Teamsters are Going Green

With permission, I am supplying BW readers with a fantastic diary by TomP that appeared today on the Daily Kos. It's great news...our unions are thinking green and now acting on it too.
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This is big.

Great news for all of us who seek a Blue/Green Alliance! The Teamsters today left the ANWR coalition, a group in favor of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Jim Hoffa has just announced that the Teamsters are pulling out of the coalition supporting drilling in ANWR and are shifting their support to efforts to build coalitions with green groups to create a sustainable energy economy around sources like solar, wind and geothermal.

"We are not going to drill our way out of the energy problems we are facing—not here and not in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," Hoffa told labor and environmental activists at an Oakland, Calif., summit on good jobs and clean air. "We must find a long-term approach that breaks our dependence on foreign oil by investing in the development of alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power."

Hoffa Rejects 'Drilling Our Way Out' of Energy Crisis, Demands Long-Term Policy Solutions

Jim Hoffa announced the union’s withdrawal from the ANWR coalition, citing the need to build a green economy that fosters the development of alternative energy sources and creates good union jobs—instead of lining the pockets of big oil tycoons.

"Our economy is in shambles. Gas is climbing to $5 a gallon. The dollar has collapsed. Inflation is on the rise. Americans are seeing their paychecks shrink. Their family health care is being slashed," Hoffa said. "Finding a long-term solution has a tremendous upside. It will be environmentally friendly and will serve as a much-needed boost to our sagging economy."

Hoffa also thanked labor’s partners in the environmental movement, who are currently working to reduce emissions from port trucks. He urged the strengthening of the alliance, known as the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports, to achieve a common goal: Good jobs and clean air.

"If we are to prosper as a nation, our future lies in a green economy," he said. "But it’s up to us to help define the rules of that new green economy. A green economy means we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil. And it means creating good union jobs in America’s growing industries."

Hoffa Rejects 'Drilling Our Way Out' of Energy Crisis, Demands Long-Term Policy Solutions

This is the core of the Blue/Greeen alliance that will rebuild and remake a just America:

"A green economy means we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil. And it means creating good union jobs in America’s growing industries."

Both.

The Sierra Club praised the Teamnsters for this move.

"The Sierra Club and the environmental movement applaud your announcement and look forward to building a powerful movement together—a movement that helps workers, protects the environment, prevents global warming and rebuilds our economy with good, green jobs," said Greg Haegele, The Sierra Club’s Director of Conservation. "We are proud to stand here today, as allies and friends of the Teamsters."

Hoffa Rejects 'Drilling Our Way Out' of Energy Crisis, Demands Long-Term Policy Solutions

Hoffa and the Teamsters are joining with Al Gore and Barack Obama in working to build a Green economy and all realize that we cannot drill our way out of this mess. We need alternative energy.

Barack Obama last week:

"For decades, Al Gore has challenged the skeptics in Washington on climate change and awakened the conscience of a nation to the urgency of this threat. I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as President. It’s a strategy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced, and one that will leave our children a world that is cleaner and safer."

Gore: "end our reliance on carbon-based fuels"

Al Gore laast week:

We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change.

But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we're holding the answer to all of them right in our hand.

The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels.

In my search for genuinely effective answers to the climate crisis, I have held a series of "solutions summits" with engineers, scientists, and CEOs. In those discussions, one thing has become abundantly clear: when you connect the dots, it turns out that the real solutions to the climate crisis are the very same measures needed to renew our economy and escape the trap of ever-rising energy prices. Moreover, they are also the very same solutions we need to guarantee our national security without having to go to war in the Persian Gulf.

What if we could use fuels that are not expensive, don't cause pollution and are abundantly available right here at home?

Gore: "end our reliance on carbon-based fuels"

Jim Hoffa today:

"We are not going to drill our way out of the energy problems we are facing—not here and not in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," Hoffa told labor and environmental activists at an Oakland, Calif., summit on good jobs and clean air. "We must find a long-term approach that breaks our dependence on foreign oil by investing in the development of alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power."

Working together with labor, environmentalists and Democratic candidates, we can change America, solve our energy crisis, rebuild a greeen economy with good union jobs, and address global warming.

