Comments from teacher: The paper is problematic in several dimensions. First, I think you need to modify your argument a little. Something like 'Unions can be a force for environmental reform if they solve x,y and z problems. Or something similar. Then you need to concentrate on unions and what they do or not do (the beginning of the paper is off topic). And then, must of your ideas are vague and unclear. English is a very linear direct language, and you are using more indirect almost metaphorical language. I recommend sitting with a friend, asking them to read the paragraph and them helping you to say what you mean. Counterargument is sort of there, but you need to be more direct too. "Some environmentalists see unions as an obstacle....".
Green Unions in a Grey World Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Clarity: As a reader who doesn’t know your topic well, I was a bit confused on the term “Green Unions”. Especially because it’s in your title and you use it frequently throughout the paper, I recommend defining what Green Unions means.
Labor environmentalism is the most significant political development that has taken place over the recent past, and behind these unions is the general idea of work, environment, and labor. Labor is significant in pushing global institutions, most especially the US, so that it can adopt pro-environment or the pro-labor positions. According to Silverman (2006), the Green unionism holds that promise of a latest political synthesis that can revitalize the worldwide life. There is a contradictory impulsive of the labor unions where the problems to maintain coalitions with the other progressive group. The issues of capitalizing the market as well as pro-business group hold over the nature of the international institutions and pressure to detain this transformation. There have been a lot of changes in the US market over the last decade, like the increase in the jobs as well as industrialization. The changes in the US market have resulted in some challenges that Green unionism will have to face. Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Clarity: I’m a bit confused at what you mean by global institutions. Can you explain a bit more and possibly provide examples? Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Adherence to the Prompt: Your prompt calls for an argumentative thesis. However, while reading this I couldn’t quite figure out what your argument is. Is it that unions are good or bad? Is it that unions are worth the effort despite the negative feelings towards them? I recommend making a clear and argumentative thesis so that your paper can follow that argument you make.
Most of the scholars in US have started investigating the increase and the practice of the Green unionism regardless of the political significance that it has as well as the potential of such research has in finding out how the labor as an international institution and the social group as well as for sketch some of the contours of the emerging global order. The green unionism suffers from what can be referred to be social realignment and global politics. Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Run on: As a reader, this sentence was a bit confusing for me. I believe it was because this sentence is a bit lengthy. I recommend cutting it into multiple statements, as this will improve the flow of your paper. For example, you can end the first sentence after “significance that it has.” And start a new sentence there by saying something like “In addition, the potential of such research…”
The rapid and accelerating digitalization in the operations in the job market is likely to get an economic other than an environmental distribution hence supporting the fact that the computer is eliminating the workers in their workstations by Vallas (2006). The technological development has been leaving most of the workers from the workplace. It is clear that the automation of the operations in business, especially through the use of computers, has left most of the workers being jobless in the US hence posing a great challenge in green unionism. The employment-to-population ratio increased during the 20th century, even as the women moved from their homes to the marketplace. The workers that are concerned about the automation of the workplaces cannot settle their disputes about how this element might interact with their future by Scholz (2012). There is no guarantee that the workers will remain at their places of work in the future hence being a great challenge in green unionism in the US. Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Clarity: I’m a bit confused on what you mean here. Is this idea by this author? If so, the word “by” isn’t needed as the in text citation already tells your reader that the idea originated from the author.
The number of jobs that are lost every day in the US due to the use of machine s is part of the problem that is worrying most of the people in the country, especially during unionism. What worries the experts more is that the automation will prevent the economy from progressing positively hence resulting in a few new jobs that are being created every day. Unionism of the workers usually goes hand in hand with the number of jobs that are available, meaning that whenever there are fewer jobs, then there will be a great challenge in the union is in the US. This trend has resulted in the industries having a lesser workforce but recording more productions.
The labor environmentalism usually increases the social democratic impulse of the unions. According to David (2015), the trade unionists are aware that the greatest risk to their benefit is because of the unchecked expansion of capitalist enterprise as well as the free trade that has been evident in the United States of America. The power of this scheme is that the unions have to use the power of their unions and form coalitions with their sympathetic government as well as other social groups to move forward the vision of the workers. Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Clarity: What is the vision of the workers? What do they want to have or receive? Going into more detail could help your reader understand why you are siding with unions rather than against them.
