Green activists find new ally in US unions

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.onelocalnews.com/prescottherald/stories1/index.php?action=fullnews&id=54567

Green activists find new ally in US unions
Staff and agencies
14 December, 2008


Green activists find new ally in US unions - Yahoo! News document.body.className = ‘js-enabled‘; Skip to navigation » Skip to content » U.S. U.S. Economy Green activists find new ally in US unions Buzz Up IM del.icio.us Yahoo! Bookmarks By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Writer Vanessa Gera, Associated Press Writer – 11 mins ago Related Quotes Symbol Price Change ^DJI 8,629.68 +64.59 ^GSPC 879.73 +6.14 ^IXIC 1,540.72 +32.84

This evolution was clear at this week‘s U.N. climate talks in Poland, where several American labor groups and environmental activists made joint appeals for policies that would promote high-tech renewable energy as the answer to both climate change and job losses.

"There is a very wide cross-section of American unions that reflects the growing engagement of American unions‘ support of climate change policies," said David Foster, executive director of the Blue Green Alliance. The group was founded by the United Steelworkers, North America‘s largest manufacturing union, and the Sierra Club, the United States‘ largest and oldest grass-roots environmental group.

The Blue Green Alliance was founded in 2006 and expanded this autumn to include three more unions and another green group.

But the two sides have also found themselves at odds. Unions have often seen nature lovers as idealists willing to sacrifice American jobs for the sake of endangered species. Some coal industry workers remain hostile to efforts that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by closing down coal-fired plants.

Environmentalists want clean energy — such as wind and solar power — to reduce gases that degrade the environment. It is in their interest that new jobs in the sector offer good pay and benefits, to win labor‘s support for their agenda.

"They keep on shouting that scare campaign at every opportunity they get," Hawkins said. "An alliance is a powerful way of sending the message that you can have both."

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