BlueGree Alliance

BlueGreen Alliance

by Betty SueProllock

 

The BlueGreen Alliance is made up of America's largest labor unions and climate change environmental activist organizations. They design ways to create and maintain union jobs that are focused on only industries that are low carbon or no carbon emitting to set in place an avenue to advance a taxing mechanism on industries that emit carbon in hopes to reduce gasoline dependent machinery and vehicles with heavy regulation and taxes while professing its focus is on providing a stronger, fairer economy.

It is dedicated to educating and mobilizing union members and environmentalists on the common solution of what they see as an environmental crisis and job creation. Since its inception in 2006, the BlueGreen Alliance has grown to include many of the nation’s largest environmental and labor organizations with a combined membership of over 15 million members.

The BlueGreen Alliance’s efforts are centered on what they see as an immediate need to develop infrastructure that puts the environmental controls above the needs of the community even though the environment is not necessarily in jeopardy. It is an ambitious organization that seeks to create and maintain union dominate, state and federal jobs across the country. They are not focused on the economy of the locale in question or the national economy. The cost to local communities for their projects are not a concern. Their staff and supporters focus on the designing of public policies, research and analyze metropolitan data throughout the country, push their bias in public education forums to influence local communities to adopt their impractical solutions; expedite complicity between climate change activists and union leaders with local community stakeholders; and indoctrinates union members and activists about how they see the economic and environmental impacts of climate change and how their job-creating opportunities are justified.

"Repair America" is BlueGreen Alliance's campaign to redo the infrastructure systems currently in existence to better suit both their climate change agenda and to create union jobs. Their targets are the carbon and greenhouse gas producing industries such as, transportation, energy, communications, and utilities that they see as driving the controversial anthropogenic (human caused) climate change.

They want to persuade those living in non-unionized and metropolitan areas that their agenda of controlling climate change while creating green union jobs is a perfect opportunity to improve unemployment locally. But in reality, this is for seeking support for their own self interests through union dues and taxes in order for them to stay dedicated to their attempts to control the environment. Their message is that their infrastructure solutions should be the backbone of the national economy being facilitated by union workers only. They want to persuade Americans that our infrastructure is inadequate and inefficient but they are not referring to the primary type of infrastructure upon which we rely . . . freeway systems, roads, and infrastructure accommodating motorized vehicles. They are referring to the infrastructure that is not relied upon as much such as rail systems and street cars because they are wanting to create a new paradigm for transportation. They what to move the nation to rely more on mass transit systems that cater to their affecting their climate control/change agenda and not the needs of the individual traveler. Improving infrastructure for fossil fuel dependent modes of transportation is not their concern.

Their "Repair America" campaign lobbies for higher taxes to fund their climate change agenda under the guise of creating millions of jobs not necessarily for local "open shop" laborers but for union workers, in particular, across the country.

In consideration that Texas, being an "open shop" or "right to work" state and not a union controlled state, it is my opinion that this is just the first of many non-union states that will be targeted in an attempt to assimilate the nation state by state by:

1) introducing large infrastructure projects in order to provide employment
for union members facing unemployment from declining economies in other
states and communities. This is the primary objective even when the
"infrastructure" being purposed is not a necessity in the targeted area, just
that it has a more robust economy that they see as being able to afford a
higher tax burden to support their projects


2) introducing large infrastructure projects in mainly non-union "right to work"
states in order to increase union membership and dependency by only
employing union members for the jobs and preventing local "open shop"
industry professionals from benefiting


3) lobbying local community leaders that rail systems from state to state or
light rail commuter systems between metropolitan areas will relieve their road congestion problems, create sustainable employment for local residents, and will reduce greenhouse gases.


What would result from the success of their vision for our transportation needs and economy would not achieve any of the promotional rhetoric except for reducing greenhouse gases in minuscule proportions. The cost of the projects would come from an increase in taxes for local residents, whether they benefit or not from the proposed infrastructure, with little to zero evidence there would be a return on the investment. In addition, local unemployment would not benefit without the condition of joining the union and paying union dues. If Texas becomes a union controlled state, the cost of living would increase tremendously.


