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AFL-CIO Convention: Solidarity with Van Jones?
The attack that drove "green jobs czar" Van Jones from the White
House this week is an attack on labor and on workers' best hope for
good jobs. If labor wants to promote green jobs, labor should embrace
Van Jones - publicly, loudly, and fast - at the upcoming AFL-CIO Convention.
Sep 12, 2009
The attack that drove "green jobs czar" Van Jones from the White
House this week is an attack on labor and on workers' best hope for
good jobs. If labor wants to promote green jobs, labor should embrace
Van Jones - publicly, loudly, and fast - at the upcoming AFL-CIO Convention.
Van Jones is a proven friend of labor, who has fought to see that
green jobs are good jobs with labor rights and fair labor standards.
If ever there was a time for that old labor slogan "An injury to one is
an injury to all" it is the injury that has been done to Van Jones.
For it is an injury to every American worker who hopes that the crisis
in our economy can be addressed by putting people to work building a
new green economy.
As founder of Green for All and author of the best-seller The Green
Collar Economy, Van Jones put the issue of green jobs on the political
map. Eager to catch the green jobs wave, the Obama administration
brought Van Jones in as "special advisor for green jobs" at the Council
on Environmental Quality. But last month Glenn Beck's Fox News' show began dredging
up calumnies from Jones's past - all information which admittedly had
long been publicly available on the web. (Yes, that's the Glenn Beck who said
"This president has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over
again who has a deep-seated hatred for white people.") This Sunday Jones self-sacrificingly resigned to avoid becoming a distraction for the Obama administration.
The campaign against Jones is the tip of the wedge for a far broader
campaign against organized labor, protection of the environment, and
green jobs.
Credit for starting the campaign that drove Van Jones from office is claimed by Phil Kerpen, Policy Director of Americans for Prosperity. What's their agenda?
Americans for Prosperity has been running what it calls the "Stop the Employee No Choice Act" campaign. Here's what Kerpen has to say about unions:
"Workers increasingly believe, for good reason, that unions either
provide little in return for their dues or work against their
interests."
Kerpen says his defeat of clean-energy legislation is his "No. 1
legislative priority." His group ran a "Hot Air Tour" under the slogan
"Global Warming Alarmism: Lost Jobs, Higher Taxes, Less Freedom."
Finally, Kerpen gets to attack both labor and the environment by attacking green jobs:
"Green jobs are not economic jobs but political jobs, designed to
funnel vast sums of taxpayer money to left-wing labor unions,
environmental groups, and social justice community organizers." Kerpen
and Beck devoted a whole show to "exposing" the union-backed Apollo
Alliance as a sinister conspiracy to unite social justice,
environmental protection, and labor around the green jobs program.
Where does the money come from? According to Kevin Grandia of the watchdog group DeSmogBlog:
The AFP is the third largest recipient of funding from
the Koch Family Foundations. Before 2003, when the AFP was still named
the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, it received $18,460,912 in
funding. 84% of that funding came from the Koch Family Foundations
($12,906,712) and the Scaife Family Foundations ($2,510,000). Koch
Family Foundations is funded by Koch Industries. According to Forbes,
Koch Industries is the second largest privately-held company, and the
largest privately owned energy company, in the United States. Koch
industries has made its money in the oil business, primarily oil
refining. Presently, it holds stakes in pipelines, refineries,
fertilizer, forest products, and chemical technology.
Koch Industries, by the way, employed the union-busting Faegre &
Benson law firm, which, according to its website, specializes in
anti-union campaigns and withdrawing from pension plans.
Green for All, the green jobs organization founded by Van Jones, is circulating a petition, "Stand with the Green Jobs Movement." The supporting statement say,
Like the great social justice movements of the 20th
century, our movement for an inclusive green economy is based in the
most fundamental American values: equality, justice, and opportunity
for all.In the face of tactics intended to frighten and divide, we must stand together around the core values that unite us.
Stand with our movement. Sign the petition.
The petition simply says:
I stand for an inclusive green economy based in the most
fundamental American values: equality, justice, and opportunity for all.
If labor wants to stand with the green jobs movement - and if it
wants to roll back the right-wing attack on our unions, our
environment, and our green jobs - it should ask Van Jones to launch the
next phase of the green jobs movement by addressing its convention this
week.
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Jeremy Brecher
Jeremy Brecher is a historian, author, and co-founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability. His book, "Climate Insurgency: A Strategy for Survival," or free download at his personal website. His other books include: "Save the Humans? Common Preservation in Action" (2020), "Strike!" (2020), and, co-edited with Brendan Smith and Jill Cutler, "In the Name of Democracy: American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond" (Metropolitan/Holt).
Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith is an oysterman and green labor activist. He is co-founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability and Global Labor Strategies, and a consulting partner with the Progressive Technology Project. He has worked previously for Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) -- both as campaign director and staff on the U.S. House Banking Committee -- as well as a broad range of trade unions, grassroots groups and progressive politicians. He is a graduate of Cornell Law School.
Tim Costello
Tim Costello was an American labor and anti-globalization advocate who started his career as a truck driver, driving fuel trucks and as a long-haul trucker. He was one of the founders of the North American Alliance for Fair Employment (NAAFE), a network of organizations opposed to the use of temporary workers. In 2005, Costello co-founded Global Labor Strategies to foster the formation of international alliances opposed to the lowering of working standards and wages resulting from globalization. Tim died at age 64 in 2009 of pancreatic cancer at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The attack that drove "green jobs czar" Van Jones from the White
House this week is an attack on labor and on workers' best hope for
good jobs. If labor wants to promote green jobs, labor should embrace
Van Jones - publicly, loudly, and fast - at the upcoming AFL-CIO Convention.
Van Jones is a proven friend of labor, who has fought to see that
green jobs are good jobs with labor rights and fair labor standards.
If ever there was a time for that old labor slogan "An injury to one is
an injury to all" it is the injury that has been done to Van Jones.
For it is an injury to every American worker who hopes that the crisis
in our economy can be addressed by putting people to work building a
new green economy.
As founder of Green for All and author of the best-seller The Green
Collar Economy, Van Jones put the issue of green jobs on the political
map. Eager to catch the green jobs wave, the Obama administration
brought Van Jones in as "special advisor for green jobs" at the Council
on Environmental Quality. But last month Glenn Beck's Fox News' show began dredging
up calumnies from Jones's past - all information which admittedly had
long been publicly available on the web. (Yes, that's the Glenn Beck who said
"This president has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over
again who has a deep-seated hatred for white people.") This Sunday Jones self-sacrificingly resigned to avoid becoming a distraction for the Obama administration.
The campaign against Jones is the tip of the wedge for a far broader
campaign against organized labor, protection of the environment, and
green jobs.
Credit for starting the campaign that drove Van Jones from office is claimed by Phil Kerpen, Policy Director of Americans for Prosperity. What's their agenda?
Americans for Prosperity has been running what it calls the "Stop the Employee No Choice Act" campaign. Here's what Kerpen has to say about unions:
"Workers increasingly believe, for good reason, that unions either
provide little in return for their dues or work against their
interests."
Kerpen says his defeat of clean-energy legislation is his "No. 1
legislative priority." His group ran a "Hot Air Tour" under the slogan
"Global Warming Alarmism: Lost Jobs, Higher Taxes, Less Freedom."
Finally, Kerpen gets to attack both labor and the environment by attacking green jobs:
"Green jobs are not economic jobs but political jobs, designed to
funnel vast sums of taxpayer money to left-wing labor unions,
environmental groups, and social justice community organizers." Kerpen
and Beck devoted a whole show to "exposing" the union-backed Apollo
Alliance as a sinister conspiracy to unite social justice,
environmental protection, and labor around the green jobs program.
Where does the money come from? According to Kevin Grandia of the watchdog group DeSmogBlog:
The AFP is the third largest recipient of funding from
the Koch Family Foundations. Before 2003, when the AFP was still named
the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, it received $18,460,912 in
funding. 84% of that funding came from the Koch Family Foundations
($12,906,712) and the Scaife Family Foundations ($2,510,000). Koch
Family Foundations is funded by Koch Industries. According to Forbes,
Koch Industries is the second largest privately-held company, and the
largest privately owned energy company, in the United States. Koch
industries has made its money in the oil business, primarily oil
refining. Presently, it holds stakes in pipelines, refineries,
fertilizer, forest products, and chemical technology.
Koch Industries, by the way, employed the union-busting Faegre &
Benson law firm, which, according to its website, specializes in
anti-union campaigns and withdrawing from pension plans.
Green for All, the green jobs organization founded by Van Jones, is circulating a petition, "Stand with the Green Jobs Movement." The supporting statement say,
Like the great social justice movements of the 20th
century, our movement for an inclusive green economy is based in the
most fundamental American values: equality, justice, and opportunity
for all.In the face of tactics intended to frighten and divide, we must stand together around the core values that unite us.
Stand with our movement. Sign the petition.
The petition simply says:
I stand for an inclusive green economy based in the most
fundamental American values: equality, justice, and opportunity for all.
If labor wants to stand with the green jobs movement - and if it
wants to roll back the right-wing attack on our unions, our
environment, and our green jobs - it should ask Van Jones to launch the
next phase of the green jobs movement by addressing its convention this
week.
Jeremy Brecher
Jeremy Brecher is a historian, author, and co-founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability. His book, "Climate Insurgency: A Strategy for Survival," or free download at his personal website. His other books include: "Save the Humans? Common Preservation in Action" (2020), "Strike!" (2020), and, co-edited with Brendan Smith and Jill Cutler, "In the Name of Democracy: American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond" (Metropolitan/Holt).
Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith is an oysterman and green labor activist. He is co-founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability and Global Labor Strategies, and a consulting partner with the Progressive Technology Project. He has worked previously for Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) -- both as campaign director and staff on the U.S. House Banking Committee -- as well as a broad range of trade unions, grassroots groups and progressive politicians. He is a graduate of Cornell Law School.
Tim Costello
Tim Costello was an American labor and anti-globalization advocate who started his career as a truck driver, driving fuel trucks and as a long-haul trucker. He was one of the founders of the North American Alliance for Fair Employment (NAAFE), a network of organizations opposed to the use of temporary workers. In 2005, Costello co-founded Global Labor Strategies to foster the formation of international alliances opposed to the lowering of working standards and wages resulting from globalization. Tim died at age 64 in 2009 of pancreatic cancer at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The attack that drove "green jobs czar" Van Jones from the White
House this week is an attack on labor and on workers' best hope for
good jobs. If labor wants to promote green jobs, labor should embrace
Van Jones - publicly, loudly, and fast - at the upcoming AFL-CIO Convention.
Van Jones is a proven friend of labor, who has fought to see that
green jobs are good jobs with labor rights and fair labor standards.
If ever there was a time for that old labor slogan "An injury to one is
an injury to all" it is the injury that has been done to Van Jones.
For it is an injury to every American worker who hopes that the crisis
in our economy can be addressed by putting people to work building a
new green economy.
As founder of Green for All and author of the best-seller The Green
Collar Economy, Van Jones put the issue of green jobs on the political
map. Eager to catch the green jobs wave, the Obama administration
brought Van Jones in as "special advisor for green jobs" at the Council
on Environmental Quality. But last month Glenn Beck's Fox News' show began dredging
up calumnies from Jones's past - all information which admittedly had
long been publicly available on the web. (Yes, that's the Glenn Beck who said
"This president has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over
again who has a deep-seated hatred for white people.") This Sunday Jones self-sacrificingly resigned to avoid becoming a distraction for the Obama administration.
The campaign against Jones is the tip of the wedge for a far broader
campaign against organized labor, protection of the environment, and
green jobs.
Credit for starting the campaign that drove Van Jones from office is claimed by Phil Kerpen, Policy Director of Americans for Prosperity. What's their agenda?
Americans for Prosperity has been running what it calls the "Stop the Employee No Choice Act" campaign. Here's what Kerpen has to say about unions:
"Workers increasingly believe, for good reason, that unions either
provide little in return for their dues or work against their
interests."
Kerpen says his defeat of clean-energy legislation is his "No. 1
legislative priority." His group ran a "Hot Air Tour" under the slogan
"Global Warming Alarmism: Lost Jobs, Higher Taxes, Less Freedom."
Finally, Kerpen gets to attack both labor and the environment by attacking green jobs:
"Green jobs are not economic jobs but political jobs, designed to
funnel vast sums of taxpayer money to left-wing labor unions,
environmental groups, and social justice community organizers." Kerpen
and Beck devoted a whole show to "exposing" the union-backed Apollo
Alliance as a sinister conspiracy to unite social justice,
environmental protection, and labor around the green jobs program.
Where does the money come from? According to Kevin Grandia of the watchdog group DeSmogBlog:
The AFP is the third largest recipient of funding from
the Koch Family Foundations. Before 2003, when the AFP was still named
the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, it received $18,460,912 in
funding. 84% of that funding came from the Koch Family Foundations
($12,906,712) and the Scaife Family Foundations ($2,510,000). Koch
Family Foundations is funded by Koch Industries. According to Forbes,
Koch Industries is the second largest privately-held company, and the
largest privately owned energy company, in the United States. Koch
industries has made its money in the oil business, primarily oil
refining. Presently, it holds stakes in pipelines, refineries,
fertilizer, forest products, and chemical technology.
