Represents 2.1 million members from more than 1,200 unions.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, AB 32, established what is claimed to be the first-in-the-world comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gases. This has established a context for significant labor involvement with climate change policy in the state. The California Labor Federation quickly acclimated to the progressive laws surrounding environment and climate protection and has become one of labor’s biggest green advocates.

The California Labor Federation and the State Building and Construction Trades Council (SBCTC) have consistently monitored the implementation of AB 32. The SBCTC participated in state committees to shape the AB 32 draft-scoping plan. The CA AFL-CIO has gone to bat for the climate change law multiple times, the most recent of which was in 2012 against a group tied to the Koch brothers. This “secretive group” channeled money into the insidious Prop 32, a measure eerily similar to the earlier Prop 23. Both propositions aimed to repeal AB 32. Labor and environmental groups united to defeat Prop 23 and, in November 2012, after $75 million dollars, they defeated Prop 32, showing their real dedication to climate protection.

The CLF’s Workforce and Economic Development Program (WED) is focused on worker training and re-training aspects of climate protection. Each year WED hosts a “Building Workforce Partnerships Conference” where “high road labor-management training partnerships are highlighted and workforce development, labor, academic, and community allies can come together to talk about workforce and economic development from a progressive perspective.” The last conference on March 14^th and 15^th, 2012, incorporated a panel whose sole focus centered on “the potential for climate change efforts to jumpstart the economy. The discussion ranged from climate policy in California to economic drivers for creating California jobs and high-road job training programs.” The unique nature of the conference allows for coalition creation and green economy innovation.

The CLF helped draft AB 118, the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. It is designed to develop and deploy innovative technologies that transform California’s fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state’s climate mitigation goals. In early 2011, the Employment Training Panel (ETP) “awarded $1.2 million in funding for just this type of training — and almost $1 million of that $1.2 million was awarded to the California Labor Federation to support joint labor-management training programs in public transit. The funding will provide advanced technology training for about 900 bus and rail technicians and mechanics working with energy efficient and green transportation vehicles and equipment.”

The California Labor Federation is pushing hard for a green economy within the state. In the Federations 2012 “Jobs Plan for the 99%” (also known as “Invest in California”), the six-point plan aims to “Speed up businesses’ ability to create jobs without weakening worker protections or environmental standards.” Additionally, the plan calls for the creation of “a clean and green revolving loan fund to help manufacturers to meet AB 32 requirements and create good jobs. Retrofit public buildings and schools to capture savings with high standards and union labor.”

This March (2013), the CLF renewed its support for the California Environmental Quality Act in the face of potentially harmful reforms to the Act. A meeting of its Executive Council resulted in a resolution calling for the preservation of the CEQA. According to Secretary Treasurer Art Pulaski, “For decades, CEQA has been a firewall for California communities, protecting our environment and promoting cleaner, more sustainable development. Efforts by big corporations to roll back this important law put California families, workers and our natural resources at risk.” Some are concerned that weakening the act could open the door to fracking and other equally harmful practices.

As a result of the interest in green energy in the region, “IBEW Local 569 and the San Diego and Imperial Counties Chapter of NECA just announced they will invest an additional $300,000 in the Imperial County Electrical Training Center in 2013 to expand skilled training, hire staff and continue to ensure local residents are first-in-line to build clean energy projects.” The CLF says “this infusion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure is creating much-needed green jobs for IBEW 569 electricians at a time when California continues to struggle from the effects of the Great Recession.” CLF has clearly had a high success rate in keeping alive the green economy in CA.

The Federation has participated jointly with other Western US and Canada labor organizations in the Western Climate Initiative. It has criticized the WCI’s lack of concern with the impact of its proposed cap-and-trade system on jobs, but has indicated its desire to remain a participant in the process.

The CA AFL-CIO is perfectly positioned to be a tremendous ally in the fight against climate change and the negative corporate interests that spur on the warming and degradation of our planet.