Houston Principles
of the
Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment
Preamble
On May 19, 1999, environmental and labor leaders confronted CEO Charles Hurwitz in Houston to demand that his Maxxam Corporation, which owns Kaiser Aluminum and Pacific Lumber Company, be held accountable for its impact on working people, communities and the environment.
By clear cutting ancient redwoods in Northern California, and by locking out striking steelworkers in five cities, the Maxxam corporation and its subsidiaries, Pacific Lumber Company and Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, have become icons of corporate irresponsibility.
Recognizing that we have a common interest in making corporations more accountable for their behavior world wide, environmental and labor leaders have formed the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment and circulated the following statement, dubbed the "Houston Principles."
Whereas:
* The spectacular accumulation of wealth by corporations and America's most affluent during the past two decades has come with a huge price tag
* Corporations have become more powerful than the government entities designed to regulate them.
* The goal of a giant, global corporation is to maximize wealth and to wield political power on its own behalf. Too often, corporate leaders regard working people, communities, and the natural world as resources to be used and thrown away.
* Recognizing the tremendous stakes, labor unions and environmental advocates are beginning to recognize our common ground. Together we can challenge illegitimate corporate authority over our country's and communities' governing decisions.
* While we may not agree on everything, we are determined to accelerate our efforts to make alliances as often as possible
We believe that:
* A healthy future for the economy and the environment requires a dynamic alliance between labor, management, and environmental advocates.
* The same forces that threaten economic and biological sustainability undermine the democratic process.
* The drive for short-term profits without regard for long-term sustainability hurts working people, communities, and the earth.
* Labor, environmental and community groups need to take action to organize as a counter-balance to abusive corporate power
The environmental and labor advocates who have signed these principles resolve to work together to:
* Remind the public that the original purpose behind the creation of corporations was to serve the public interest - namely working people, communities, and the earth.
* Seek stricter enforcement of labor laws and advocate for new laws to guarantee working people their right to form unions and their right to bargain collectively.
* Make workplaces, communities and the planet safer by reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
* Demand that global trade agreements include enforceable labor and environmental standards.
* Promote forward-thinking business models that allow for sustainability over the long term while protecting working people, communities, and the environment.
This ground-breaking alliance of labor and environmentalists invites all people to join with us in a spirit of creative cooperation. Together, we can forge a partnership that protects people and the planet.
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Signed
ENVIRONMENT
Bruce Hamilton
Conservation Director
Sierra Club
Paul Hawken
Author
David Brower
Brower Fund
John A. Knox
Executive Director
Earth Island Institute
John Cavanagh
Director
Institute for Policy Studies
Michael Renner
Senior Researcher
Worldwatch Institute
Richard Drury
Acting Executive Director
Commentates for a Better Environment
Juliette Majot
Executive Director
International Rivers Network
Brent Blackwelder
President
Friends of the Earth
Carl Anthony
Executive Director
Urban Habitat Program
Jonathan Parfrey, MDA
Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Suzanne Murphy
Managing Director
Redefining Progress
Paul Schwartz
National Campaign Director
Clean Water Action
Mark Ritchie
President
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Carol L. Wright
Executive Director
Klamath Forest Alliance
Kelly Quirke
Executive Director
Rainforest Action Network
Jim Jontz
Executive Director
American Lands Alliance
John Passacantando
Executive Director
Ozone Action
Lois Gibbs
Executive Director
Center for Health and Environmental Justice
Tom Turner
Director of Publications
Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund
Peter Rosset
Executive Director
Food First/ Institute for Food and Development Policy
Paul Mason
Executive Director
Environment Protection Information Center (EPIC)
Hal Kane
Executive Director
Pacific Environment and Resource Center
Marguerite Young
California Director
Clean Water Action
Huey D. Johnson
President
Resource Renewal Institute
Diane Takvorian
Executive Director
Environmental Health Coalition
Paul Spitler
Executive Director
California Wilderness Coalition
Patricia M. Clary
Executive Director
Californians for Alternatives to Toxics
Samuel La Buddy
Executive Director
Endangered Species Project
Christine Stevens
President
Animal Welfare Institute
Paul Hughes
Executive Director
Forests Forever
Dr. Henry Clark
Executive Director
West County Toxics Coalition
Gary Cohen
Director
Environmental Health Fund
Greg Small
Executive Director
Pesticide Watch
David Korten
President
People Centered Development Forum
Ted Smith
Director
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
Franses F. Korten
Executive Director
The Positive Futures Network
Dave Henson
Executive Director
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Jay Letto
President
Central Cascades Alliance
David Cobb
Secretary
Green Party of Texas
Jill Ratner
President
Rose Foundation
Craig Thomas
Director
The Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation
Gina Giazzoni
State College Coordinator
Allegheny Defense Project
Adam Roberts
Research Associate
Society for Animal Protective Legislation
Sanford Lewis
Attorney
Strategic Counsel on Corporate Accountability
Karen Pickett
Coordinator
Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters
Luke Cole
Director
Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
David E Ortman
President
Wise Use Movement
Thomas R. Lent
President
Association of Flight Attendants--Alaska Airlines
Wenonah Hauter
Director
Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project
Paula Palmer
Executive Director
Global Response
Cal Broomhead
Bureau of Energy Conservation
San Francisco, CA
Prof. Lee Altenberg
Information and Computer Sciences,
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Jim Puckett
Director
Asia Pacific Environmental Exchange (APEX)
David Wood
Senior Associate
Center on Wisconsin Strategy
Lisa Mastny
Staff Researcher
Worldwatch Institute
William A Shutkin
President
New Ecology Inc.
