Can Trade Unions (Be)Come Environmental Innovators?

Thinking of environmental movements in the 21^st century, trade unions are not the organisations that come to mind. They are more likely seen as part of the problem creating environmental degradation, not as part of the solution. However, especially since 2006, when the first international trade union assembly on labour and environment took place in Kenya, many unions across the world have acknowledged the need to incorporate environmental issues into their agendas. Based on two research projects investigating environmental strategies of trade unions in Brazil, India, South Africa, Sweden, Spain, and the UK, as well as those of international unions we will present some issues that characterize trade unions’ environmental engagement. To take environmental issues on board unions need to transcend their present focus on workplace concerns and reinvent themselves as social movement unions. We are especially interested in the role of individuals in this transformation process. From which societal backgrounds do environmentally engaged trade unionists come and what are the conditions which enable them to change trade union practices? What kind of social networks and relations to employers and governments are favourable to develop environmental policies of trade unions and what are the barriers for such transformations? Climate Change is a global issue and thus has to be tackled through cross-country and also inter-union alliances. However, unions are very different in terms of their histories and collective memories, political background, forms of organisation, and sectoral interests. We will discuss the impact of such differences on the unionists’ positions regarding Climate Change and the strategies developed towards addressing it and their relations to other organisations (e.g., unions and governments). The paper is based on an analysis of trade union documents and histories and over 100 qualitative interviews including 80 life history interviews with unionists engaged in environmental policies.