Beyond Economy-Environmental Tradeoffs: Divergent Strategic Orientations as Obstacles to Labor-Environmental Coalition Building

• In Event: 50620 - Section on Environmental Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 9: Environmental Social Movements

Abstract

What are obstacles to labor-environmental coalition building? Prior explanations in environmental sociology and climate politics center interest divergence along economy-environment tradeoffs, but organizational differences remain underexplored. Extending movement strategy and intersectional activism scholarships, I assess three strategic orientation dimensions where contrasts prohibit labor-environmental partnerships: depth of challenge, breadth of appeal, and intersectionality of struggle. Analyzing forty-five interviews of North Carolina labor and environmental leaders from twenty-seven organizations, I identify contrasting strategic orientations emblematic of organizational constraints to labor-environmental coalitions. Despite expanding economic and political opportunities for clean energy, union leaders tended towards building consensus with employers on incrementalist projects, servicing a narrow constituency, and articulating single issue goals. Environmental leaders were more divided across orientations, but a significant minority tended towards conflicts against corporate and political opponents of systemic change, expanding appeals to build a mass movement, and articulating interlocking struggles against structural inequalities. Beyond perceived economy-environment tradeoffs, labor-environmental coalitions are also hampered by their organizations’ contrasting strategic orientations. Findings carry importance of movement strategies, intersectional activisms, and culture in the possibilities of coalition building on climate politics.

Author

• Todd Lu, University of Cincinnati