SpicaBooks.Com/Houston.html
07 Jun 04 - Copyright 1999-2008 by Andrew Homer - Webmeister
StarHeart Web Designs
Houston
Principles
28 Jul 1999
From: Jontz@americanlands.org (Jim Jontz)
To: americanlands-list@igc.org
To: All Activists
SUSTAINABLE
JOBS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
We are assisting David
Brower of the Earth Island Institute and David Foster, President of District 11
of the United Steelworkers of America, in recruiting groups and individuals who
will sign their name to the attached "Houston Principles of the Alliance
for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment."
The
purpose of the Houston Principles is to reaffirm publicly the commitment of both
the labor and environmental movements to "forge a partnership that protects
people and the planet." I was present in Houston when environmentalists and
Steelworkers together took our message to the public in protest of the shortsighted
management policies of the Maxxam Company that threaten both Redwood forests in
northern California, and locked out Kaiser workers in Washington State. It is
in the spirit of that cooperation that these principles, and the idea of an Alliance
for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment was born.
Please fax or email
your endorsement of these principles to Dara Colwell at (415) 255-1948 or mailto:
dara@communicationworks.org
Your endorsement by this Friday, July 30,
would be much appreciated.
Be advised that the founding meeting of the
Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment is planned for August 28-29
in the San Francisco Bay Area. Please let Ms Colwell know if you desire more information
on this kickoff.
Houston
Principles of the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment
Preamble
On May 19,
1999, environmental and labor leaders confronted CEO Charles Hurwitz in Houston
to demand that his Maxxam Corporation, which owns Kaiser Aluminum and Pacific
Lumber Company, be held accountable for its impact on working people, communities
and the environment.
By clear-cutting ancient redwoods in Northern California,
and by locking-out striking steelworkers in five cities, the Maxxam corporation
has become an icon of corporate irresponsibility.
Recognizing that we
have a common interest in making corporations more accountable for their behavior
world-wide, environmental and labor leaders have formed the Alliance for Sustainable
Jobs and the Environment and circulated the following statement, dubbed the "Houston
Principles".
Whereas:
* The spectacular accumulation of
wealth by corporations and America's most affluent during the past two decades
has come with a huge price tag.
* Corporations have become more powerful
than the government entities designed to regulate them.
* The goal of
a giant, global corporation is to maximize wealth and to wield political power
on its own behalf. Too often, corporate leaders regard working people, communities,
and the natural world as resources to be used and thrown away.
* Recognizing
the tremendous stakes, labor unions and environmental advocates are beginning
to recognize our common ground. Together we can challenge illegitimate corporate
authority over our country's and communities' governing decisions.
*
While we may not agree on everything, we are determined to accelerate our efforts
to make alliances as often as possible.
We believe that:
* A healthy future for
the economy and the environment requires a dynamic alliance between labor, management,
and environmental advocates.
* The same forces that threaten economic
and biological sustainability undermine the democratic process.
* The
drive for short-term profits without regard for long-term sustainability hurts
working people, communities, and the earth.
* Labor, environmental and
community groups need to take action to organize as a counter-balance to abusive
corporate power.
The environmental and labor advocates who have signed
these principles resolve to work together to:
* Remind the public that
the original purpose behind the creation of corporations was to serve the public
interest - namely working people, communities, and the earth.
* Seek
stricter enforcement of labor laws and advocate for new laws to guarantee working
people their right to form unions and their right to bargain collectively.
* Make workplaces, communities and the planet safer by reducing waste and
greenhouse gas emissions.
* Demand that global trade agreements include
enforceable labor and environmental standards.
* Promote forward-thinking
business models that allow for sustainability over the long term while protecting
working people, communities, and the environment.
This ground-breaking
alliance of labor and environmentalists invites all people to join with us in
a spirit of creative cooperation. Together, we can forge a partnership that protects
people and the planet.
Signed: *
Leading labor unions, leaders and thinkers * Leading environmental organizations,
leaders and thinkers.
American Lands 726 7th Street, SE Washington,
D.C. 20003 202/547-9105 202/547-9213 fax wafcdc@americanlands.org www.americanlands.org Steve
Holmer Campaign Coordinator
To subscribe or unsubscribe,
please send a message to wafcdc@americanlands.org along with your complete contact
information (name, org, address & phone #)
