WFSE Council 28 Green Caucus Organizing Meeting


January 29, 2011, Doubletree Inn-SeaTac, WA
9:00 – 3:00 PM

NOTES:

9:15 –   Introductions:  

Tam Tocher, AFSCME International, and Kerry Graber, Local 443 and an
Ecology employees introduced themselves.  Tocher has considerable experience working with other unions’ green caucuses.  Kerry is the principle organizer of this effort to organize a Green Caucus within WFSE Council 28.  Introductions around the table followed.  (See sign-in sheet).

9:45     Opening remarks:  

Tam Tocher gave some stirring encouragement to the group by sharing a true story about the origin of Earth Day with a donation from the United Auto Workers.  She explained how several other environmental initiatives had their genesis in the labor movement.

Tocher also offered an overview of what’s happening nationally with regard to green caucuses forming up.  She talked about group of Next Wavers in Portland who are heading up an effort there and recommended we consider a joint meeting with them some time in the near future.  

Tocher and Graber encouraged those attending today to visit www.afscme.org/issues/28483.cfm for a look at AFSCME’s investment of time and resource in environmental causes.
 
Dan Petruso, Child and Family Services, and Local 1221, expressed concerns for keeping green manufacturing jobs in this country and noted that he had shared those concerns with state legislators during lobby day yesterday.

Dave Zink, Ecology and Local 443 raised a question about why we don’t send organizers to places like China to raise their labor compensation so that we would be more competitive.

Norm Peck, Ecology and Local ????  asked if the International is willing to take on the “unspeakable,” for instance, growth model versus development model and endorsing the less environmentally damaging one.  

Tocher responded that issues can always be elevated to International from locals, through state council’s via resolutions.

Morton Alexander, Juvenile Rehab and Local 1221 expressed hope that caucus agenda wouldn’t limit its portfolio to just environmental issues, and would also include attention to social justice concerns.

Debbie Haighe, L&I and Local 1221 expressed a desire for the Caucus to work on getting jobs back into our economy from overseas.

Teresa Potter,  (bargaining unit and local?) brought up Apollo group of labor activists, and noted their good work.

Judy (last name, bargaining unit and local) asked about any linkage between industrial policy and green caucus development.  Could we advocate for a green industrial policy?

Morton Alexander talked about long-time myths that have left organized labor and other liberal leaning organizations out of the historical picture.  He noted that Rosa Parks wasn’t a lone wolf when she refused to sit at the back of the bus, that she planned that action in detail with members of the NAACP) .

Tam talked about Marshall Gantz, using your stories to build your organization and create social change.

Bob Zink, would WFSE have a speaker's pool that we could access?

10:15   Break

10:30    Review founding resolution – Kerry Graber. 

Graber talked about the need for a goal statement for the Green Caucus.  The group then engaged in some brainstorming, similar to group edit, from which, this proposed language emerged:

 “The goal of the AFSCME Council 28 Green Caucus is to highlight the link between labor and the environment in order to build a movement that encourages environmentally sustainable policies and practices in our union, workplaces and community.  The Green Caucus is committed to protect and preserve the environment of our state, to support family-wage jobs, and to foster a healthy and sustainable economy, and to activate our membership by so doing.”

11:08   Brainstorm caucus objectives

Kerry and Tam led the group in a brainstorming exercise re: Desirable Caucus objectives.  Listed below are most of those suggestions:

• We should have internal and external objectives
  1) Reach out to other environmental organizations
  2) Need to be sure we walk our talk.
• Look for win/win situations
• Reduce, reuse, recycle policy
• Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good
• Let’s do something fun around walk your talk at our convention (contests rewarding green behaviors).
• We could specify recycling and other sustainable practices in the agreements with hotels at future conventions and look into what’s possible with the signed contract for the October convention.
• For fun and fundraising, designate a crew of 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) cops who would issue minor fines (donations) to PEOPLE when they witness any violations of the 3Rs.
• Sample resolutions (templates) for green initiatives should be developed by the Caucus.
• Make prior arrangements with hotels and venues to ensure our meetings walk the talk of the 3Rs and sustainability.
• Green Caucus should sponsor a workshop/table at Convention on how to go green.
• Green Caucus needs its own space on Council 28 Web site.
• We should all be reporting what we’re already doing at our own individual work sites to support sustainability.
• We should set up a fund to hold any revenues derived from recycling at convention and other activities.
• We should encourage carpooling to and at our conventions.
• Let’s figure our carbon footprint for our events and seek carbon offsets.
• We should engage in legislative activities around green issues.
• We could present an agenda of legislative initiatives/concerns that could be presented to the convention or brought to locals and the Council 28 executive board.
• We should explore development and posting of an online carpool organizer on the Council 28 Website, or hyperlinks to local car pool organizing services.
• We should participate in Spokane’s Sustainable September event with our convention, since it will be in Spokane right at the end of next year’s Sustainable September calendar.
• Can we link to other organizations between now and October to share our lobbying efforts, come next session, perhaps announce those partnerships at convention?
• Let’s publicize what we’re already doing.
• Let’s also develop positions on the more controversial issues as well as the consensus issues.  Limits to growth, population controls would be examples.
• Can we get a small column in our Council newsletter?
• How do we convey to the public that we state employees are committed to preserving the environment of our state?
• Use products made from recycled materials for promo materials that we hand out at meetings and conventions, like water bottles, t-shirts, etc.
• We should develop a policy statement on what we buy as a union.
• At our conventions, we should offer coupons for goods and services from local businesses.
• We don’t need to give away materials and waste resources in the process.  We could give away services or donations to other organizations.
• We should do a formal assessment of how we (Council 28) are doing right now when it comes to sustainability?
• We should be proposing bottle bill or other serious recycling programs to the Legislature.
• We should encourage the use of  “Learning Organization” principles for the improvement of our own union.
• We should look to broadening our caucus membership across more job classes.
• We should get behind energy auditing and energy improvements to state facilities.
• We should write a paper about potential savings in energy efficiency in state buildings and motor pool managements and present this to the Legislature.
• We should be purchasing and promoting the purchase of local materials.
• We should reserve a part of each union local and Council 28 agenda for progress reports on the Green Caucus initiatives (e.g. recycling, etc.).

