How Can Workers Lead on Climate Change? Labor Leader Cartwright on Transitioning from a Carbon Economy—Feb. 26

John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, will discuss the role of workers in a transition from a carbon economy in “Building the Bridge to Recovery: How Workers Can Lead on Climate Justice,” a virtual discussion, on Fri., Feb. 26 at 12:30 p.m. EST.

The event, hosted by New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, is free and open to the public and marks the launch of the school’s Initiative for Critical Disaster Studies. An RSVP is required at the event page.

Cartwright is the president of one of the largest central labor councils in North America and a leader in the labor movement for envisioning and organizing for a transition from a carbon economy to an environmentally sustainable one. He is the author of The Greenprint for Greater Toronto, which outlines action to reduce carbon emissions in every sector of the economy of Canada’s largest urban center.

Too often, workers and their communities bear the brunt of the displacement, dislocation, and danger that come from climate change. As the world moves from a carbon economy, how can workers make sure their voices are heard and their needs are met? In this talk, Cartwright will outline how and why he believes workers will need to lead in the fight for climate justice, both in the U.S. and Canada.

Cartwright will be introduced by Gallatin Professor Jacob Remes, author of Disaster Citizenship: Survivors, Solidarity, and Power in the Progressive Era (University of Illinois Press, 2016).

This event is the first of the series “New Ideas in Climate Change and Critical Disaster Studies and Climate Change.” Critical Disaster Studies is an emergent interdisciplinary field in the social sciences and humanities that, through scholarship, learns from and supports the work of organizers and activists who work to build safer and more resilient communities.

For more information, please call 860.397.5757.