Joshua Piedra works at the intersection of labor and environment—a critical area when building coalitions to enact change. We interviewed him to gain more insights into the work he does to further the movement.
What first got you interested in environmental causes? And how do you think that your current work reflects that inspiration? I developed an interest in environmental issues as I grew up living in communities of color in South Park and City Heights. My family and our neighborhoods have historically been underinvested in and lacked support due to systemic racism. These experiences have made me an advocate centered on equity. A part of my advocacy puzzle is uplifting environmental causes. Effectively addressing the impacts of pollution on our communities, unsustainable infrastructure, and inaccessible community-resources requires that we look at policy through an environmental justice lens. I am currently working as a political organizer at a local labor union and I think that advocating for workers does not stop at uplifting wages and workers’ rights, it also includes ensuring that workers as community members have all the resources they need to thrive in their communities. I believe that our community will not be able to thrive without addressing climate change. You probably spend a lot of time thinking about the relationship between labor and environmental issues. What do you think is most promising about the current collaboration between those causes, and what do you think could still use some work? As a region, there has been a progressive shift, a direct result of the hard work of coalitions of community organizations and labor unions. I think this will continue to grow stronger and result in more progressive policies. That being said, there is still a lot of change left to work on. For instance, our society reinforces the belief that there is a distinction between work life and private life. This is not true. For example, policies that uplift worker protections and rights but that don’t address climate change, negatively impact families and our community. At the same time, when policies address climate change but do not uplift worker protections and rights, they also negatively impact families and communities. Fundamentally, community members are also workers with their own lives but these two aspects are heavily intertwined and not separate entities. Our communities will not thrive without equitable policies that holistically uplift the needs of workers and address environmental issues. What role do you think questions of climate justice, especially understood intersectionally, have to play in organizing? Climate justice is the understanding that our current relationship with the environment is negatively impacting the wellbeing of the planet and in turn is harmful to our society. For example, relying on nonrenewable energy sources has led to an increase in pollution and severe weather conditions. These conditions increase health disparities and decrease access to healthy nutrition in our communities, create unmanageable workloads and dangerous working conditions for workers, and puts all of our well-being at risk as a result of stronger storms and frequent wildfires. Whether we like it or not, climate has a direct impact on our communities and we have a direct impact on our climate. If we do not create policies that center equity and holistically address the needs of workers and climate justice, then we only create situations where communities face more barriers to thriving. Lastly, what advice would you give activists and organizers who are interested in bridging the divides between labor movements and environmental movements? We live in a racist and classist system that intentionally makes it difficult for our communities to survive. While climate change will undoubtedly have irreparable harm on our future and communities, a lot of people are currently overworked, underpaid, and too worried about meeting their immediate needs to think about the future or lasting impacts. Everyday people are worried about having enough money for rent, food, healthcare, meeting their children’s needs, and so on. Climate justice is a key piece of the puzzle in order to meet the needs of our communities. If we want to bridge the divide between the labor movement and environmental movement, we have to center people and uplift their stories so that we can create holistic policies that are equitable and address the dangers of climate change. | 