Jim Hoffa at Yearly Kos in 2007.

(personal note: TomP and I sat together as we heard Hoffa's talk at YearlyKos 2007; John Edwards had just spoken to him about a union agenda)

We need to work with the Teanmsters and other unions to rebuild a Green America. Thank you Mr. Hoffa and all Teamsters! Solidarity!

Update. From Change to Win in the comments. Grist has a good write up on this:

For years, the Teamsters have supported opening the Arctic Refuge and other protected areas to oil drilling; they ran ads bashing John Kerry on it in 2004. So it is a Very Big Deal that the Teamsters have just come out and rejected drilling as a solution to the energy crisis.

At an event in Oakland, Calif., Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said that drilling won't do anything to help; he announced that the Teamsters are withdrawing from the coalition pushing for Arctic drilling; and he stressed that pushing for "alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power" will revitalize the economy and create jobs.

It looks like reality is finally starting to bite in American politics.

UPDATE: Kate called up Teamsters spokeswoman Leigh Strope for more on the move.

"Americans are suffering in this difficult economy," said Strope. "[President Hoffa] really realized, like a lot of people have, that there needs to be a long-term energy solution. Like he said, we can't drill our way out of this problem ... We need a comprehensive energy policy to deal with this crisis."

"It's important to our members," Strope continued. "There's an opportunity to really explore the whole issue of green jobs, and that would obviously benefit Teamsters and all Americans."

grist: Blockbuster Teamsters announcement rejects oil drilling as an energy solution

Go Teamsters! Here's a song for them and Change to Win:


Eighteen Wheels and A Dozen Roses by Kathy Mattea

John Edwards Will Speak to NLC Graduates (Updated)

Good news BW readers!

JRE is the commencement speaker for the National Labor College on June 28th. From the AFL-CIO blog:

Every graduation is special, but this year’s commencement at the National Labor College (NLC) marks an important milestone. This is the school’s 10th annual commencement, and next weekend, the school will celebrate a decade of providing a college education for union members.

Some 67 graduates will receive bachelor’s degrees at the June 28 ceremonies on the NLC campus in Silver Spring, Md.

Former presidential candidate John Edwards will deliver the commencement address. Edwards, who grew up in a working class family, is a former U.S. senator and was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 2004. A strong supporter of workers’ rights and social justice, he now leads Half in Ten, an effort by several organizations to reduce poverty in the United States by 50 percent within 10 years.

He spoke on Wednesday to the Manufacturer's Association meeting on Wed, but haven't found any information on what he said there.

UPDATE: Thanks to my buddy Machka at Southern Hope, there is a video clip from the event:



So, JRE stays relevant, and does things to promote the middle class and to highlight the problems of poverty.

More buzz l8tr..

Where Were You, John Sweeney, When John Edwards Needed Your Endorsement?

Today I was surfing the net and found this article at HuffPo written on behalf of John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO. The article is entitled, "Winning the Edwards Vote". Here are a few key paragraphs:

John Edwards' exit from the presidential race puts his supporters up for grabs. Both Senators Clinton and Obama want those votes. Here's how to win them.

The central plank of the Edwards' campaign was restoring a prosperous and secure middle class, which requires ending wage stagnation and having wages again grow with productivity. This must be the central economic policy goal of any candidate wanting the Edwards vote.

snip

John Edwards' campaign recognized the imminent challenge of recession and advocated fiscal stimulus. Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns have done likewise. However, it is not enough to just change the economic policy dial settings. The Edwards campaign also spoke to the need to change the long-term direction of the economy by restoring full employment, leveling the playing field between workers and corporations, and fixing unfair competition unleashed by globalization. That's the message that will win the Edwards vote.

The analysis is correct, but here's the problem. The AFL-CIO wouldn't endorse Edwards during the campaign. Neither did the Teamsters or Change to Win. They all knew that Edwards was the union man and was the only one who had a plan for the working man, but they let him twist in the wind.

