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April 1, 2008
BY MARY SWANTON
InsideCounsel
Labor unions and environmental organizations are unlikely allies in the quest for a greener America. Historically, the two viewed each other with skepticism, if not downright hostility. Unions feared the environmentalists’ clean-up measures would close plants and eliminate jobs. Environmentalists berated unions for backing job-creating but Earth-destroying proposals, such as opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling.
But in the past few years, the two sides have found common ground. In 2006, the 1.2-million-member United Steelworkers Union (USW) joined forces with the Sierra Club, the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization, to form the Blue-Green Alliance.
A broader coalition called the Apollo Alliance was launched in 2004 and now counts among its endorsers a long list of unions and environmental organizations. Apollo also is endorsed by dozens of businesses engaged in alternative energy and other “green” projects.
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For more information on Tides Center project Apollo Alliance, see www.apolloalliance.org.
