Green Labor Journal - Working for a Substainable Future

NLC Launches Green Workplace Certificate Program

New Program trains unions members, others to green the workplace.   In cooperation with the AFL-CIO’s Center for Green Jobs, the NLC has developed the Green Workplace Program in order to empower working people to advance the cause of sustainability in their workplace.

 

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The National Labor College (NLC), the nation’s only accredited higher education institution devoted exclusively to educating union leaders, members and activists, is pleased to announce the NLC’s Green Workplace Representative Certificate Program, which will be offered in Spring 2010.  In cooperation with the AFL-CIO’s Center for Green Jobs, and in response to innovative work on sustainability and climate change by unions in the United States and Britain, the NLC has developed the Green Workplace Program in order to empower working people to advance the cause of sustainability in their workplace.

Curriculum for the Green Workplace Representative Certificate Program is targeted to working adults who are leaders in unions, companies, public sector agencies, and other organizations.  Completion of this four-week curriculum will enable the Green Workplace Representatives to obtain a nationally-recognized certificate from an accredited college that will contribute to their career advancement.  Students will also benefit from the NLC’s unique educational experience. 

One of the unique aspects of the NLC is that its campus and educational programs are located at what could be considered “the crossroads of the Labor Movement.”  In an NLC class, it’s typical to find union members and working people from a broad range of industries, unions, regions and levels of experience.  The NLC, in other words, is where labor leaders, working people and progressive thinkers come together to explore issues of the green workplace and green jobs in a collaborative process, guided by the NLC’s experienced faculty. 

The NLC also benefits from close relationships with the affiliate unions of the AFL-CIO, which have been leaders in the field of climate change and sustainability, and whose innovative work in these fields will be showcased in the NLC’s Green Workplace Curriculum.

In more specific terms, the NLC’s Green Workplace Representative Certificate Program will provide union members and working people with the theoretical knowledge and practical training they need to conduct workplace sustainability audits, placing them on the front lines of climate change response.  Based upon the model of the British Trade Union Congress’s (TUC) Union Green Representative program, the NLC curriculum will provide working people with a practical guide for conducting a workplace audit, organizing a “greening committee” in every workplace, and working with management to make the positive changes necessary to achieve sustainability.

Research shows that sustainable workplaces are more productive workplaces.  Thus a further goal of this program is to build cooperative labor-management partnerships so workplaces become safer and more productive, enhance the competitiveness of American firms in the global economy, and contribute to the health of the planet.  Based in part upon the role of the health and safety committees that the labor movement pioneered in many workplaces, a workplace “greening committee” would provide the appropriate forum for discussing the results of workplace audits and negotiating steps to address issues identified in the audits.

In the first week of this four-week certificate program (the four weeks will be spread over twelve to sixteen months), students in the program will receive an overview of the history of environmental policy, labor-environmental cooperation and conflict, and an update on the state of green jobs, as well as an overview of clean technologies and labor initiatives in the fields of sustainability and climate change response, such as the innovative Emerald Cites Program.  Students will also consider what Green Workplace Representatives do and how they do it.

In subsequent weeks, students in this program will consider the following topics as they put together the building blocks of a workplace sustainability audit:
•    heating, cooling, ventilation and insulation,
•    lighting and electrical systems,
•    transportation to and from the workplace,
•    reuse and recycling of workplace materials,
•    renewable energy and energy efficiency,
•    water use issues,
•    green procurement and supply chain issues,
•    the important role of health and wellness in the workplace,
•    the role of the health and safety committee,
•    organizing a workplace greening committee, and
•    building sustainable labor-management partnerships.

One last point about the Green Workplace Certificate Program.  The program’s curriculum is designed for people in every workplace; the level of training will not be highly technical.  Instead, students will learn from representatives of unions in each of these areas where they can go for further information on alternative technologies and processes that may be beneficial in their workplace, if they identify a need for these or similar alternatives during the workplace audits.

Thomas J. Kriger, Ph.D., is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of the National Labor College.