BlueGreen Alliance internships receive a unique progressive discipline to work with this fast-growing organization. Among the internships available are legislative, communications, and field. Interns are taught how to do research, blogging, lobbying, activism, and working with the nation's most politically active labor unions and environmental organizations.


Organizational Officials

David Foster

Founding Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance, a national partnership of labor unions and environmental organizations

He has been a leader in the combination of labor and environmental doctrine for the past 30 years. From 1989-2006, he served as Director of United Steelworkers (USU) District 11, a 13-state in the northwest region influencing the District’s unionizing of iron ore and other mineral miners workers as well as steel, aluminum, tire, paper, oil and gas workers, in some of the world’s largest corporations. As USW's International Executive Board, he chaired the union’s Task Force on Environmental Policy, which aggressively worked to incorporate the union workers and environmentalists throughout the United States.

Foster regularly conducts media interviews and gives keynote presentations on issues ranging from climate change to globalization, green economic development, labor, and management, to environmental and governmental audiences in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, South America and Japan.

Since 2006, the BlueGreen Alliance has grown to be one of the nation’s leading voices for progressive agendas and has received several green awards. Foster received the Jane Lehman Bagley Award from the Tides Foundation in 2004, an organization associated with George Soros.

Rob McCulloch

Director of Infrastructure Programs regarding State and National Automobile, Transportation, Water and Pipeline Issues

He leads policy development, advocacy and staff efforts regarding transportation, water and pipeline initiatives. He is responsible for the efforts to increase fuel efficiency and pollution regulation for light-duty vehicles and commercial trucks, advocating for higher taxes in a multi-modal transportation network, promoting water infrastructure, and enforcing the safety and efficiency regulations of pipeline systems.

Prior to joining BlueGreen, Rob worked with Environment America as Transportation Advocate. Previously, he worked at Legacy Property Group and RCLCO, where he directed urban mixed-use development as a project manager and General Contractor, and guided development strategy for more than 40 commercial real estate projects valued at over $880 million.



Lee Anderson

Legislative and Policy Advocate regarding Energy Efficiency, Industrial Efficiency, Recycling

He works specifically on issues affecting the forestry products sector, America's third largest industry.

Prior to BlueGreen Alliance, he was a labor and employment attorney with the Provost Umphrey Law Firm, representing labor unions and individual workers which centered on union organizing and bargaining issues. Admitted to practice law in Arkansas, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Iowa, Lee has advocated for worker rights, at both the trial and appellate level, in State and Federal jurisdictions across the southeast and mid-western United States.

Charlotte Brody

Vice President of Health Initiatives regarding Environmental, Public and Workplace Health; Chemicals Policy; Green Schools

Joined BlueGreen Alliance in January 2010 after being with the National Field Director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, which dealt with federal policies in the handling of toxic chemicals.

She previously served as the Director of Programs for Green For All, was Executive Director of Commonweal, and was a founder and Executive Director of Health Care Without Harm.

Jacques Koppel

Director of the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation's Clean Energy Manufacturing Center regarding Wind and Solar Supply Chains

He has lead in the technology-based economic development and manufacturing extension for over twenty years at the state and national levels and from a public policy as well as implementation perspective. He created the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Industrial Resource Center manufacturing initiatives in 1988, which continue to operate.

He was a founding board member of the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM), and has chaired the National Governor's Association Technology Council of the States.


Kelly Schwinghammer

Vice President of Strategic Communications & Outreach regarding Communications and Media Strategy

She joined in June 2008 for that role of overall communications strategy to unite the unions and climate control/change organizations.

She heads the organizations earned and paid media events, online communications and develops their overall strategy for major their initiatives, including the Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference and their The Job's Not Done Tour, a nationwide bus tour using activist union members to promote action on green jobs agenda.

Schwinghammer has directed communication on a variety of issue advocacy and electoral campaigns. In 2012, she served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Communications and Research for Minnesotans United for All Families which help defeat a constitutional amendment advocating marriage to be only between a man and a woman, managing the campaigns $6 million paid media effort, research and message development, and an aggressive earned media plan, as well as an innovative online campaign.