I thank the Carpenters Union, SEIU's in Massachusetts, Iowa, the Midwest, and California, and Postal Workers in Iowa who were more than proud to back the union candidate. A special thank you to the Steelworkers and some transport folks too who went to Iowa on their vacations and knocked on doors in the different states to help GOTV for John Edwards.

John Sweeney, you can go back now to the corner and sit it out. I'm strong for unions, but really, this is disengenuous to give this advice to the two remaining candidates when you didn't even help John Edwards with an endorsement.

Seems Fitting

This morning I was looking for the county by county results of the election in Illinois. Obama won handily in my county and I knew he would since I live in a college town.

But here's one county that caught my attention as I had not heard of the name of it before.

# Precincts Clinton Obama JRE

Union

20/20

2,151 47%

1,721 38%

542 12%

That was Edwards' best showing, and of course, in a county called Union.

I thought it was interesting that Obama lost that one to Clinton.

Elizabeth and John Edwards Stand Tall with the UAW Strikers

This afternoon, I learned that Elizabeth Edwards went over to the Wyoming plant in Grand Rapids, MI, to show her support of the UAW strike. Here's the video:



Phil from Michigan for Edwards, who helped with a fundraiser EE attended last evening, reported the following as he was with Mrs. Edwards when she jumped out of the car to greet the workers:

Elizabeth gave a brief statement:

"The labor motto is, 'injury to one of us is injury to all of us." When people have to come to the streets in order to provide for job security, to make sure that when they retire they'll have the health benefits they deserve, that's an injury to all of us. And all of us ought to be indicating our support."

Morrison asked Elizabeth about the concern that unions might be hindering Michigan's efforts to bring more companies to the state, Edwards said:

"Companies must provide decent jobs and reliable benefits no matter where the business is located. Americans, she said, must demand American workers be treated fairly."

John Edwards will be joining the UAW picket line near Buffalo, NY at noon tomorrow. Then of course, he's off to Dartmouth to participate in another DNC debate.

David Bonior Speaks in NH Through Bullhorn

From Blue NH:

I'll have a more general take on today's state convention soon, and Dean was there as well and I imagine will be focusing on the senate race. But there's something to be said right now.

It was disappointing and a little embarrassing to learn that for its state convention, the New Hampshire Democratic Party used a non-union sound company. John Edwards' campaign manager David Bonior vividly drew attention to this by delivering his remarks through a bullhorn rather than through the offending sound system; Paul Hodes followed by acknowledging organized labor and calling for people to buy union-made products and services.

Hiring a non-union company goes against the basic ideals of the Democratic party and it will be simply unacceptable if next year this serious error is not rectified. Speakers at next year's convention should plan to inquire ahead of time about the sound system and, if it will not be run by a union company, all speakers should make arrangements for bullhorns.

Thanks to David Bonior and the Edwards campaign for highlighting this, and also to Paul Hodes.

Pic is obviously not Bonior, but what a great idea.

Quick thinking on JRE's staffers' part.

More bullhorn buzz l8tr as we await the CNN Debate in NH this evening, 6CT.

Update: John and Elizabeth Edwards Have Arrived at the Debate Site, 3:00.

Look for me on the DU and DK later, but I will try to post highlights on BW.

Congrats to TAPPED

Which won the Sidney Hillman Foundation awards in Journalism recently. Ezra Klein, whose blog is on my blogroll, is part of the TAPPED (American Prospect online Edition) team.

Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has recognized journalists, writers and public figures whose work promotes social and economic justice.

Annual awards are given in the following categories:

• Books (non-fiction)
• Newspaper Reporting
• Magazine Reporting
• Broadcast Journalism
  (includes television and radio)
• Photojournalism
• BLOGs

These awards reflect the vision and commitment of Hillman, president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (a predecessor union of UNITE HERE), whose tireless efforts to bring dignity and respect to working people left a lasting legacy for the American public.

Hillman was an architect of the New Deal and worked to build a vibrant union movement extending beyond the shop floor to all aspects of workers' lives. Today, his belief in social and political activist trade unionism is in the forefront of creating a new progressive movement for social change.

John Edwards has worked with UNITE Here for the past 2 years in raising awareness about poverty, the right to organize unions, and to raise working standards, wages, and benefits for hotel workers.