The Labor Leading on Climate Initiative advances knowledge, policies, and practices to enhance the role of labor and working people in addressing the environmental and climate crises.
The Second Annual Virtual Climate Jobs Summit took place on September 21, 2021, during Climate Week NYC. The Summit convened climate jobs coalitions, labor leaders, union climate activists, environmental and environmental justice advocates, clean-energy developers, policymakers, scientists, and allies in our shared mission to build an equitable renewable energy economy powered by good union jobs.
With speakers and participants from the labor and climate movements, the Summit presents a unique opportunity to dismantle the false “climate versus jobs” narrative and rally critical support for investment in infrastructure, jobs, and tackling climate change among labor leaders, climate advocates, and progressive thought leaders.
Throughout the Summit, emphasis was made on the urgency of taking action to lift up America’s working families through bold climate investments that create millions of family-sustaining union careers.
In addition to our workshops, we have developed written materials to help you learn about climate change and clean energy, talk with coworkers about these topics, and explore different union-led campaigns to create green, union jobs.
This past winter, the Labor Leading on Climate Initiative launched its newly-developed “Climate Jobs and Offshore Wind (OSW)” training in partnership with Climate Jobs NY - a coalition of 2.6 million members.
We look forward to continuing this work and expanding it into other states, in the upcoming years.
The Worker Institute's Labor Leading on Climate Initiative is committed to engaging Cornell ILR undergraduate and graduate students through our courses, research fellowships, and graduate programs.
The Worker Institute's Labor Leading on Climate Initiative is the university partner of the Climate Jobs National Resource Center (CJNRC).
The Initiative provides research, education and training programs to unions on climate change and clean energy across multiple U.S. states.
As in New York, this work will help unions proactively and positively engage in climate change and clean energy work and forge a stronger link in the public discourse between the crises of inequality and climate change.
The Labor Leading on Climate Initiative at the Worker Institute advances knowledge, policies, and practices to enhance the role of labor and working people in addressing the environmental and climate crises.
Labor has an important reframing of this issue: we have two crises, not one. A crisis of climate change and a crisis of inequality and we need solutions that address both. Solutions to the climate crisis cannot exacerbate the crisis of inequality by creating low-wage, low-quality jobs; Addressing climate change needs to reverse inequality by creating high-wage, family and communities sustaining union jobs. The initiative's efforts focus on building a truly sustainable society and economy.
