Climate justice and labour justice are intrinsically linked. Natural disasters such as rising temperatures, extreme flooding, and active wildfires disproportionately affect essential, precarious workers.
Through community-engaged research, our project centres the voices of workers across BC who have been affected by climate change. The project goal is to build worker power and foster connections among those who are otherwise isolated and unprotected.
In Phase 1 of the project, we aimed to gather preliminary qualitative data on how climate crises affect workers and spoke with workers directly through outreach. In Phase 2, we launched our first climate and labour survey, distributed to folks across various sectors. This survey garnered stories from 36 workers across BC and provided deep insight into some of the key worker concerns during climate emergencies.
We are currently in Phase 3 of the project where we are hosting focus groups and engaging with food service workers directly, a sector that is hit hard by climate change.
While the current focus in on food service workers, this project has the potential to expand beyond the food service sector to other areas of the food supply chain, including agriculture and retail.
WSN’s climate and labour project aims to develop calls to action, build community, and create a list of demands for climate and labour justice.
This project is made possible by funding from Vancity.
The Worker Solidarity Network is a province-wide organization that combats workplace exploitation within the unsurrendered homelands of approximately 200 Indigenous Nations across "B.C."
Our network welcomes and includes LGBTQ people, (im)migrant communities, and people with disabilities.
The WSN leads by centering the voices of women and non-binary people within the labour movement.
Credits
Photos used on our site are by Mike Graeme and Sasha Whittaker
Worker Solidarity Network gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the British Columbia General Employees' Union, Canadian Women's Foundation, Community Foundations of Canada (Healthy Communities Initiative), the Government of Canada (Canada Summer Jobs), UFCW 1518, Vancity, and the Vancouver Foundation.