These struggles by the labor unions have helped in achieving some real achievements on paper as well as in the deliberation of the CSD. Agenda 21 “the declaration of the Rion Earth summit of 1992,” included chapter 29, “Strengthening the Role of Workers and Their Trade Unions” that acknowledged the labor unions as one of the main groups in the economy of the country and declared “Workers should be full participants in the implementation and evaluation of activities related to agenda 21.” This was done to empower the labor unions so that they can participate in any execution of the SD policy at the places of work, a position that was not accurately hearted by most of the corporations in the country. Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Clarity: What is CSD short for? I recommend adding the full name and then the acronym in parenthesis before using just the acronym. This will help your reader understand the terms. For example, if I were to introduce the University of Illinois in Chicago in my paper, I would do it like this: The university of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has…” and then as I go on writing my paper, I’m able to use just “UIC”. Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Clarity: Similar to my last comment, I recommend adding the full term of SD here.
There is some conflict of interest between the environmentalists and the labor described most commonly as “environment versus jobs” debate. Most governments usually treat the progress of the union of labor, environmentalist as well as the ant globalization groups as a phenomenon that are rising out of the chance of labor interests and those of the environmental activists as well as the community groups by Gereffi (2014). It specifically points out some of the interaction that occurs with counter neo-liberal trade pacts, reduction of the harmful effects of production, as well as the pressing of the egregious violators of the environmental and the labor standards. According to Goods (2011), there is a challenge in deciding what usually motivates the environmentally conscious unionists. This difficulty is brought about because the people usually appreciate and act on their interests by a web of ideology as well as other distorting filters. Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Adherence to the prompt: Is this the antithesis/counterargument paragraph? Your prompt tells you to have one and I’m a bit confused where that is placed. If this is it, I recommend introducing the idea of the environment versus job side then immediately going back t your stance and talking about why it’s better.
There is an enormous effort that has been made by the trade unions that is supported by another group and a small number of sympathetic governments to make SD into something that will help in serving the interests of many workers in the country. The unions have ensured that the UN includes a primary commitment so that it can help in improving the lives of many workers as well as the poor people, and to secure the basic labor rights so that they can organize the labor unions so that people can better their lives through taking power. According to Stevis (2015), The SD remains unclear despite the often-Herculean effort to whose main aim is to persuade an unwieldy and unfriendly procedure. The CSD can come up with a variety of measures of SD, and there has as well been the expansion in ink in the discussion as well as debates concerning the actual labor at their core. Some of the major indicators have been listed in the CSD documents “United Nations Environment Program, Government of Canada, and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs,2000; UN Commission on Sustainable Development [CSD], 2001, 2005a” (Silverman, 2006 p. 198).
It is evident that some of the industrialized countries went through a stealthy phase, but it is evident that they went through a simultaneous reform period. Some of the changes have come across as a result of the “Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911”, where approximately 141 women passed away in the scene in a New York sweatshop where fire exists and had been protected to stop the union organizer from niggling to stir up the women. With the deregulation as well as the good labor, consumers, and the liberal political activities, the sweatshops returned to top the country. According to Rothstein (2005), the disdain for the minimum salary and the hour standard has now been characterized not only by migrant garment assembly plants in Los Angeles as well as in New York but of group of retailers like Wal-Mart. The workers even in the twentieth century in US hardly ever protests just like the third world peasants or even in the 20th elevator operator, they want liberty to contract with the employer in the country for sweatshop work, being afraid that if they are not allowed to make such an agreement, they might end up being worse off. Comment by Sajanlal, Sukaina: Clarity: As a reader, I’m a bit confused at this sentence. The women passed away and weren’t given justice? What do you mean by “niggling to stir up the women” and why would the union organizer do that?
The labor unions on the defensive in most of the places across the globe, as divergent to some of the mainly powerful states and institution will have the ability to defy the commercial cost of sustainability if it maintains its alliance with several other group as well as with sympathetic government. There remains a great difference between the NGOs and the trade unions based on the parties that they represent as well as how accountable they are to their member where there is profound basis of agreements. These respective organization have created particular programs that usually combine the traditional trade union issues with the environmental initiatives that are based on the complementary values of solidarity and sustainability.
References
David, H. J. J. O. E. P. 2015. Why are there still so many jobs? The history and future of workplace automation.
Gereffi, G., & Wyman, D. L. 2014. Manufacturing miracles: paths of industrialization in Latin America and East Asia. Princeton University Press.
Goods, C. 2011. Labour unions, the environment and'green jobs'. Journal of Australian Political Economy
Rothstein, R. 2005. Defending Sweatshops: Too Much Logic, Too Little Evidence.
Scholz, T. (Ed.). 2012. Digital labor: The Internet as a playground and factory. Routledge.
Silverman, V. 2006. “Green Unions in a Grey World” Labor Environmentalism and International Institutions.
Stevis, D., & Felli, R. 2015. Global labor unions and just transition to a green economy. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics
Vallas, S. P., Finlay, W., & Wharton, A. S. 2009. The sociology of work: Structures and inequalities. New York: Oxford University Press.