By Jonathan Bash & Julia Foote
Key to the environmental movement—and any effort to address the climate crisis—is strong collaboration with labor and workers’ organizations. We must work together on a common agenda to accomplish our goals and protect both the people and the planet. As the cofounder of the Blue Green Alliance (BGA), the Sierra Club aims to work in solidarity with union partners, workers’ organizations, and frontline communities, and broaden the constituency for climate and environmental justice by deepening the Club’s engagement of working families.
The Sierra Club has asserted its stance on labor in its National Urban Infill Policy accordingly: “Development should honor and support the right to organize and promote quality union jobs and livable wages for both construction work and the permanent jobs that follow. Construction work should pay prevailing wages and utilize apprentices.”
Recently, the Sierra Club’s Mount Diablo Group stood by this policy when Lennar—the developer of the Concord Naval Weapons Station Reuse Project—attempted to turn its back on a Project Labor Agreement that would provide construction jobs for local workers and apprenticeship training opportunities for Concord students. A Project Labor Agreement is a collective bargaining agreement between building trade unions and contractors that governs terms and conditions of employment for all workers on a construction project.
The Concord Naval Weapons Station Reuse Project calls for 13,000 new homes; 2,700 acres of parks; and 6 million square feet of commercial and academic space. A development of this scale is hugely important to bring much-needed jobs and housing to Concord and the broader Contra Costa County.
Our coalition negotiated in good faith to ensure that the development includes environmental benefits like walkable and bikeable streets; equitable, affordable housing requirements; and a strong Project Labor Agreement that ensures local workers—paid the prevailing wage—build Concord’s future. Lennar is threatening to turn its back on its promises and withdraw from these local work requirements and the Project Labor Agreement. The alternative to hiring local union workers at area-wage standards is thousands of underpaid workers driving in from the Central Valley to fill these positions. That means more traffic congestion in Concord, more vehicle miles traveled, the addition of thousands of tons of greenhouse gas emissions to our atmosphere, and the undermining of meaningful employment and economic benefits to the Concord community.
It is vital that we not only stand by our union partners, but we aim to educate Sierra Club members, supporters, and the public about the value of and connections between workers’ rights and environmental protection. Spread the word and ask the Concord City Council to continue to hold Lennar to their agreement throughout the entire redevelopment process at tinyurl.com/PLAConcord. If you’re interested in growing labor partnerships with Sierra Club, email jonathan.t.bash@gmail.com.