing references to climate change from Florida law.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/04/florida-worker-heat-water-protection

Our Mission

To be a relentless force for urgent, science-based climate action by building a powerful labor-climate movement to secure an ecologically sustainable and economically just future where everyone can make a living on a living planet.

Making a Living on a Living Planet is published by the Labor Network for Sustainability: