Engaging Diverse Stakeholder perspectives

Labor & Trade Unions

When power plants or mines are shuttered in a community, the impacts on labor go far beyond the workers who lose their jobs. Those workers often have to move elsewhere to find or keep jobs in their specialized field, leaving holes in the economic and social fabric of the community. Understanding the broad needs of labor is critical for designing a just transition, which is why local and/or regional labor or trade unions should be part of any community’s transition conversation.

What They Bring to the Table

• Regional understanding of gaps and opportunities in the workforce landscape
• Technical expertise about workforce development and deep understanding of skills training
• The ability to define good, family-sustaining jobs
• The skillset to negotiate contracts
• A deep grasp of how specific products are made
• An ability to mobilize

Common Concerns for Successful Transition

• Blue collar issues and ideas will be dismissed as less important because they are expressed by working people
• The definition of success will be too narrow. Turning over land or other property to private investors does not always result in the jobs and other amenities needed to define community success.

• That other stakeholders don’t understand that trade unions function differently from other advocacy organizations. A union’s chief role is protecting the jobs and welfare of its members.
• Having the support of “labor,” in a more generic and broad sense, isn’t enough. Support needs to come from on-the-ground, plant-level employees because that’s where the realities of a social safety net and retirement and health care come into play.

• Workers lives need to be a top priority, not an afterthought.

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