American Rights at Work Honors Partnerships That Work

by Mike Hall, Aug 30, 2010

An Oregon streetcar maker, a Wisconsin paper mill and a Tennessee solar products manufacturer are three of the eight companies that made this year’s “Labor Day List: Partnerships that Work.”

This year’s annual report by American Rights at Work highlights positive labor-management relationships working in the clean energy economy. Says the group’s executive director, Kimberly Brown:

The companies and union employees featured in our report are leading the way toward a sustainable economy in which businesses thrive, the planet prospers, and workers share in the success they help create.

The employers’ business and labor practices show a shift toward a more sustainable business model for workers, shareholders and the planet. Rather than squeezing workers, each of these companies treats their union workforce as an equal partner.

For example, Sharp Solar in Memphis, Tenn., one of the world’s fastest-growing renewable energy companies, attributes its growth to a strong relationship with its workers’ union, the Electrical Workers (IBEW). Sharp Solar is bringing good manufacturing jobs back to the United States.

United Streetcar in Clackamas, Ore., and its Ironworkers and IBEW workforce  is making the first U.S.-produced modern streetcars in nearly 60 years and buys more than 70 percent of its source materials from U.S. companies. Flambeau River Papers in Park Falls, Wis., produces premium recycled paper used by commercial printers and envelope makers and respects the rights of its employees, members of the United Steelworkers (USW).

The other honored firms are:  Eurofresh, Gerding Edlen Development Inc., Golden Solar, Litecontrol Corp. and  McGough Construction. Click here for the full report.

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