Climate Active

NEW SOUTH WALESTeachers Federation

Session 1: 11.30am -12.30pmEducation and training for a sustainable futureKeiko Yasukawa and Tony Brown (UTS)In this workshop we will be exploring how union organisers and educators might work together to initiate a different kind of learning for workers - a critical literacy and numeracy that helps workers to ‘read and write’ the workplace in ways that make the workplace more sustainable for them and future workers. We will pose the question: what role can trade unions play in facilitating workers’ education and training, and why is it important that they do play a role? We hold a view that literacy and numeracy education is a political tool that achieves different things depending on whose hands it is in. In the hands of the employers, workers can develop literacy and numeracy skills that privilege the employers’ agenda. Trade unions have the capacity to subvert this power dynamic to produce a positive and sustainable education agenda in the workplace.

Climate change and low paid workersHelen Masterman-Smith (Charles Sturt University)This workshop focuses on the links between climate justice and social/labour justice. It will discuss the implications of climate change for low paid workers. International strategies aimed at ensuring a just transition towards sustainability, including new environmental rights at work, will also inform the workshop.

Working across boundaries for sustainabilityA/Prof Helen Hasan, A/Prof Mary Kaidonis, Lisa Miller (University of Wollongong)Sustainability issues cut across every work-unit within our educational institutions and solving sustainability problems requires the combination of knowledge and skills from many different areas. We can truly make a difference not only if we set an example by having decent, sustainable workplaces ourselves but also if we promote sustainability through what we teach and what we research. However, to do this we must create mechanisms that allow workers to cooperate across the traditional workplace silos. In this workshop we will talk about many of the difficulties we have encountered in this regard and anticipate that others will have similar stories. We will also talk about the efforts we are making to create networks of diverse workers who can bring together different perspectives, knowledge and skills to the challenges of sustainability.

We will encourage union members at the workshop to put forward ideas on how workers can cooperate on sustainability programs within and possibly also between institutions.

Union members in community climate groups Phil Bradley (TAFE teacher and member of Parramatta Climate Action Network)This workshop will highlight the benefit of networking in the community and working with other members of the community to form strategies to bring our concerns about climate change to policy makers. The workshop will also demonstrate the value of working with other members of the community for actions (personal, local, State and Federal) that can be used to address, in various ways, the effects of climate change on workers and their families.

Permaculture, urban food growing and community self-reliance: Adapting to and celebrating energy descentMichele Margolis“It’s a small world after oil”The hydrocarbon twins, Climate Change and Peak Oil are shaping our future. We can work together to effect positive solution-based change in our practices in our homes, local communities and workplaces. We can make a difference to the addictive consumerist habits which are enmeshed in the fabric of our culture and society, that fuel climate change and that lead us up the garden path of the ‘growth economy’.

The Zero Carbon Australia plan: How we can get 100% renewables in 10 yearsDr Adam Lucas, University of Wollongong/Beyond Zero EmissionsBeyond Zero Emissions (BZE) will present a report that shows what a serious climate policy could look like if the government had the political will to implement it. The report is a visionary one, which shows that with proven technologies we could have 100% renewable energy in ten years. It debunks the myth that solar cannot provide base load power, and proves without doubt that the obstacles to getting action on climate change are political, not technological. This session will look at the BZE report and discuss the important role that unions have in making this vision a reality.

About the ConferenceThe Climate Active Conference is a joint initiative of the NTEU (NSW), LHMU and NSW Teachers’ Federation. Our aim is to build climate activism around climate change amongst union members in the Education and Service Industries.

We believe that climate change is core business for unions. The education and service sector unions must organise for a just transition to a sustainable future economy. We need to look at the power of these industries and work locally to shift that power.

About the SpeakersSusan Price, NTEU panellistSusan works as an administrator in the School of English, Media & Performing Arts at the University of NSW. She has been a member of the NTEU since 1996, and has been active in the women’s, peace, environment and social justice movements for over 20 years. Susan is a member of the NTEU NSW State Executive, and is the President of the University of NSW Branch. Susan is a member of the NTEU’s Environment and Sustainability Network.

WORKSHOPS

Session 2: 3.30pm-4.30pmDirect action on climate change, towards a progressive agendaJames Goodman (UTS) and Stuart Rosewarne (University of Sydney)Climate Action Research Group, SydneyThe ALP and Greens favour market-based models for emissions reduction. The Coalition offers a ‘Direct Action’ non-market approach, centred on subsidies for polluters. What could a progressive non-market approach look like? The workshop debates the possibilities for the decommissioning of fossil-fuel extraction in Australia, and direct provision of alternative renewable energy supplies, through government regulation and service provision. Could the climate and union movements, and the wider left, campaign on such a platform?

