Worker Rights, Environmental Justice, and Warehouses: A Case Study of Bloomington, California

• In Event: Labor-Community Solidarity

Abstract

Our case study explores the dynamic and contradictory responses of organized labor and other community activists to new warehouse developments in Bloomington, California, an unincorporated community located in San Bernardino County. Our case study combines insights from a variety of sources, including in-depth interviews with residents and activists, news articles, research reports, organizational websites, and reflections based on our more recent experience serving as legal experts for on-going litigation related to it. Our analysis builds upon insights from previous research on the complex and varied inter-relationships between organized labor and the environmental and climate justice movements in the United States (e.g., Orbach 2004; Rose 2000; Vachon 2023). We argue that the efforts of local labor and community activists in Bloomington serve as a lesson to those living further inland, where large scale developments related to the logistics industry have already begun to encroach (Emmons Allison and Reese 2023), and other disadvantaged and unincorporated communities elsewhere affected by the recent growth of logistics and warehousing. We conclude by exploring the options for workers and residents within such communities to gain greater political voice over decisions regarding land use, zoning, and economic development.

Authors

• Juliann Allison, American Alpine Club Researcher, University of California Env. Policy Scholar

• Cristina Gomez-Vidal, UC-Riverside

• Catherine Gudis, UC-Riverside

• Ellen R. Reese, University of California-Riverside