12:30    How shall we organize?  Ideas from the top.

• Should we expand and continue steering committee?
• Steering Committee should be temporary.
• Consider using local offices’ teleconferencing capability to reduce our carbon footprint.
• Commit to using Go To Meeting format with subject area experts meeting more frequently in smaller groups and reporting back to less frequent meetings of entire caucus.
• Have local (union or geographic?) meetings, then bring our ideas together over Go To Meeting, and maybe meet face-to-face a couple of times a year.
• Use field office teleconferencing capabilities.
• Get a Web site space for the Green Caucus on Council 28 Web site.
• Be aware that Locals’ paid staff need to be on site whenever we do Web meetings at Local’s offices.
• Kerry Graber wants to step aside as leader. 
• Tim Young encourages identifying a communications lead, especially since we are focusing on electronic communications.  Jim Wavada agreed to shoulder that responsibility for the Caucus until such time as it identifies a permanent secretary.
• At some point this year, the caucus should designate a legislative liaison, especially since we report to the Legislative Action Committee of the Council.
• We should change agenda to focus on what we want to do, then figure out from those priorities how we need to be structured to pursue those priorities.
• We should try to identify some new activists for this group, so that those of us who are already overburdened with committee work don’t burn out.
• Oregon is ahead of us in setting up a Green Caucus. Let’s borrow ideas from Oregon on how best to be organized.
• We seem to have some consensus that we need at minimum a Chair, Co-chair and Secretary.
• We should identify the appropriate person to provide staff support from the Council 28 staff and request their service from the Board.
• We should have one Web-based meeting to review nominations and select officers at a second Web meeting.  Several individuals volunteered to set up nomination and election meetings though Local offices.  Several attendees volunteered to coordinate field office-based meetings of any parties interested in participating in the Green Caucus with a goal to develop a list of officer nominees and a resolution to allow the Green Caucus to participate in the 2011 Convention. Debbie Haighe -- Spokane, John Miller -- Seattle, Judy Kushel -- Vancouver, Michele Stelhovich and Teresa Potter -- Smokey Point (Bellingham), Norm Peck – Yakima, Tim Young – Olympia.

Next meeting of Green Caucus should be Web-based and scheduled early evening during a weekday before March 12 scheduled WFSE Council 28 Board meeting.  The group set Thursday, Feb. 10th, 5:30 PM for that online meeting with Feb. 16 as a backup date.  The persons listed above will coordinate with local field offices to arrange access to videoconferencing equipment for these meetings.
 
1:15 PM Small group breakouts:  

The attendees broke into three smaller groups to develop a list of followup activities for internal organization of the Green Caucus, for outreach to partner organizations, and in preparation for debuting the Green Caucus at the October 2011 state convention of WFSE.

INTERNAL

• Goal: educating our staff about green practices at meetings, conventions, conference, workplaces and homes about recycling, reducint consumption, re=using equipment and supplies, transportation sharing and a policy for trip reduction…..(see notes)
• Resolution calling for environmental audit to WFSE Board
• Workshop to set up computers to use electronic information resources (click to learn option) – get volunteers from each field office area or local to teach others how to use electronic systems.
• Planning-guide for green events
• Coming up with colorful recycling bins to make recycling fun
• Integrate sustainability in staff and officer training.
• Web site link from Council site to ctr sites.
• Web link for internal ride matching, car pooling
• Advertise electronic versions of WFSE documents 

EXTERNAL

• Would gather survey membership for reports on their affiliations with environmental organizations
• Work with WEC to id common agenda items
• ID legislative priorities of other organizations that might be in concert with ours
• Get Council 28 buy-in, endorsement of outreach to other organizations.
• Establish alliance and partnerships with other organizations. 

CONVENTION

• Make convention as environmentally conscientious as possible and heighten member awareness.
• Attempt to measure impact in terms of reduced waste generation
• Meet with Spokane convention bureau and hotel staff to see what’s possible with onsite recycling.
• Ask convention-planning group to allow a Green Caucus table.
• Debbie Haighe will serve as liaison from Green Caucus with convention planning group
• Jim will contact Sustainable September Spokane group and connect them with Debbie Haighe to get WFSE Convention placed on Sustainable September green events calendar.
• Show green jobs videos at Green Caucus convention table.
• Use button machine to generate buttons for team members
• Organize a green issues/jobs workshop as part of convention
• Investigate opportunities to recyle convention badges.
• Set up carpooling/transportation Web site for convention
• Buy generic, reusable bags for convention attendees materials

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