Organising around climate changeMarj O’Callaghan (ACTU Organising, Education and Campaign Centre)We’ve tried flyers and posters and lectures and facts and statistics and people still aren’t getting involved. In this workshop we’ll use a simple conversation plan for motivating union members and others in workplaces to get active around climate change issues. At the end of this workshop participants should be able to: Explain how climate change is linked to union organising and building power in their workplace/industry; Have conversations with members and non-members in their workplaces about climate change; Motivate others in their workplaces to take action on climate change

Green universities or greenwash?John Rafferty (CSU)This workshop provides an opportunity to hear and discuss the results of an NTEU funded study of university efforts to green their operations, particularly within NSW. The comparative study has identified areas of best practice and areas for improvement within the sector. It pays particular attention to the opportunities and capacities of workers to be engaged in these efforts.

Cleaners taking climate actionClean Start Leader23% of Australia’s greenhouse pollution comes from energy used in buildings. This is why many buildings are going green. Cleaners are vital workers for making buildings green. Cleaners are being called on to do more work and learn new skills for the climate. Many changes are happening – more recycling, energy efficiency, and green chemicals. Over the last three years, cleaners have joined together in the Clean Start campaign to win respect at work. Cleaners have also been getting active about climate change at home and in the community. At work, cleaners want proper time to do their bit for the climate. Cleaners want chemicals that are healthy, environmentally friendly, and work properly. This workshop is for cleaners and their supporters to discuss the changes that are happening, and how the fight for the climate can fit in to the Clean Start campaign.

Educating teachers and students about sustainabilityPeter CarrollThe experience of SCRAP Ltd in educating for sustainability since 1991 helped to create a sustainable schools program centring on the EcoSnapshot Day in which schools (and other organisations) are guided through 5 audits in Solid Waste, Materials Use and Management (MUM). Water and Stormwater, Energy and Biodiversity/Grounds. The process engages problem solving across several key learning areas while the outcomes engender Environmental Team building, provide a baseline of data for Environmental Management Planning and in some cases actual improvements in environmental sustainability. Delivered by a dedicated non-profit company for two decades, SCRAP’s programs have resulted in significant changes in school practices from the initial paper recycling program to the installation of alternative energy technology with education for sustainability as the key ongoing focus.

Phil Bradley, NSWTF panellist

Phil has been a civil engineer, TAFE teacher, union organiser, Assistant General Secretary of the NSW Teachers Federation and political activist for nearly 40 years. He participated in the Jabiluka uranium mine blockade and numerous other environmental campaigns. After being a member of climate action groups for three years, he believes we must take urgent action against dangerous climate change. Phil stood as a Greens candidate in the 2010 Federal election.

Clean Start Leader, LHMU panellist

Cleaners are being called on to do more work and learn new skills for the climate. Many changes are happening – more recycling, energy efficiency, and green chemicals. Over the last three years, cleaners have joined together in the Clean Start campaign to win respect at work. Cleaners have also been getting active about climate change at home and in the community.

9.30am—Conference registration

10.00 - 11.15am—Panel: Union action for a sustainable futureSpeakers: Susan Price (NTEU), Phil Bradley (NSWTF), Clean Start Leader (LHMU)Chaired by: Helen Masterman-SmithIn this session, representatives from LHMU, NTEU and the Teachers’ Federation will set out the agenda behind this conference. Why should unions take action around environmental issues? Is climate change really core union business? And what sort of actions can unions and union members take to make their workplaces and their communities more sustainable?

11.15 - 11.30am—Morning tea

11.30 - 12.30pm—WorkshopsUnion members and community leaders will lead a series of workshops relating to union actions, education and training, and policy debates around sustainability. For more info see the detailed workshop schedule.

12.30 - 1.30pm—Lunch

1.30 - 3.00—Plenary: Towards decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon world: The International StoryKeynote speaker: Tim Noonan (ITUC) with Dr. Mark Diesendorf on the Australian contextChaired by Genevieve Kelly

3.00 - 3.30pm—Afternoon tea

3.30 - 4.30pm—WorkshopsUnion members and community leaders will lead a series of workshops relating to union actions, education and training, and policy debates around sustainability. For more info see the detailed workshop schedule.

4.30 - 5.00—Conference wrap-upTim Noonan and Genevieve Kelly (NTEU NSW State secretary) will wrap-up the days events.

5.30—Conference drinks

About the SpeakersTim Noonan, Director of Campaigns and Communications at the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Tim joined the ITUC in 1987. Prior to that, he worked as a Research Officer at the Trades and Labor Council of WA for three years. His work in the international trade union movement has covered a wide range of subject areas, including serving as ITUC reference person for the UNEP/ILO/ITUC/ILO Green Jobs report published in 2008. He is currently a member of the Belgian office and technical employees union SETCa, and was previously a member of the WA University Salaried Officers’ Union (now NTEU), the WA Hospital Employees’ Union (now LHMU) and the WA Federated Clerks Union (now ASU)

The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 156 countries and territories and has 312 national affiliates. For more information visit: www.ituc-csi.org

Dr. Mark Diesendorf, Deputy Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at UNSW

Dr. Mark Diesendorf is currently Deputy Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at UNSW. Previously, he was a principal research scientist in CSIRO and Professor of Environmental Science at UTS. His latest books are “Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy” and “Climate Action: A campaign manual for greenhouse solutions”, both published by UNSW Press.

CONFERENCE AGENDA