Washington, DC was the original destination for hundreds of labor, climate, and environmental justice activists for the first Bargaining for the Common Good Climate and Environmental Justice convening. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the March 31 and April 1 convening was moved to a digital format. Despite the disruption, the convening was successful in building the groundwork for future BCG campaigns in locations across the country and around the world.

We kicked off with a powerful reflection from April Sims of the Washington State Labor Council, who shared a poem perfect for this moment by Alice Walker. We were honored to welcome activist and author Naomi Klein for a discussion on how Bargaining for the Common Good can help us to confront our climate crisis while fighting for good, sustainable union jobs. Judith Leblanc of the Native Organizers Alliance and Saqib Bhatti of the Action Center for Race and the Economy followed with an overview of the Bargaining for the Common Good model. A video of Naomi, Judith, and Saqib’s sessions of the convening can be found here.

Participants heard from a dynamic group of presenters in workshops such as the intersection of race, climate, and housing issues; climate disaster recovery act; developing a Disaster Bill of Rights; and building non-traditional partnerships between teachers unions and environmental justice groups.

As part of the convening, participants gathered in 13 different local cohorts across the United States and Puerto Rico (and one from the United Kingdom!) to discuss Bargaining for the Common Good campaigns at the close of each day’s convening sessions. We are excited to connect with these local groups and provide support for campaigns across the nation as we grow the BCG network to respond to the immediate crisis around COVID-19 and the climate and environmental crises at large.