BUILDING A GREEN ECONOMY: ADVANCING CLIMATE JUSTICE THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL-LABOR ALLIANCES*

Abstract

This article explores the role of environmental-labor coalitions in creating opportunities to promote green jobs and to shape climate change policies. The development of a green economy is critical for combating climate change, as well as for addressing rising unemployment and the expansion of precarious work. My research is based on a qualitative study of environmental-labor coalitions in California, United States, and British Columbia, Canada, including fifty-six in-depth digitally recorded interviews with environmental and labor movement leaders and policymakers. The findings point to the importance of three key mechanisms that shape the success of these coalitions: (1) drawing on the strength of organizational diversity, (2) fostering relationships of trust that allow organizations to adopt flexible ideologies, make concessions and tradeoffs, and create hybrid identities, and (3) frame bridging by local social justice organizations to mitigate conflict between environmental and labor movements.