Degree Year
2009
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Politics
Advisor(s)
Chris Howell
Stephen Crowley
Keywords
Green jobs, Labor unions, Work organization, Post-Fordism, Ohio, Industrial manufacturing, Renewable energy
Abstract
This paper looks at green jobs within the context of the new economy and post-Fordism, with a focus on why unions are supporting green jobs and the potential for creating decent employment and unionized jobs in green industries. The simultaneous economic and environmental crises create a window for political and economic change. The direction of green jobs will be determined by larger economic and political trends and will depend on the action of the state and organized labor. Unions are supporting green jobs because it is a way to promote reindustrialization, an active government industrial policy, corporatism and social partnerships. Green jobs has become a new framework to critique free market ideology and build a progressive coalition between unions and environmentalists that addresses both labor and environmental concerns. Market conditions, state policy, production demands, union strength and business strategies will influence the ability to create high-road green post-Fordist jobs.
Repository Citation
Kojola, Erik, "Trade Unions and Green Jobs in the post-Fordist Economy: Just Rhetoric or a Fundamental Shift?" (2009). Honors Papers. 480.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/480
