Midwest Labor Environmental Summit Program and Registration

Midwest Environmental-Labor Summit

Holiday Inn --City Center, South Bend
February 28-March 1, 2003

Friday, February 28

1:00 p.m. Welcome:

• Bob Warnock, President, North Central Indiana Central Labor Council
• Tim Maloney, Executive Director, Hoosier Environmental Council

Introductions, overview: Bill Carey, Labor-Co Chair, ASJE

1:30 Perspectives from Midwest Labor:

• Jim Robinson, Director, USWA District 7
• Eric Frumen, Director, Occupational Health and Safety Dept., UNITE!
• Jim Keller, Executive Vice President, Utility Workers Union of America
• Mary Thurer (invited), Duluth MN AFSCME Council

2:30 Perspectives from Midwest Environmentalists:

• Howard Learner, Executive Director, Environmental Law and Policy Center
• Elizabeth Plasket, Executive Director, Iowa Environmental Council
• Kim Scipes, Director, The Calumet Project

3:30 Break

3:45 Small group (breakout) discussions:

• What are the barriers to labor-environmental cooperation in the Midwest?
• What are the opportunities for labor-environmental cooperation in the Midwest?

4:45 Reports from breakout groups, discussion

5:30 Dinner

6:30 Dinner speaker: Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)

7:00 Issue Plenary #l, Energy: the Blue-Green Intersection in the Midwest

• Mike Mullett, Counsel, Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana
• Jeff Lohman (invited), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• Janet Brandt, Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation
• Loretta Lynch, Member, California Public Service Commission

8:00 Hospitality room -- food, fun, and drinks

***

Saturday, March 1

9:00 a.m. Issue Plenary #2, Jobs and the Environment, New Approaches to Economic Development:

• Tom Lewandowski, President, Northeast Indiana Central Labor Council
• Jack Miller, President, Hoosier Environmental Council

10:00 Concurrent Workshops

• Energy
  - Diana McKeown, MN Clean Water Action;
  - Grant Smith, Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana
• Economic Development/"Green Jobs"
  - Tom Lewandowski
• Corporate campaigning -- case studies, current opportunities:
  - Diane Heminway, Environmental Projects Coordinator, USWA;
  - Eric Frumen, UNITE

11:00 Break

11:15 Issue Plenary #3, Toxics, Water, Air, and Workers:

• Luis Vasquez (invited), UAW Health and Safety Department
• Mary Beth Doyle, MPH, Campaign Director, Environmental Health Project, Ecology Center
• Dana Sevakis, Health Care Without Harm/Chicago Jobs with Justice
• Cheryl Mendoza, Lake Michigan Federation

12:15 Lunch (State caucuses)

1:45 p.m. Issue Plenary #4, Midwestern Workers and the Environment in a Global Economy:

• Dan Seligman, Director, Responsible Trade Program, Sierra Club
• Robin Rich, Rapid Response Coordinator, USWA District 7
• Rebecca Hanscom, Lead Organizer, Central Region International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• Larry Weiss, Director, Minnesota Fair Trade Campaign

2:45 Break

3:00 Concurrent Workshops

• Toxics: Water, Air, and Workers
  - Mary Beth Doyle
  - Diane Heminway
• The Global Economy
  - Bill Carey, USWA District 7
  - Jason Tockman, American Lands
• Labor 101 -- Introduction to he labor movement for environmentalists

4:00 Moving Ahead: Short reports on "Next Steps" for Labor-Environmental Cooperation in the Midwest

4:30 Adjourn

***

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Registration for the Midwest Labor-Environmental Summit is $15 per day including the cost of dinner for Friday, and lunch on Saturday. For $55, registration for two days and a one year's membership in ASJE is included (or $40 for one day and a one year ASJE membership).

To register please send your name, address, and email and phone along with a check made out to the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment (ASJE) to Bill Carey, USWA District 7, 1301 Texas St., Gary IN 46403.

Shuttle service from the airport/South Shore (railroad) station to the Holiday Inn City Center runds from 4 a.m. to 1 a.m., except between 1:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon. Holiday Inn rooms are available to summit participants at a special "conference rate" of $69. A quick internet search also found the Super 8 South Bend (US 31 north) at $35; Extended Stay Mishawaka at $37; and an Econolodge and Days Inn at the SB Airport for $40. Lodging in Mishawaka and Granger is reasonably accessible by car.

For more information, contact Bill Carey at (219)881-6212, wcarey@uswa.org

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 St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN