< Previous | Contents | Next >
Introduction
Wildfires in Canada and the American West. Hurricanes in the Gulf. Torrential downpours in the Northeast and unprecedented heat waves in the Midwest. Climate change is no longer a distant threat to be dealt with at a later time. It is a crisis that has disrupted nearly every aspect of our lives, and it will only get worse in the years to come.
We also face a crisis of runaway inequality. Over the past several decades, society’s richest continued to amass great power and wealth as the vast majority of people struggled to get by. This is due in no small part to the decline of organized labor, fueled by unfriendly politicians and an emboldened corporate class eager to bust union organizing drives. Like virtually all social issues in America, the negative impacts of climate change and increasing inequality fall disproportionately on working people and people of color.
The above realities are not inevitable, and they cannot be solved in isolation. Union workers can push back on these trends, organize, and create a more equal, sustainable economy. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) has a critical role to play in this fight.
The IAM represents workers in a wide range of industries, from aerospace manufacturing and air transportation to healthcare and the federal government. Each of these industries has contributed to the climate crisis through carbon emissions, and climate policy will impact all of them. IAM members have also been negatively affected by climate change on jobsites and in their communities. Heat waves, extreme weather events, and rising sea levels have affected workers in every corner of the United States and Canada. Addressing climate change is essential for protecting these workers and their livelihoods.
While climate action is a necessity, it will also be disruptive to IAM-represented industries. For example, aerospace manufacturing and air transportation are major contributors to climate change. They consume significant amounts of energy and natural resources, and aircraft emissions have a substantial warming effect on the climate.1 To reduce these impacts, the aviation industry will need to embrace new, more environmentally friendly technologies and alternative fuels.2
Factories and manufacturing plants have been the economic backbone of working-class communities, but they are also big contributors to climate change. Many industrial processes, like making chemicals, metals, and other products, release large amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Industries such as steel, aluminum, chemicals, and paper are some of the biggest users of fossil fuels and emitters of harmful gasses that warm our
1 Unger, “Global Climate Impact of Civil Aviation for Standard and Desulfurized Jet Fuel.”
planet.3 The IAM represents members in many of these heavily-polluting manufacturing facilities. Union-led climate action can honor the legacy of North American manufacturing while transforming it to protect people from the climate crisis.
IAM members are also involved in industries such as health care, forest products and printing, food and beverage manufacturing, and government services. These sectors contribute to climate change through various direct and indirect means, including energy use, emissions from transportation, and resource consumption.4
The prospect of change across the economy can be scary, but unions can protect members by staying informed on emerging technologies, engaging with policymakers to create high-quality union jobs in new sectors, and ensuring impacted workers have equitable transition opportunities.
Over the last several years, the IAM has been proactive in addressing the climate crisis. In 2016, the union passed a resolution plainly stating that addressing the destructive nature of climate change is a top priority for the union going forward. It resolved that the IAM will fight to create and secure good union jobs in renewable energy and other industries across North America.5 The union also committed to support training programs to prepare members for sustainable jobs, and to partner with environmental groups, communities, businesses, and others to battle climate change and build a renewable energy economy that benefits all workers.
A 2022 resolution went even further, calling on the IAM to examine how climate change will impact members' jobs and industries. It directed IAM leaders to work with experts, survey members, and develop a full report on plans and approaches for dealing with affected jobs and helping workers transition into new clean energy jobs.6 This report is a result of the 2022 resolution.
This report is split into three parts, each of which is meant to carry out the charges outlined in the 2016 and 2022 IAM resolutions.
● The Climate Crisis & Climate Action for Working People: First, the report outlines the basic causes of climate change, with a focus on its impacts on IAM members and working-class communities. Next, it outlines how the transition toward a clean energy future will create new opportunities for workers and the labor movement.
● The Climate Crisis & the IAM: Next, the report details the many ways climate change affects the IAM’s core industries and geographies. Here, we examine how IAM members and other workers have experienced climate change on the job and in their communities, and what is likely to happen if the crisis goes unchecked. This section also explains the
4 Nzuza, “Effect of Climate Change on the Manufacturing Sector.”
5 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, “Climate Change.”
6 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, “Climate Change Resolution.”
challenges and opportunities that climate action will create for IAM members and their families.
● A Climate Jobs Agenda for the IAM: Finally, the report presents a robust “Climate Jobs Agenda” for the IAM. This section presents a vision for the IAM at every level of the union. The IAM will lead pro-worker, pro-union climate action by growing membership in climate and clean energy industries; it will ensure that new clean energy jobs are high- quality, union careers; it will help North America become resilient to climate impacts; and it will strengthen IAM power at the bargaining table and on the shop floor.
Like the 2016 and 2022 resolutions, this report is not an ending point. Rather, it lays out a vision for how the IAM can engage in climate work. A truly just transition to a clean energy economy will require more than just words. It demands proper recognition of the devastating effects climate change poses to working people, their families, and their communities. It also demands a big, bold, and powerful movement–anchored in organized labor and unions like the IAM–to tackle the climate crisis at the scale science demands, build power for working people and frontline communities, and create an economy that works for all, not just those at the top.