Todd Vachon discusses his recently published book, Clean Air and Good Jobs: U.S Labor and the Struggle for Climate Justice at this book launch event, hosted in person and online on January 18, 2024 from 3:00--4:30PM MST.
You can register to attend this event in person at 135 West Hall here or via Zoom here.
About Clean Air and Good Jobs: U.S Labor and the Struggle for Climate Justice
The labor-climate movement in the U.S. has laid the groundwork for the Green New Deal by building a base within labor for supporting climate production as a vehicle for good jobs. The incoming confrontation of the climate crisis and pursuit of environmental justice brings a "jobs vs. environment" discourse that often pits workers against climate activists. How can we make a "just transition" moving away from fossil fuels while also compensating for the human cost when jobs are lost or displaced?
In his timely book, Clean Air and Good Jobs: U.S Labor and the Struggle for Climate Justice, Todd Vachon examines the labor-climate movement and demonstrates what can be envisioned and accomplished when climate justice is on labor's agenda, and unions work together with other social movements to formulate bold solutions to the climate crisis. Vachon profiles the workers and union leaders who have been waging a slow but steadily growing revolution within their unions to make labor, as a whole, an active and progressive champion for both workers and the environment. Clean Air and Good Jobs examines the "movement within the movement," offering valuable solutions to the dual climate and inequality crises.
About the Author
Todd E. Vachon is Assistant Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University, where he also serves as the Director of the Labor Education Action Research Network (LEARN). As the Director of LEARN, Todd oversees the University’s labor education programs, including classes, research, and workshops for workers, unions, and other justice-focused organizations. Todd’s research, which has been published in a variety of academic and popular outlets, focuses on inequality, labor, climate change, and justice. His recent book, Revaluing Work(ers): Toward a Democratic and Sustainable Future (Cornell Univ Press 2021)—co-edited with Tobias Schulze-Cleven—puts forth a labor studies perspective on the future of work and workers. His new book, Clean Air and Good Jobs: U.S. Labor and the Struggle for Climate Justice (Temple University Press 2023), focuses on the American labor-climate movement and the struggle for a just transition. Todd serves as Vice President for Higher Education of AFT-NJ, is Executive Vice President of the Middlesex-Somerset Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and currently chairs the climate justice committee of the Rutgers faculty union, AAUP-AFT.
