Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces to Respond to Climate Change (ACW)

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/10315/38593

About this collection

The documents and materials archived at this website are the result of research done under the direction of Principal Investigator Dr. Carla Lipsig-Mummé, Professor of Work and Labour Studies at York University between 2008 to 2022. This research was pioneering in its foresight about the problem of global heating and the potential role of workers to contribute to a cleaner economy, as documented in 2010 in What Do We Know? What Do We Need To Know? The state of research on work, employment and climate change in Canada. This report used a sectoral lens to assess the state of our knowledge, and to identify the gaps which subsequent researchers have addressed in the documents archived here. They are now made freely available in the hopes that future researchers and interested academics, students, and citizens, will be able to build forward from our work.

This archive preserves the research outputs of the following research grants, all of which wove together and in some cases overlapped: “What do we know? The implications of global climate change for Canadian employment and work” (2008-09); “Canada’s Work World and the Challenge of Climate Change. Engaging the community” (2011-12); “Work in a Warming World-W3” (2010-17); and “Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces” (2014-21).

Funding for these grants was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), along with Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Research outputs from our grants

Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces to Respond to Climate Change (ACW), 2014-2021
Working papers, presentations and videos by ACW researchers, including on the topics of Environmental Racism and Just Transition. Also includes archival copies of the website adaptingcanadianwork.ca.
Databases
Archived versions as of December 31st 2021. These include a bibliographic database of over 4000 records; approximately 200 green collective agreement clauses; green initiatives by unions in the EU and US; and a listing of union green training and education materials.
Work in a Warming World (W3), 2010-2017, and earlier projects
Working papers, presentations and videos by W3 researchers. Also Includes archival copies of the website workinawarmingworld.yorku.ca.
Work And Climate Change Report, 2011-2021
Archival copies of the blog hosted at workandclimatechangereport.org, along with a searchable PDF copy of all posts.

A Digital Library re Climate Change and Workers

Approximately 200 documents have been archived in the York University Digital Library. These were not published by ACW or W3, but by labour unions and environmental advocacy groups in Canada, as well as some government agencies.

To our knowledge, this is the most complete collection of Canadian labour union documents related to climate change to date, and the only complete collection of the publications of Canada’s National Roundtable for the Environment and the Economy, disbanded by the Canadian government in 2013.

To prevent these documents from disappearing from the internet, ACW has assembled this collection, and has been granted permission to reproduce these documents for educational and personal research purposes. Copyright remains with the originators and is frequently stated in the documents.

It is important to understand that these documents were assembled by ACW but are housed in the York University Digital Library and must be searched from there.

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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Open Access
ACW Baseline Report: Manufacturing - Auto
(Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces (ACW), 2016-07) Goods, Caleb; Holmes, John; Robinson, Joanna; Chorostecki, Jim
This research focuses on the GHG emissions of the Canadian automotive assembly and component industries, which are almost exclusively concentrated in the south west of Ontario, in close proximity to the large Michigan auto industry. It is critically important to understand the context of the broader North American auto industry – for example, in 2014, approximately 80 per cent of Canada’s total automotive export trade by value went to the U.S. Canadian auto is also interconnected with the U.S. and Mexican auto industries via political economic forces such as trade, government policy and labour relations. These contextual factors and the current state of the industry are discussed in the report, followed by an outline of the major research challenges of the industry, and a review of current greening actions in the Ontario auto industry. It concludes with a discussion of future research directions.
Open Access
ACW Baseline Report: Manufacturing - Forestry
(Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces (ACW), 2016-07) Chorostecki, Jim
This background paper explores the emission of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) in Canadian forestry, with a focus on the energy use and associated emissions related to the initial harvesting of trees, their processing into intermediate and/or finished products, and the reforestation efforts that are required for Canadian forests to remain a renewable resource. It is an interesting time to be looking at this topic as 2015 marks the target year, announced in 2007, by which the forest industry had targeted to achieve industry-wide carbon neutrality without the purchase of offsetting carbon credits Overall, the industry is found to have improved immensely in its emissions intensity. Three trends are highlighted: fuel switching, improved energy efficiency, and energy systems optimization. There are a variety of influences that have encouraged the continuous improvement of the industry. These incentives originate in public policy, economic incentives, and social pressure/responsibility.
Open Access
ACW Baseline Report: Manufacturing - Progress report
(Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces (ACW), 2015-11) Chorostecki, Jim; Goods, Caleb; Holmes, John; Robinson, Joanna
This workplan sets out a base of information concerning 3 manufacturing sectors: auto, forestry, and food processing.
Open Access
Dark Politics: Climate Change and Labour Transitions in an Unstable World - Video
(Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces (ACW), 2016-11-26) Brown, Larry; Chorostecki, Jim; Galgóczi, Béla; Clarke, Linda; Stevis, Dimitris
This International Panel was held on Nov 26, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the context of the Trump election in the U.S., Brexit, and a rise of right wing populism internationally. It addresses the question – What future for progressive climate policy and modernised labour policy, in this darker world? Speakers and discussion address the future for climate policy and union leadership, in the EU, UK, US, Canada, and transnationally. An audio recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im0Cv53fV_Y is available, chaired by Jim Chorestecki, with the following presentations: at 04:24 - Bela Galgoczi, Senior Researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), speaks on "The Rise of Dark Politics in the EU" at 27:30 - Linda Clark, Professor of European Industrial Relations at the University of Westminster, speaks on "Does Brexit blur a low-carbon future?" at 45:49 - Dimitris Stevis, Professor of Politics at Colorado State University, speaks on "Island of Green in a Dark Sea? Climate Politics in Trump's USA" at 59:26 - Larry Brown, President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), speaks on "What's Wrong with Globalization?" Discussant John Calvert, political scientist specializing in public policy, begins his remarks at 1:17:35.
Open Access
Darker Politics: Democracies, Labour Rights and Climate Change - Video
(Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces (ACW), 2017-05-26) Brown, Larry; Chorostecki, Jim; Lipsig-Mummé, Carla; Burman, Tony; Bernard, Elaine
This video, available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im0Cv53fV_Y is a recording of an ACW public event on Friday, May 26 2017, held at Innis Town Hall Theatre, University of Toronto, Toronto. Speakers consider the impact of the election of U.S. President Donald Trump on Canada and climate change policy. Specifically, this recording shows: Larry Brown, President, National Union of Public and General Employees, moderator, introducing the event | Starts 4:01 Presentations by: Tony Burman, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism at Ryerson University, “Democracy Under Threat” | Starting 14:34 Dr. Elaine Bernard, Senior Research Associate at the Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School, “Trump’s War on Workers and the Environment” | Starts 40:33 and Jim Chorostecki, Executive Director at B.C. Federation of Labour, “The Softwood Lumber Dispute is the Hatfields vs. McCoys Feud Without the Guns, So Far.” | Starts 1:12:30.
Open Access
Factsheet: Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Canadian Forestry
(Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces (ACW), 2016-10) Staples, Steven; Lipsig-Mummé, Carla; Chorostecki, Jim
An overview of the processes in the forestry industry: harvesting, pulp and paper, lumber products, and reforestation, with statistics about GHG emissions and employment.

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