Green Labor

This is an article by Dave Foster, Director of United Steelworkers of American District 11, about his trip to the Artic National Wildlife Refuge:

I came to the conclusion, as have many others, that drilling in the Arctic Refuge is bad energy policy (all the oil in the refuge would supply the nation's oil needs for only six months), disastrous environmental policy to the land, and a serious human rights violation. I arrived at this conclusion, not apart from the concerns for jobs and workers' rights that fill my daily life, but as an outgrowth of them. Preserving and equitably distributing our planet's dwindling resources, honoring the diversity and history of our planet's many cultures, and working to create a society where waste is minimized, not pursued, are values that guide my work at the United Steelworkers.

And while you're at it, check out the latest edition of Green Labor, a newsletter dedicated to building coalitions between labor and environmentalists. The first edition, which also contains and article by Foster, can be found here.