“The Trump administration has taken significant steps backward on climate policies from abandoning the Paris climate agreement to loosening emissions regulations on vehicles to removing the word “science” from the EPA’s mission statement altogether. But the science of climate change cannot be scrubbed so easily. As the effects of climate change become a reality, we can expect higher local and global temperatures and more coastal flooding, as well as more severe and frequent extreme weather. This is particularly troubling for New Jersey, when more than 7 million people live on the coast.
It’s hard to live when your home or workplace is flooded or damaged from extreme weather; if you are an hourly or low-wage worker, there’s also the very real economic impact of losing a day’s pay. While some workers are likely to feel the impact of climate change before others, we are all at risk.
Whether the Trump administration wants to believe it or not, fighting climate change and improving conditions for workers are intertwined. That’s why this Workers Memorial Day, an annual day to honor those who lost their lives on the job, suffered a workplace injury, or contracted an occupational illness, labor and environmentalists stood in solidarity with a rallying cry of “Climate justice is worker justice!” Our members understand that fighting for safe workplaces for all workers means fighting for action on climate change.”
Read more from NJ Work Environment Council Executive Director, Dan Fatton and Louis Kimmel, Executive Director of New Labor at NJ Spotlight, May 1, 2018.