Chris Ford
Steering Committee Member
Southern Arizona Alliance for Economic Justice.
Charles M Miller, esq.
Attorney
Law Office of Charles M. Miller
Celia F. Alario
Communications Team
USWA and Amazon Watch
Thomas Ryan
Community Services Director
San Francisco Labor Council
Scott Tundermann
Sustainable Energy Choice Project
Institute for Science and Interdisciplinary Studies
EMT O'Nan
Director
Protect All Children's Environment
Bill Welsch
President
Safe Alternative for our Forest Environment (SAFE)
Beth Burrows
President/Director
The Edmonds Institute
Harlin Savage
Director
Colorado Forest Program
Fredy Champagne
President
Veterans for Peace, Inc.
Julia Butterfly Hill
Alan Rose
Professor Emeritus
University of Idaho
Nancy Kubasek
Author
"Environmental Law"
Hugh M. Carola
Coordinator
Hackensack Meadowlands Preservation Alliance
Mary Bull
SF Coordinator
Boycott the Gap Campaign
John Grech
Public Officer
Earth Worker Inc., Canada
Steve Brooks
Coordinator
Virginia Forest Watch
Larry Weiss
Coordinator
Labor, Globalization and Human Rights Project
Resource Center of the Americas
Stephen Bezruchka, MD, MPH
Affiliate Assistant Professor
Department of Health Services
University of Washington
David Muhly
Chair
Virginia Forest Watch
Bill Devall
Chairman
Deep Ecology Resource Center
Shirley J Shelburn
Humbolt Watershed Council
Rt 1 Trinidad ,Ca 95570
Ken Miller
Salmon Forever
Mckinleyville, Ca 95519
Marianne DE Sobrino
Redwoods Chapter Sierra Club
Eureka, Ca 95503
Kyle Haines
Forest Protection Coordinator
Klamath Forest Alliance
John Sellers
Director
Rukus Society
Karen Litfin, Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Washington - Seattle
Bob Martel
Executive Director
Humboldt Watershed Council
Chad Hanson
Executive Director
John Muir Project
Christine Cooper, Ph.D
Faculty of Business
University of New Brunswick Saint John
Jacek Purat
School of Information Management and Systems
University of California at Berkeley
Steve Thompson
Natural Resource Consultant
Whitefish, MI
Cam Walker
Friends of the Earth Australia
Darryl Cherney, Executive Director
Environmentally Sound Promotions
Redway, CA
Stephen Graves
Land Use Consultant
Soquel, CA
Bryony Schwan, Exec. Director
Women's Voices for the Earth
Missoula, MT
Nancy Fesco
Boreal Forest Campaign Coordinator
Northern Alaska Environmental Center
Julian Powers
Co-Chair for Legislative Affiars
Spokane Transportation Choice Coalition
Kimberly Burkland
Director
Central Cascades Alliance
Robert Cramer
Co-founder
Taxpayers for Headwaters
Martha Bergotten
Campaign Coordinator
Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project
Lois Barber
International Coordinator
EarthAction
Tim Bristol
Organizer
Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
Larry Campbell
Executive Director
Friends of the Bitterroot
Bill Metzger
Publisher
Great Lakes Brewing News
Kurt Newick
Global Warming activist
Juliette Beck
Campaign Director, Global Exchange
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