Relations between organized labor and environmental groups are typically characterized as adversarial, most often because of the specter of job loss invoked by industries facing environmental regulation. But, as Brian Obach shows, the two largest and most powerful social movements in the United States actually share a great deal of common ground. Unions and environmentalists have worked together on a number of issues, including workplace health and safety, environmental restoration, and globalization (as in the surprising solidarity of "Teamsters and Turtles" in the anti-WTO demonstrations in Seattle). Labor and the Environmental Movement examines why, when, and how labor unions and environmental organizations either cooperate or come into conflict. By exploring the interorganizational dynamics that are crucial to cooperative efforts and presenting detailed studies of labor-environmental group coalition building from around the country (examining in detail examples from Maine, New Jersey, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin), the author provides insight into how these movements can be brought together to promote a just and sustainable society. Table of Contents Preface 1 Introduction 2 Interests and Alliances: Economic and Political Determinants of Labor-Environmental Relations 27 3 Labor-Environmental Relations in the United States: A Brief History 47 4 Labor and Environmental Relations: State Cases 83 5 "We Just Don't Work on That": Organizational Range and the Coalition Contradiction 103 6 "I Had a Lot to Learn about Those Issues": Organizational Learning among Unions and Environmental SMOs 169 7 "They're Good People; You Should Talk to Them": The Role of Brokers and Bridges 203 8 "That's Not the Way We Work": A Cultural Divide? 235 9 "We Can Work Together": Uniting the Pieces 281 Appendix: Research Methodology 303 Notes 313 References 317 Index