San Diego Labor Community Announces Commitment to Environmental Partnership, Opposition to Attacks on Environmental Laws

Local Union Members Attend Workshops on Energy, Transit, Water, Development;
Hear From National Green Jobs Leader

SAN DIEGO, CA – (April 20, 2010) – Labor leaders from unions throughout the region gathered tonight to hear from keynote speaker Jerome Ringo, former President of the Apollo Alliance, about key environmental issues impacting the region and how the labor community can work with environmental partners to ensure San Diego’s green economy creates middle-class careers for local workers. This Earth Week gathering comes at a time when California's major environmental laws, including the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) are under attack in Sacramento.

"Too often we are presented with a false choice: good jobs or a clean environment," said Lorena Gonzalez, Secretary-Treasurer and CEO of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO and a former environmental attorney. "In fact, we can, and must, have both. We oppose current attacks on California's environmental laws as a step backward for working people. It is nothing more than an attempt by a select group of corporations to undermine the green economy and to gain a free pass to pollute our workplaces and our communities."

Former Apollo Alliance President Jerome Ringo, keynote speaker at tonight's event, notes, "Green jobs and smart growth can revive San Diego's economy and resolve some of our worst environmental problems. Working together, labor and environmental allies can seize this moment to create a just future for America's workers and a cleaner, healthier 21st century for our communities."

Union members were briefed on various environmental issues that create good jobs for San Diego by teams of labor leaders who work on those issues along with environmental experts:

Water Quality
Lorena Gonzalez, Secretary-Treasurer/CEO, San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Bruce Reznik, San Diego Coastkeeper

Mass Transit
Evan McLaughlin, San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Duncan McFetridge, Save Our Forests and Ranchlands

Renewable Energy
Micah Mitrosky, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 569
Richard Miller, Sierra Club

Responsible Development
Graham Forbes, UNITE HERE Local 30
Cory Briggs, Briggs Law Corporation

The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO, represents 192,000 firefighters, teachers, nurses and other workers who are making the region a better place to live and work. For more information, visit www.unionyes.org.

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