Prior to joining the BlueGreen Alliance, she was the Communications Director for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, where she drove the party's communications strategy for statewide electoral campaigns. She also directed Minnesota communications for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Schwinghammer also served as Deputy Communications Director for Minnesota America Coming Together (ACT) in 2004 and as Press Secretary for Families USA, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to getting families to sign up for Obamacare.

Michael Williams

Director of Policy and Legislation regarding Green Schools and National Clean Energy Policy

Mike focuses primarily on energy and environmental issues. He has led BGA’s policy formulation and legislative campaigns on federal climate control/change legislation, various green energy and energy efficiency policies, and green schools.

Previously, Mike worked as Congressman Lloyd Doggett’s (D-TX) Legislative Assistant, handling energy, environmental, and transportation issues. While there, he helped author the Climate MATTERS Act, among the most progressive pieces of climate change legislation at that time. Prior to working for Mr. Doggett, Mike worked for the National Wildlife Federation, helping launch their environmental education advocacy campaign and assisting with policy and campaigns on energy policy and the Water Resources Development Act.

Jim Young

Vice President of Programs regarding Alliance Building and Worker Education

Having worked with the BlueGreen Alliance since it was an idea, Jim Young now serves as the Vice President of Programs, developing and overseeing the content of BlueGreen Alliance programs.

He has 20 years of experience working with unions and labor coalitions. He has been a consultant to many unions, including 1199 Service Employees International Union, Utility Workers Union of America, and the Association of Flight Attendants. Jim has also served as Special Projects Director for the New Jersey Work Environment Council, the oldest and largest statewide labor-environment alliance in the country. A former full-time journalist, Jim has written for Newsday, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Village Voice, The Guardian (U.K.) and many other publications.

In addition, Jim is a Principal with The Labor Institute in New York City. For more than 30 years, The Labor Institute has provided union training and education programs on Keynesian economics, climate control/change, and Obamacare.

Leo W. Gerard


Co-Chairs


He is a Canadian citizen and a steel worker. He is the president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW), elected in 2001. He is also a vice president of the AFL-CIO.



Michael Brune

Co-Chair

He is also executive director of the Sierra Club since January 2010, an American environmental organization. Prior to working for the Sierra Club, Brune was the executive director of the Rainforest Action Network and worked as an organizer for Greenpeace. He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, a progressive website. In 2008 he published a book called Coming Clean -- Breaking America's Addiction to Oil and Coal.

In 2014 Brune was confirmed as the Hillary Institute of International Leadership's Hillary Laureate in recognition of his work on Climate Change issues.


Kim Glas

Executive Director

She has influence in both labor unions and climate change organizations dedicated to expanding jobs in the industries they see as needing to be transformed into clean energy industries using only members of labor unions.

Over the past 15 years, she has leveraged herself in senior with key leadership positions in the Obama administration and the U.S. House of Representatives, most recently serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods, and Materials at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that capacity, she effected her agenda of regulation and control in the broad product range of U.S. textiles, apparel, consumer goods, metals and mining, forest products, and chemicals and plastics manufacturing sectors and industries.

Prior to her efforts in the Obama administration, Ms. Glas sent 10 years on Capitol Hill, influencing the manufacturing, trade, and economic policy issues for Congressman Mike Michaud from Maine and Congressman John LaFalce from New York. As Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director for Congressman Mike Michaud, she led efforts in the House of Representatives to establish the House Trade Working Group, a bipartisan organization consisting of members of Congress, staff, labor, environment, and consumer groups that served as a key coalition in the House direct trade and manufacturing issues.

The USW, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Green for All and the BlueGreen Alliance, a partnership of the USW and Sierra Club, launched the national Green Jobs for America campaign.

Organizational Affiliates

United Steelworkers Union (USW)

The USW, is not just for steel workers. It is the union for the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International and is the largest industrial labor union in North America, with 860,294 members. It is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, and represents workers in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean but has affiliations globally.

This powerful union is supported by union dues from workers in a diverse range of industries, including: fabricated metals, chemicals, glass, rubber, heavy-duty conveyor belting, tires, transportation, utilities, container industries, pharmaceuticals, call centers and health care.

