United States and Canadian autoworkers hold a wake on the Detroit River on the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970. Photo credit: Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University.
Autoworkers have been advocating for responsible environmental policies for about a century, says a UWindsor researcher.
In an online column published Monday, John Hartig, a visiting scholar at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, writes that the first-hand experiences of factory workers with water and air pollution put them at the forefront of conservation efforts.
He notes that on the first Earth Day, April 22, 1972, two boats — one filled with American autoworkers and one with Canadian autoworkers — met in the middle of the Detroit River to hold a wake, symbolizing the death of the river from pollution.
They placed a floral wreath on the water and the vice-chair of the United Auto Workers Downriver Anti-Pollution League quickly retrieved it, explaining she didn’t want the flowers to get contaminated.
Dr. Hartig also discusses Unifor’s recent work in Windsor to ban pesticides on school playgrounds and public parks, lobby Windsor City Council to purchase electric buses, and help establish the Ojibway National Urban Park.
“Today, both the UAW and Unifor remain champions of improving the lives of working people by advocating for better wages, health care and working conditions, including protecting the environment,” Hartig concludes.
His column is part of Great Lakes Moment, a monthly series published in conjunction with the magazine-style television program Great Lakes Now, housed at Detroit Public TV.
Read the entire piece, “Autoworkers’ long history of protecting our environment,” at GreatLakesNow.org.