EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS  (Last modified July 28, 2002.)

At a training of trainers session in Long Beach, CA we created a new team of fifteen environmental justice and PACE trainers knowledgeable about Just Transition. These trainers represent all regions of the country and three of the EJ networks (SNEEJ, IEN, and NEJN). We expect to complete fifteen JTA workshops by December 31, 2002.

Since January 2002, JTA has been represented at several public forums including:

• Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) national training conference;
• Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) national conference;
• Louisiana Clean Production follow-up meeting;
• National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences grantees meeting.

and has held community-labor workshops in:

• Niagara Falls, NY
• Westwego, LA
• Los Angeles, CA
• San Antonio, TX
• Rillito, AZ

At these workshops, we engaged from 25 to 200 people, often in interactive sessions. Workshops are designed to introduce the concepts of "just transition" and environmental justice and labor communities working together.

Training and Organizing Laboratories (linking education with organizing)
We strengthen local community-labor alliances through education and organizing. These local alliances challenge corporate and government policies and practices, as well as promote more responsible pollution prevention strategies. They also help the leadership of PACE and the EJ networks to meld and refine Just Transition theory with practice.

Typically, the catalyst for these joint efforts is an informational Just Transition workshop that helps participants see their shared interests and that offers ideas about joint action. Subsequent to a workshop, local labor and community participants formalize a commitment to work together. This has happened most successfully in Rillito, AZ, and in San Antonio, TX.

The best way for us to offer deeper support is through our Coordination, Adaptation, Training, and Support (CATS) team. In previous years, the CATS team produced educational workbooks, conducted Just Transition workshops, and trained experienced organizers to deliver these materials in their local communities.

We now plan to offer a wider range of workshops:

• One to two-hour informational forums/public awareness workshops to spread the concept of just transition to social justice, mainstream environmental, church-based, public health, teacher and other groups;
  
  
• Four-hour workshops specifically for environmental justice and labor groups that may be potential sites for more extensive organizing and policy work; and
  
  
• a more intensive, skills-building workshop series for EJ and labor groups that are selected as a JTA site.

One new effort would be the development of a multi-part workshop series on following topics:

• an introductory workshop; community and workplace risk mapping; health effects of chemicals;
• investigating the health effects of specific chemicals (MSDS sheets, etc.); controlling the hazard, not the worker;
• systems of safety;
• ensuring a just transition for workers and community, including alternative economic development;
• and a power analysis for taking action.

We also expect to improve the effectiveness of our materials in terms of language, culture, literacy and learning styles.

The development of these materials may occur at any one or combination of the selected sites. The intention is to link the information needs of workers and communities with the proposed local actions.

Any of these sites may "graduate" to the level of policy development, as has already begun to happen in Rillito, AZ and San Antonio, TX. In each site, we will support local organizers in the start-up period. These organizers will work with the training team to adapt educational materials to local needs.