The Committee is publishing some of the results in solidarity with students and youth across Alberta and Canada today, who will be walking out of school, interrupting their daily lives, to bring attention to Climate Change and tell their leaders they want action on the issue. Read more below to learn about the strikes.
Attached at the bottom of the page is AUPE’s infographic report where the committee highlights some of the standout information it gathered from the responses to the AUPE-led survey.
“Worker power means a lot of things,” said AUPE Vice-President and Chair of the Environmental Committee Rod Feland.
“For our members, it includes giving workers the freedom and resources they need to both earn a living, and protect the land on which we live and serve our neighbours – those two things don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”
In the survey, members were asked what environmental issues are top of mind and what the union can do to support members who want to mobilize around the causes they care about.
More than one respondent talked about the connection between pollution and big corporations. Some members discussed natural disasters, alluding to climate change and talking about the disproportionate affect of environmental problems on lower income working people, while others condemned industrial agriculture.
“The committee’s report unearths a lot of shared concerns among our membership, and valuable ideas for environmental justice,” Feland adds.
“As Albertans and unions members, we live and work on this land. It connects us to our neighbors, and it’s clear that we stand in solidarity with each other to try and protect it.”
To read the report, click the attachment at the bottom of the page.
Student Climate Strikes
The Climate Strike movement, also known as Fridays For Future, is a grassroots effort that started in Sweden, when Greta Thunberg, a sixteen-year old, called for the strikes and led the first school walkouts.
Since November 2018, over a million young people around the world have organized to continue these rallies on Fridays. To view the full strike schedule visit climatestrikecanada.org/english and to find a rally nearest you today click here .