Poznan Perspectives and Aspirations

ITUC delegates listen to a climate change conference briefing session.

Bob Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council and co-chair of the AFL-CIO Energy Task Force, updates us on the 12-day United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Poznan, Poland. This ministerial meeting will build upon the framework negotiated in Bali, Indonesia, a year ago. Of the nearly 100 union delegates, more than 20 are from North America. 

Thomas is a Poznan cab driver who speaks excellent English. As he drove us to our hotel in the outer suburbs, we had a fascinating conversation about the world economic crisis, his birth on a commune in 1982, the genesis of solidarity and democracy in Poland, and the fall of the Iron Curtain when he was a child. He spoke with eloquence and insight. He also told me about the degree in economics he had earned last year from one of the 14 universities located in this city.  

When I asked about his being a cab driver, he said: 

You take the best-paying job you can get. 

He told me it is the same with his other recently graduated friends. He struggled for the words to describe the situation. When I suggested “overeducated and underemployed,” Thomas laughed and said, “Exactly.” He also told me that while it is tough, it is still better than it was seven years ago. Thomas isn’t sure if he will ever use the degree he earned, but his aspiration is to someday have his own business, a motorcycle shop, because he loves riding them. It’s his passion and he wants to do work that he is passionate about, can take pride in and that pays the bills. That sounds familiar. 

Our conversation resonated with our U.S delegation. Late in the afternoon we met with lead U.S. negotiator Harlon Watson, Ph.D. We discussed a series of issues raised by our delegates: the impact of the economic crisis on the negotiating process, technology transfer, union participation in government delegations, targets, timetables and the need for real investments to get there. We also talked a lot about the economic crisis and the need to use the recovery investments to chart a new path for energy independence, good green jobs and a just transition for any adversely affected workers and communities. Our messaging was directed as much or more at the professional staff in attendance because Watson will be leaving in January with the rest of the Bush administration. 

This meeting was immediately followed by a packed event sponsored by the Blue Green Alliance (BGA). Representatives from BGA, the United Steelworkers (USW), IUE-CWA, SEIU, Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), presented findings from their new report, Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs And Start Building a Low Carbon Economy. The announcement that the Sierra Club and the NRDC, two of the largest environmental organizations in the United States, have endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act, drew a round of applause. They have recognized the ability of workers to form unions and bargain is critical to making sure green jobs are good jobs.  

Our workday had been focused on the planet and the role of workers and their communities in improving the environment. Our aspirations are for a cleaner planet and a strategy to get there that will combine environmental and economic development goals. Key to economic development are workers’ rights, democracy and good green jobs, which our international colleagues refer to as decent work. At the heart of decent work are jobs that provide good wages and benefits, utilize workers’ skills and knowledge, and allow workers to take pride in and have passion for their work. That was the same perspective I heard from Thomas, a Poznan cab driver with aspirations and an economics degree.

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