BALTIMORE—If the Green Party presidential nominating convention that ended here on July 15 is any indication, movement toward political cooperation between organized labor and the environmental movement is still weak, with no sign of gathering strength.
The convention—which nominated physician Jill Stein as the party’s presidential candidate —did not feature official participation by any labor union, or any labor-affiliated organization. No elected labor leaders spoke to the delegates during the two-day official proceedings, and party activists aren’t expecting any help from organized labor in the campaign this fall.
Not even the BlueGreen Alliance bothered to send a representative. Formed in 2006 by unions and major environmental lobbying organizations specifically to foster cooperation between the two groups, the BlueGreen Alliance appears badly wounded by the political fight over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. That controversy resulted in the highly public withdrawal of Laborers International Union from the Alliance early this year, and feelings are still raw.


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