The USW is currently affiliated with the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). The CLC was instrumental in establishing the New Democratic Party (NDP), which is the Canadian democratic socialist political party favoring a mixed public-private economy with broad government provided social benefits and an internationalist foreign policy.

Both the AFL-CIO and the CLC are affiliated with several international union federations that are all interconnected. On July 2, 2008, the USW signed an agreement to merge with the UK and Ireland based union, Unite, to form a new global union entity called Workers Uniting.

The AFL-CIO is one of the highest-spending and most politically active unions. The largest union currently in the AFL–CIO is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), with approximately 1.4 million members.

Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is a lobbying and outdoor group that undermines private property rights and free enterprise in the name of saving nature. They are responsible for influencing Obama's opposition position to the Keystone XL Pipeline. Their sole effort is to centralize control of land and the economy as an authoritarian state. The Sierra Club is profiled in Ron Arnold and Alan Gottlieb's book, Trashing the Economy: How Runaway Environmentalism is Wrecking America.


BGAF: CEMC

The BlueGreen Alliance also provides staff and resources to support the work of its sister organization, the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation, an independent, non-profit, 501(c) (3) organization that conducts research and conditions the public and media to see their agenda as favorable for the environmental and that they can create economic opportunities for the American people.

Its programs include the Clean Energy Manufacturing Center (CEMC) — a "one-stop shop" on the development of clean energy strategies for public officials and small manufacturers looking to participate in supply chains in the growing wind power and solar energy sectors.

Green for All

This organization has a stated goal to build a green economy while simultaneously lifting citizens out of poverty. It was co-founded by Van Jones, a self-professed communist, former head of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Majora Carter, former head of Sustainable South Bronx, and was officially launched in September 2007 at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Jones is currently a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a senior policy advisor at Green for All. In 1994, he formed a socialist collective, Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), which held study groups on the theories of Marx and Lenin and dreamed of a multiracial socialist utopia. They protested police brutality and got arrested for crashing through police barricades. In 1996, Jones decided to launch his own operation, which he named the Ella Baker Center


Jones approached the Apollo organizers because he believed that their original formulation of environmentalists plus labor unions wasn't ambitious enough and wanted to enrich their framework, which he thought started out with too little racial-justice understanding. He was already working on the Ella Baker Center's own environmental program, but saw the Apollo Alliance as a useful partner, with a national platform.


The Apollo Alliance Project

The Apollo Alliance Project, supported by the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation, is wanting to portray themselves as a bold catalyst for the transformation of America to a clean energy socialist economy that will put millions of Americans to work in government subsided with tax revenues high-paying green jobs. Inspired by the visionary Apollo space program, the Apollo Alliance Project lobbies for government investment in the clean energy economy. Working with their coalition of labor, environmental activists and community organizers they claim they will reduce carbon emissions and oil imports, spur domestic job growth and position America to thrive in the 21st Century economy.

In 2011, the Apollo Alliance joined forces with the BlueGreen Alliance to do this. The two organizations combined to become the new BlueGreen Alliance, which is now home to the Apollo Alliance Project. Together the Apollo Alliance Project and the BlueGreen Alliance are building a more effective movement to create a unionized America and promote their climate control/change agenda for the next generation.

From Maine to Michigan to California, the BlueGreen Alliance is working to expand the number and union jobs in only green industries. They are uniting union members, environmental activists, business and community organizers across the country to create these jobs by forcing the expansion of renewable, however, very expensive energy alternative products, defending and expanding union workers' rights and benefits, heavily regulating the production of chemicals, and transforming our nation's transportation, energy, water and communications infrastructures. Together, they are building a powerful and alarming movement.
Transportation

BlueGreen Alliance advocates that America’s roads, bridges, and transit systems are in dire need of repair. But that is not their focus. Most of their officers and directors are in the mass transit systems and secondary industries. They mock the U.S. spending of estimated $1 billion a day on foreign oil but also mock the production of oil stateside. Our transportation accounts for two-thirds of our oil use and nearly one-third of the nation’s greenhouse gas pollution which is nominal. Being good stewards of our environment is good practice but BlueGreen Alliance's main focus is self serving at the determent of our individual liberties.

