This Labor Day weekend, we’re celebrating Tony Mazzocchi, the former president of the Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers Union. Mazzocchi was instrumental in the passage of the Clean Air Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Mazzocchi also founded the Labor Party to represent the interests of everyday working people. His far-sighted and holistic vision continues to inspire the work of the Just Transition Alliance.
A large part of our mission is to focus on people at the frontlines of polluting industries. Our work with the Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (now United Steelworkers) has been pivotal in shaping the concept of Just Transition and what we do: bringing together workers and communities at the frontlines and fencelines of toxic pollution to strategize Just Transition pathways towards safe, healthy, dignified and deeply rewarding livelihoods. We stand for a just transition to regenerative local and regional economies that fit the needs of communities and everyday people.
We know that a Just Transition includes both workers and communities, and we’re grateful to our partners like the United Steelworkers Local 675 and Familias Unidas por la Justicia who share that vision. Unions must renew their historic position as social justice leaders, rather than collaborate with the corporate co-optation of Just Transition language. To see what this can look like in practice, read about a vision for local economies growing from the relationships built between Teamsters and EJ community organizations.