Koch Industries, by the way, employed the union-busting Faegre &
Benson law firm, which, according to its website, specializes in
anti-union campaigns and withdrawing from pension plans.
Green for All, the green jobs organization founded by Van Jones, is circulating a petition, "Stand with the Green Jobs Movement." The supporting statement say,
Like the great social justice movements of the 20th
century, our movement for an inclusive green economy is based in the
most fundamental American values: equality, justice, and opportunity
for all.In the face of tactics intended to frighten and divide, we must stand together around the core values that unite us.
Stand with our movement. Sign the petition.
The petition simply says:
I stand for an inclusive green economy based in the most
fundamental American values: equality, justice, and opportunity for all.
If labor wants to stand with the green jobs movement - and if it
wants to roll back the right-wing attack on our unions, our
environment, and our green jobs - it should ask Van Jones to launch the
next phase of the green jobs movement by addressing its convention this
week.
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LATEST NEWS
Residents Revolt as 'Free DC' Protests Target Trump's National Guard Deployment
"We've got the FBI patrolling the streets." said one protester. "We've got National Guard set up as a show of force. What's scarier is if we allow this."
Aug 17, 2025
Residents of Washington, DC over the weekend demonstrated against US President Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard in their city.
As reported by NBC Washington, demonstrators gathered on Saturday at DuPont Circle and then marched to the White House to direct their anger at Trump for sending the National Guard to Washington DC, and for his efforts to take over the Metropolitan Police Department.
In an interview with NBC Washington, one protester said that it was important for the administration to see that residents weren't intimidated by the presence of military personnel roaming their streets.
"I know a lot of people are scared," the protester said. "We've got the FBI patrolling the streets. We've got National Guard set up as a show of force. What's scarier is if we allow this."
Saturday protests against the presence of the National Guard are expected to be a weekly occurrence, organizers told NBC Washington.
Hours after the march to the White House, other demonstrators began to gather at Union Station to protest the presence of the National Guard units there. Audio obtained by freelance journalist Andrew Leyden reveals that the National Guard decided to move their forces out of the area in reaction to what dispatchers called "growing demonstrations."
Even residents who didn't take part in formal demonstrations over the weekend managed to express their displeasure with the National Guard patrolling the city. According to The Washington Post, locals who spent a night on the town in the U Street neighborhood on Friday night made their unhappiness with law enforcement in the city very well known.
"At the sight of local and federal law enforcement throughout the night, people pooled on the sidewalk—watching, filming, booing," wrote the Post. "Such interactions played out again and again as the night drew on. Onlookers heckled the police as they did their job and applauded as officers left."
Trump last week ordered the National Guard into Washington, DC and tried to take control the Metropolitan Police, purportedly in order to reduce crime in the city. Statistics released earlier this year, however, showed a significant drop in crime in the nation's capital.
Marco Rubio Repeatedly Put on the Spot for Trump's Failure to Secure Ukraine Cease-Fire Deal
"Why not impose more sanctions on [Russia] and force them to agree to a cease-fire, instead of accepting that Putin won't agree to one?" asked NBC's Kristen Welker.
Aug 17, 2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday was repeatedly put on the spot over the failure of US President Donald Trump to secure a cease-fire deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Rubio appeared on news programs across all major networks on Sunday morning and he was asked on all of them about Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin ending without any kind of agreement to end the conflict with Ukraine, which has now lasted for more than three years.
During an interview on ABC's "This Week," Rubio was grilled by Martha Raddatz about the purported "progress" being made toward bringing the war to a close. She also zeroed in on Trump's own statements saying that he wanted to see Russia agree to a cease-fire by the end of last week's summit.
"The president went in to that meeting saying he wanted a ceasefire, and there would be consequences if they didn't agree on a ceasefire in that meeting, and they didn't agree to a ceasefire," she said. "So where are the consequences?"
"That's not the aim of this," Rubio replied. "First of all..."
"The president said that was the aim!" Raddatz interjected.
"Yeah, but you're not going to reach a cease-fire or a peace agreement in a meeting in which only one side is represented," Rubio replied. "That's why it's important to bring both leaders together, that's the goal here."
RADDATZ: The president went in to that meeting saying he wanted a ceasefire and there would be consequences if they didn't agree on a ceasefire in that meeting, and they didn't agree to a ceasefire. So where are the consequences?
