On this day, 6 July, 1972, the Trades Union Council [the peak body for UK unions) held a conference on “Workers and the Environment”
Why this matters.
Without unions on board, you’re probably not going to be able to force state managers into major concessions that last any length of time. But unions and greenies, while they have some common interests (habitable planet, etc) ALSO have sticking points. These needed proper thrashing out, loose coalitions forming blah blah. Conferences like this coulda been a start.
Too late now.
What happened next?
The Unions had other stuff on their plate all through the 70s. And the 80s.And it’s not as if the stereotype of condescending middle-class busybodies who sneer at workers is ENTIRELY made up, now is it?
And the carbon dioxide, it accumulates.