Days before the Global Climate Strike, a top climate action advocate called on all campaigners and backers of the Green New Deal to offer full-throated support to the 50,000 auto workers who went on strike Monday, encouraging solidarity between the two movements.
Tweeting that all workers deserve dignity and fair treatment by their employers, Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash wrote of the striking members of the United Auto Workers (UAW), “I encourage members of the Sunrise Movement to support their efforts wherever possible.”
Prakash’s tweet came hours after UAW workers began their first walkout in over a decade after negotiations with General Motors fell apart. The multi-billion-dollar company is pushing for workers to pay a greater share of their healthcare costs after slashing 15,000 jobs last year and receiving $514 million in the Republican Party’s tax plan.
“From the five-day work week to workplace safety standards and the New Deal, strikes have a long history of transforming American politics,” Prakash added in a statement. “We stand in solidarity with the workers who are writing the next chapter in our country’s history, and will be there shoulder-to-shoulder as we go on strike for a livable future and good jobs for all at the global climate strikes this Friday. We support the UAW and youth climate strikers, and urge all Sunrise members to strike in solidarity with them both.”
Workers’ rights are a major component of the climate action movement. Groups including the Sunrise Movement and 350.org have demanded policymakers ensure a “just transition” to a renewable energy economy—making sure fossil fuel industry workers are well supported as their jobs give way to growing solar and wind power sectors.
Clean energy industries are outpacing the coal sector in job creation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with solar panel installation alone expected to grow 105 percent between 2016 and 2026. Employment in the coal industry is projected to decrease by more than six percent over the same period.
Prakash’s call to Sunrise Movement members mirrors the steadfast support for the climate action movement among labor unions and advocacy groups.
As Common Dreams reported last week, Public Services International called on its 30 million members around the world to support this week’s Global Climate Strike and the week of action that will follow.
“The climate strike provides an opportunity to break out of our constraints, to reinvigorate our movement, to learn from young people on the front lines, and to redefine what is possible,” wrote Rosa Pavanelli at Common Dreams, noting that workers and climate advocates are often pitted against one another.
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