They compare the U.S. infrastructure spending with China and European's infrastructure spending insinuating that infrastructure is a good solution to increase of GDP. The problem with their argument is that infrastructure, unless they plan on charging a fairly high price to use the infrastructure, does not produce a good or service that can be sold. It will not improve the economy.

The increase in taxes to pay for transportation infrastructure may put people back to work building and providing maintenance for it but that only in the short term. It would have to remain a continuous project in order for it to be sustainable employment. Roads, Bridges, and freeways do need maintenance but the increase in GPD would be short lived or it would have to be akin to a Ponzi Scheme. Improving the efficiency of our transportation network system should be the focus for domestic oil production to reduce the vast outflow of money going to overseas oil and put that money back into the American economy.

Infrastructure tax funds for our highways can jumpstart job creation but infrastructure needs not be considered a commodity to help America compete more effectively in the global marketplace which is what they believe.
National Policy on Transportation

BlueGreen Alliance supports raising taxes to subsidize American-made cleaner vehicles, and pay for roads, bridges, tunnels, rail, transit, and better biking and walking saying this will create millions of jobs throughout the economy referring to infrastructure and the manufacturing of infrastructure materials, and operations. What they miss is that the purchase of these materials will be with tax funds along with the cost of infrastructure and operations. A forward-looking, comprehensive transportation policy should not be focused of mass transportation infrastructure which is inefficient do to the minimum participation by commuters. Campaigning for more mass transportation networks for union workers and making gasoline dependent cars and trucks more expensive in America undermines our ability to travel freely and not be subject to central planners.
Public Transportation

The BlueGreen Alliance supports forcing local tax payers funding their public transportation projects and paying for regional, state and local transit systems on top of the federal tax money for operating costs to maintain transit services in order to keep people employed.
Transit Manufacturing

The Apollo Alliance Project’s Clean Transportation Manufacturing Action Plan is trying very hard to provides comprehensive strategies to try and justify domestic transit systems by saying that they will create 3.7 million direct and indirect jobs over the next six years in industries that are seeing a decline in demand. Many of the products are in the advanced buses, rail cars, green freight movement technologies and component parts. There is a reason for their declining market and lack of demand. Spending tax payer's money in these industries have proven low to no return thus they are not sustainable. America cannot afford this kind of economic progressive economic experiment counting on major increases in ridership over the next two decades, by building a comprehensive intercity and high-speed rail system.

Expanding America’s Railways

Expanding freight rail presents a significant opportunity to support and create quality U.S. jobs while improving the efficiency of freight movement and ensuring the nation remains competitive in the 21st century global economy.
Surface Transportation

They believe long-term lack of investment in our highways, transit and rail infrastructure threatens our economy and limits employment potential. This is not true. The only one of these that needs tax payer funds to make the preferred mode of transportation move more efficiently motor ways. The only employment potential that would have a negative impact would be the expensive union workers that will only work on green projects. Investing in transit systems and rail infrastructure is what will threaten our economy both domestically and nationally. However, we do need networks that have the capacity to meet the demands of an economy that is increasingly dependent upon “just in time” delivery and moves goods more efficiently.

Other Board of Directors include:

Phil Angelides, President, Riverview Capital Investment

James Boland, President, International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers

Robert Borosage, President, Institute for America's Future

Larry Cohen, President, Communications Workers of America

Lawrence J. Hanley, International President, Amalgamated Transit Union

William Hite, General President, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry

Gerald Hudson, International Executive Vice President, Service Employees International Union

Lorretta Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer, American Federation of Teachers

D. Michael Langford, National President, Utility Workers Union of America

Peter Lehner, Executive Director, Natural Resources Defense Council

Mindy S. Lubber, JD, MBA, President, CERES

Joseph Nigro, General President, International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers

Collin O'Mara, President and CEO, National Wildlife Federation

Kathleen Rest, Executive Director, Union of Concerned Scientists

Elizabeth Thompson, President, Environmental Defense Fund Action

Dennis Williams, President, United Auto Workers