Introduction: Trade Union Environmentalists as Organic Intellectuals in the USA, the UK, and Spain

A world systems analysis of union membership and support for government spending on environmental protection

“…There is a positive association between trade union membership and support for government spending on the environment which is observable across world systems positions. However, an alternative line of reasoning suggests that in non-core states, more extensive environmental threats—and thus potentially stronger public support for government spending on environmental protection—might result in less of a distinction between members and non-members, as higher levels of support among the general population leaves less space for a positive membership effect. As Bell (2020: 145) suggests: “poor people's and poor countries’ problems are entwined with environmental problems.” Such a conclusion resonates with the notion of an “environmentalism of the poor” (Martínez-Alier, 1995; Ravi Rajan, 2021; Satheesh, 2021; Wissen and Brand, 2021: 709), a concept articulated partly to defy the perception of environmentalism as a luxury good, instead emphasizing nature preservation “as an indispensable source for the production of the means of life” (Räthzel et al, 2021: 15).…”

“…Trade unions’ relationship to the environment is an area of increasing interdisciplinary interest including contributions from industrial relations scholars and the emerging field of environmental labor studies (Flanagan and Goods, 2022; Räthzel et al, 2021; Ringqvist, 2022; Uzzell and Räthzel, 2013a). Prominent accounts in the literature, which are predominantly qualitative studies with a particular focus on the level of union policy, point to recurring dilemmas between jobs and environmental protection (Räthzel and Uzzell, 2011; Thomas and Doerflinger, 2020).…”

A just transition: Insights from the labour unions of a steel locality (Taranto, Italy)

“…This article contributes to the increasing body of literature on just transition (Bailey and Caprotti, 2014; Clarke and Lipsig-Mummé, 2020; Clarke and Sahin-Dikmen, 2020; Cock, 2014; Felli, 2014; Galgoczi, 2014, 2020; Hampton, 2015, 2018; Hoffer, 2020; Morena et al., 2019; Normann and Tellmann, 2021; Räthzel and Uzzell, 2013a, 2013b; Räthzel et al., 2021; Silverman, 2006; Stevis, 2011; Stevis and Felli, 2015; Sweeney, 2009; Wang and Lo, 2021). Specifically it interrogates the way in which TUs thematize and engage with the challenge of transition in a specific locality – Taranto, Southern Italy – and in one of the most carbon-intensive sectors – the steel industry.…”