Dave Campbell, José Bravo, and Dr. Eduardo Siqueira in São Paulo with the Federation of Labor Unions in the Food Industry of the state of São Paulo. Photo credit: José Bravo

“So, our particular union, we’ve been thinking about what we call the ‘just transition’ for 46 years”, said Dave Campbell, Secretary-Treasurer of the United Steel Workers Local 675 and Board Secretary of the Just Transition Alliance. He describes how back in the 90s his union started a campaign called “The Superfund for Workers” in response to an environmental clean-up law that was passed called The Superfund. This law, although a step in the right direction for the environmental movement and the health of our Mother Earth, “didn’t provide anything for the workers or communities that were destroyed when all the jobs were lost.”

Dave recently shared this experience with labor groups, governmental agencies, students and academics in Brazil during a trip with José Bravo, Executive Director of the Just Transition Alliance. After we provided a just transition training for the USW in September, Dave and José traveled to Brazil to learn from local efforts for a just transition and explore ways to align movements globally, with the goal of forming an international, multi-racial and intergenerational Just Transition coalition at COP 30, which is taking place in Brazil next year. At JTA, we believe a just transition must prioritize workers’ and communities’ health, environment, and jobs. Those that face disproportionate harm on the frontlines of toxic exposure are largely people of color and of low-income, yet time and time again, they are not part of the solutions. Frontline workers and fenceline communities need a seat at the decision making table, and any losses should be fairly compensated.

Dave explained that many workers had found themselves in situations where they were producing products that were ultimately unsustainable and dangerous, leading to the loss not only of their jobs but also of their health. These experiences have been crucial in propelling the labor movement toward a just transition. However, the concept of a just transition is often co-opted by corporations and lobbyists to push false solutions that ultimately serve the interests of the same companies that are the source of the problem.

The false dichotomy between “jobs” and “the environment” has been used by powerholders on both sides of the argument–corporations and big green groups–to resist the shift toward a nuanced, creative, grassroots-guided just transition. Workers have been pitted against their own communities, rather than against the companies responsible for the harms that must be stopped and healed. Petrochemical companies win when the struggle is framed as “jobs vs. environment,” continuing to rake in billions while avoiding accountability.

We must challenge this false dichotomy. It is possible—and necessary—that the world we exist in is one in which we have jobs that benefit the environment. A just transition to a green economy is the only path to make this happen.

This transition is already underway. Dave shared that, under new climate and greenhouse gas emission rules, the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles in California is set to end by 2035. While there will still be used cars running on gasoline or diesel, the fleet of new cars powered by fossil fuels is expected to be phased out by that year. Oil workers noted how conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic foreshadowed   the impending disappearance of petrochemical and fossil fuel industries. People were staying home and the demand for crude oil plummeted; refineries couldn’t sell anything and oil workers were afraid they were going to lose their jobs. Unions saw firsthand the need for a just transition to a green economy because the world is changing and has to change.

Connections like this, where lived experiences and community-based knowledge are shared across movements and countries, are central to the work of the Just Transition Alliance and they underscore why Dave Campbell is a founding member of JTA. Despite the challenges posed by climate change, environmental degradation, globalization, and the rise of artificial intelligence, it is crucial to remember that what unites us is stronger than what divides us. As Dave remarked, “it’s always been jobs vs. the environment…We not only lose our jobs, but we lose our health and we lose our health for our children, our children’s children. The just transition for workers and communities is a slogan that can unite us. And we can then focus our fire on the corporations to pay for the just transition.”

Dave Campbell, José Bravo, and Dr. Eduardo Siqueira in São Paulo with the Metropolitan Union of High School Students (UMES) of the city of São Paulo. Photo credit: José Bravo