CUPE 2012-01 Members of the Terrace Women`s Resource Centre in British Columbia negotiated a progressive language that helped workers respect the principles of the workplace environment: the Green Agreements Collective database provides examples of contract language obtained by unions fighting climate change by bringing environmental issues into their tariff priorities. These examples come from publicly available collective agreements, particularly in Canada, but also from Australia, the United Kingdom and international standard agreements. The U.S. agreements will be added in 2016. The fight against climate change and the fight against socio-economic inequalities go hand in hand, guest speaker Colleen Thorpe told delegates on Tuesday. Promoting maintenance and sustainability in the workplace through various measures can help improve the environmental performance of a workplace and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some CUPE residents have used the language of bargaining to push their employers to extend to employment some common principles and practices of household and community conservation and sustainability. CUPE 3942 in Ottawa, the language negotiated to help its members use bicycles. The employer reimburses workers who travel by car for gas and vehicle wear coverage.
Today, they have expanded transportation opportunities by also compensating employees who use bicycles. According to CUPE 3942 President Denis Savard, Social Services Agency staff see it as a progressive environmental step that has encouraged more cycling trips to and from work and increased bicycle use for employees visiting community customers. “The parties agree that a safe and clean work environment is essential to be able to perform tasks satisfactorily. The employer undertakes to study the use of environmentally friendly products. We will supplement this collection with new clauses, as more and more unions are negotiating for these issues. Please send your consent or the green clauses you want to share with acwinfo@yorku.ca. A similar situation was reported in the latest newsletter from Labor Network for Sustainability. The Central Labor Council of Miami conducted a survey and interviews in which it interviewed afSCME leaders and coalition partners Florida, IUOE and South Florida Building Trades, Unite HERE, United Teachers of Dade and the Miami Climate Alliance of Community and environmental groups to voice their concerns about climate change and health. The responses reflected the difficulties of working surprisingly in extreme heat and also posed the question: “Did extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods or high heat affect your day-to-day work?” Recurring responses were “having to work during a hurricane or bad weather” and concerns about job security and lost wages because a job is closed. Other concerns include precarious jobs that have to work overtime without home care and “no access to clean drinking water.” Given the commonly accepted consensus that climate change will make extreme weather disasters more likely in Canada and around the world, and in the face of the misery of Hurricane Florence, it is time to consider the dilemma of those who must work despite evacuation orders and disasters. A recent AFL-CIO blog (reposted to Portside) sums up the problem: “You can get fired because you don`t show up for work during a hurricane” (Sept).