Machinists union provides national labor leadership in fighting climate change

The climate panel at the IAM convention in New York. At right is John Harrity. | Photo via IAM

Recent actions at the 2024 International Association of Machinists (IAM) Grand Lodge National Convention in New York City point the way to increased labor movement leadership in combating climate change and creating a more just society.

The IAM passed a resolution to include “Just Transition” in any actions oriented toward fighting climate change, creating new sustainable energy-related jobs, and fighting for environmental justice.

The notion of a just transition aims to address provision of jobs and assistance to workers and communities hurt by climate change and those workers and communities impacted by the move to sustainable energy production and conservation.

The resolution places the IAM (with nearly 600,000 active and retired members in the United States and Canada) in the leadership of the labor movement when it comes to addressing the negative impacts of climate change on workers, communities, and the planet. It also places the union in the forefront of efforts to create new union jobs designed to combat climate change and create livable sustainable communities.

According to the IAM, delegates at the 2016 and 2022 national conventions “passed resolutions to spearhead initiatives aimed at transitioning IAM-represented industries toward sustainable practices.” These industries, which range from aerospace and manufacturing to healthcare and federal services, “are among the significant energy consumers and are pivotal to the union’s strategic shift towards environmental stewardship.”

The 2024 convention took these previous achievements to a new level by holding a panel discussion on an IAM/Cornell University Climate Jobs Institute-sponsored report, “Reclaiming Our Future: A Climate Jobs Agenda for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.”

According to the union, “the study highlights the urgency of the climate situation and the potential for growth and renewal within the union through strategic engagement with green technologies.”

Panel speakers were John Harrity, who worked at Pratt and Whitney, an aircraft engine manufacturer, and is a retired president of the Connecticut State Council of the International Association of Machinists, and Zach Cunningham, Assistant Director of Labor Education at the Climate Jobs Institute at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Both speakers discussed the report, with an emphasis upon “the dual challenge and opportunity presented by the climate crisis.”

Harrity commented, “This fight on climate change is literally about our collective survival, but it is also about our growth and renewal as a union if we are smart enough to seize the opportunities before us.”

After the panel, the convention took up Resolution No. 6 on Climate Safety. It identified climate change as “the most dangerous threat to human existence around the globe, including IAM members and their families throughout the U.S. and Canada.” The resolution also established actions that the IAM will take to respond to the climate change crisis.

Included was a program for IAM members “focused on educating our members about climate change, including the needs and demands of Just Transition, Resiliency, Adaptation, and Mitigation.”

Another significant part of the resolution encourages the union, at every level, “to forge ties with existing or developing climate coalitions to maximize our ability to fight for climate safety and social justice.”

The resolution declared IAM’s determination “to become the leading union in the fight for a sustainable planet with new, green, union jobs.”

During discussion on the resolution, there were delegates speaking for and against it. Toward the end of the discussion period, Harrity walked up to one of the microphones on the convention floor.

With over a dozen years of experience learning about climate change and leading struggles in Connecticut and nationally, Harrity spoke about the existential threat climate change poses for workers, communities, and the planet. He also talked about the opportunities to build a stronger union movement as well as stronger communities.

He urged the delegates to support Resolution No. 6 and help IAM play a leading role in this struggle.

Delegates voted to approve the resolution.

An IAM article distributed to members described just transition, saying the concept “asserts that workers displaced from jobs by climate change should receive supplemental income, insurance, and pension benefits.” It also aims to “address and correct the inequities faced by people of color who have been  systematically excluded from jobs in the energy sector” while supporting their communities, “which have been disproportionately impacted by the presence of highly polluting power plants.”

The resolution also included language to ensure that green technology used in U.S. is made here and by IAM members. The union declared that its “commitment to ‘Just Transition’ underscores IAM’s dedication to social justice and equality in the face of climate change.”

Implementing the resolution within the IAM and building additional support across the labor movement will require building broader climate change coalitions.

Previously, Harrity organized a climate change conference in Connecticut that brought together a wide range of organizations from the labor, environmental, racial justice, and faith communities.

Encouraged by John Olsen, then president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, to represent the labor movement, this conference resulted in the formation of the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs. It continues to play an important role in building the climate crisis movement in Connecticut. Harrity is now President Emeritus of the Connecticut Roundtable.

The passage of the Just Transition resolution shows that IAM continues to play a leading role in building a labor-led climate movement that addresses the negative impacts of the climate crisis while working to achieve the benefits of a sustainable planet.

We hope you appreciated this article. At People’s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading People’s World and the stories we bring you, please support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today. Thank you!

---

CONTRIBUTOR

Gil Netter

Gil Netter is a writer from Connecticut.