Blue Collar and Green All Over

The Start of Something New. Pictured left to right are Tom Buffenbarger, President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; Edward Sullivan of the Building & Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, Matt Connolly of the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership; Rich Trumka, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO (formerly with the United Mine Workers of America), Keith Kirchner of the United Steel Workers of America; Michael Sullivan of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Bill Hite of the United Association of Plumbers & Pipe Fitters, Donald Rollins of the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Jeff Zack of the International Association of Fire Fighters, Kinsey Robinson of the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers, & Allied Workers, and Fred Myers of the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

I got a news release the other day that announced that:

"More than 3 million hunters and anglers in unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO today called on members of Congress to adequately fund key Farm Bill conservation programs and to include a measure that would allow states to establish or expand private land hunting and fishing access programs.

"In a joint letter signed by 17 unions, the unions urge Congress to follow the Farm Bill policy recommendations of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership's Agriculture and Wildlife Working Group (AWWG)."

The unions are specifically joining with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to support the Open Fields part of the Farm Bill.

"In its current form, Open Fields would provide $20 million in federal funding for states to establish and expand private land 'walk-in' access programs for hunters and anglers. Such programs already exist in 20 states and have been extremely successful, opening up 26 million acres to sportsmen. They provide voluntary incentives to private landowners who open their property for public use, primarily for hunting. Remarkably cost-effective, these programs directly address declines in hunter and angler numbers felt across the U.S. in the last decade."

The partnership between the AFL-CIO member unions and the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is a new development that sits under an umbrella called the "Union Sportsmen's Alliance (USA)".

Nice acronym, eh?

I applaud the AFL-CIO for going beyond the lunch pail.

Hunters and anglers are a powerful American tribe and therefore a potentially powerful way to frame a new message about working people that resonates across America.

If unions will defend and support hunting, hunters (who may or may not be union members) may give unions a new look and more support.

Besides, conservation is good for the economy.

Energy conservation means new jobs as buildings are retrofitted, while recycling means more trucks to move things to recycling centers. As America becomes more efficient in terms of energy, labor and materials, more jobs will stay in this country instead of going overseas. It's a win-win for everyone.

Of course at this very early point in its development, this hunter-union alliance is probably mostly window-dressing. That's OK. It's a sign that folks in the unions and in the hunting community are thinking outside the box. Lord knows, we need a little more that!

And for the record, I would not be caught dead in the field without my Ames Pony shovel -- union made (UAW, thank you very much) by one of the oldest tool makers in the United States.

As for my digging bar, it was hand-forged by a union steel worker. You can't get more union-made than that.