RUBIO: That's not the aim
RADDATZ: The president… pic.twitter.com/fuO9q1Y5ze
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 17, 2025
Rubio also made an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," where host Margaret Brennan similarly pressed him about the expectations Trump had set going into the summit.
"The president told those European leaders last week he wanted a ceasefire," she pointed out. "He went on television and said he would walk out of the meeting if Putin didn't agree to one, he said there would be severe consequences if he didn't agree to one. He said he'd walk out in two minutes—he spent three hours talking to Vladimir Putin and he did not get one. So there's mixed messages here."
"Our goal is not to stage some production for the world to say, 'Oh, how dramatic, he walked out,'" Rubio shot back. "Our goal is to have a peace agreement to end this war, OK? And obviously we felt, and I agreed, that there was enough progress, not a lot of progress, but enough progress made in those talks to allow us to move to the next phase."
Rubio then insisted that now was not the time to hit Russia with new sanctions, despite Trump's recent threats to do so, because it would end talks all together.
Brennan: The president told those European leaders last week he wanted a ceasefire. He went on television and said he would walk out of the meeting if Putin didn't agree to one, he said there would be severe consequences if he didn’t agree to one. He spent three hours talking to… pic.twitter.com/2WtuDH5Oii
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 17, 2025
During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker asked Rubio about the "severe consequences" Trump had promised for Russia if it did not agree to a cease-fire.
"Why not impose more sanctions on [Russia] and force them to agree to a cease-fire, instead of accepting that Putin won't agree to one?" Welker asked.
"Well, first, that's something that I think a lot of people go around saying that I don't necessarily think is true," he replied. "I don't think new sanctions on Russia are going to force them to accept a cease-fire. They are already under severe sanctions... you can argue that could be a consequence of refusing to agree to a cease-fire or the end of hostilities."
He went on to say that he hoped the US would not be forced to put more sanctions on Russia "because that means peace talks failed."
WELKER: Why not impose more sanctions on Russia and force them to agree to a ceasefire, instead of accepting that Putin won't agree to one?
RUBIO: Well, I think that's something people go around saying that I don't necessarily think is true. I don't think new sanctions on Russia… pic.twitter.com/GoIucsrDmA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 17, 2025
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said that he could end the war between Russian and Ukraine within the span of a single day. In the seven months since his inauguration, the war has only gotten more intense as Russia has stepped up its daily attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Masked Border Protection Agents Open Fire on Family's Truck After Smashing Its Windows
"I had to protect my life and my family... my truck was shot three times," said the vehicle's driver.
Aug 17, 2025
A family in San Bernardino, California is in shock after masked federal agents opened fire on their truck.
As NBC Los Angeles reported, Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agents on Saturday morning surrounded the family's truck and demanded that its passengers exit the vehicle.
A video of the incident filmed from inside the truck showed the passengers asked the agents to provide identification, which they declined to do.
An agent was then heard demanding that the father, who had been driving the truck, get out of the vehicle. Seconds later, the agent started smashing the car's windows in an attempt to get inside the vehicle.
The father then hit the gas to try to escape, after which several shots could be heard as agents opened fire. Local news station KTLA reported that, after the father successfully fled the scene, he called local police and asked for help because "masked men" had opened fire on his truck.
Looks like, for the first time I'm aware of, masked agents opened fire today, in San Bernardino. Sources posted below: pic.twitter.com/eE1GMglECg
— Eric Levai (@ericlevai) August 17, 2025
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the agents' actions in a statement to NBC Los Angeles.
"In the course of the incident the suspect drove his car at the officers and struck two CBP officers with his vehicle," they said. "Because of the subjects forcing a CBP officer to discharge his firearm in self-defense."
But the father, who only wished to be identified as "Francisco," pointed out that the agents refused to identify themselves and presented no warrants to justify the search of his truck.
"I had to protect my life and my family," he explained to NBC Los Angeles. "My truck was shot three times."
His son-in-law, who only wished to be identified as "Martin," was similarly critical of the agents' actions.
"Its just upsetting that it happened to us," he said. "I am glad my brother is okay, Pop is okay, but it's just not cool that [immigration enforcement officials are] able to do something like that."
According to KTLA, federal agents surrounded the family's house later that afternoon and demanded that the father come out so that he could be arrested. He refused, and agents eventually departed from the neighborhood without detaining him.
Local advocacy group Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice said on its Instagram page that it was "mobilizing to provide legal support" for the family.
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