• When: Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m.
• Where:  In person at OLLI at UNCA or online with Zoom (Note: to join our Zoom presentations, you must click this link.)

IMPORTANT: You can park for free at OLLI but you must register for a visitor parking permit ahead of time in order to do so. You can do so online at unca.aimsparking.com or using one of three computers available at OLLI. 

Learn about the challenges and success of mining resources related to our transition to clean energy at the WNC Sierra Club meeting on Sept. 4 at 7 p.m.
 
Randy Francisco, a project field organizer with the United Steelworkers Union, will discuss ways that “environmentalists and labor can work together to ensure that workers and their communities are protected from harm from this mining. And that those communities are left with a better place even after the closure of their mine.” Specifically, he will talk about changes taking place in North Carolina, including the mining of lithium near Kings Mountain/Charlotte.

“Our shift to a cleaner economy is vital to the future of our planet. And we have an opportunity and an obligation to make sure that our clean economy is one that benefits everyone and not just the (wealthiest) one percent,” Francisco says.

Francisco also spent nearly 20 years working for the Sierra Club, primarily on their Beyond Coal Campaign. He was also one of the National Sierra Club Organizers tasked with launching the Blue Green Alliance in 2006. Initially an alliance between the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers Union, the Alliance has since expanded to include many more national environmental organizations and unions. 

Francisco's work with the USW is focused on the raw materials that will be used in our transition to a clean economy. 

One of Francisco’s final projects at the Sierra Club was to ensure the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the National Defense Authorization Act. Through these efforts money is now available to aid in our transition to clean energy. With those federal dollars come provisions that can help communities ensure that workers are protected in their efforts to form a union. And in doing so, they are better able to protect themselves and their neighbors from the harms that have historically come from mining and resource extraction. 

The WNC Sierra Club meets on the first Wednesday of the month in Room 102 at UNCA’s Reuter Center/OLLI on 300 Campus View Rd. and simultaneously on Zoom. Our programs are free and open to the public. Click here to join the Zoom meeting. 

Can't make the meeting? Don't worry - recordings of the programs are posted on our website a week after the meeting.  Our archive can be found here.

For more information, contact WNC Sierra Club Chair Judy Mattox at judymattox15@gmail.com or by phone at (828) 683-2176.