Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces to Respond to Climate Change (ACW)
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About this collection
The documents and materials archived at this website are the result of research done under the direction of Principal Investigator Dr. Carla Lipsig-Mummé, Professor of Work and Labour Studies at York University between 2008 to 2022. This research was pioneering in its foresight about the problem of global heating and the potential role of workers to contribute to a cleaner economy, as documented in 2010 in What Do We Know? What Do We Need To Know? The state of research on work, employment and climate change in Canada. This report used a sectoral lens to assess the state of our knowledge, and to identify the gaps which subsequent researchers have addressed in the documents archived here. They are now made freely available in the hopes that future researchers and interested academics, students, and citizens, will be able to build forward from our work.
This archive preserves the research outputs of the following research grants, all of which wove together and in some cases overlapped: “What do we know? The implications of global climate change for Canadian employment and work” (2008-09); “Canada’s Work World and the Challenge of Climate Change. Engaging the community” (2011-12); “Work in a Warming World-W3” (2010-17); and “Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces” (2014-21).
Funding for these grants was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), along with Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Research outputs from our grants
- Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces to Respond to Climate Change (ACW), 2014-2021
Working papers, presentations and videos by ACW researchers, including on the topics of Environmental Racism and Just Transition. Also includes archival copies of the website adaptingcanadianwork.ca. - Databases
Archived versions as of December 31st 2021. These include a bibliographic database of over 4000 records; approximately 200 green collective agreement clauses; green initiatives by unions in the EU and US; and a listing of union green training and education materials. - Work in a Warming World (W3), 2010-2017, and earlier projects
Working papers, presentations and videos by W3 researchers. Also Includes archival copies of the website workinawarmingworld.yorku.ca. - Work And Climate Change Report, 2011-2021
Archival copies of the blog hosted at workandclimatechangereport.org, along with a searchable PDF copy of all posts.
Approximately 200 documents have been archived in the York University Digital Library. These were not published by ACW or W3, but by labour unions and environmental advocacy groups in Canada, as well as some government agencies.
To our knowledge, this is the most complete collection of Canadian labour union documents related to climate change to date, and the only complete collection of the publications of Canada’s National Roundtable for the Environment and the Economy, disbanded by the Canadian government in 2013.
To prevent these documents from disappearing from the internet, ACW has assembled this collection, and has been granted permission to reproduce these documents for educational and personal research purposes. Copyright remains with the originators and is frequently stated in the documents.
It is important to understand that these documents were assembled by ACW but are housed in the York University Digital Library and must be searched from there.
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You can search for a specific topic, person, place, organization, or date by using the search field at the top of this screen.
You can also use the subject headings listed on the right of this screen to see the most popular subjects, or explore the collection using the suggested topics below.
- Just Transition
- Labour unions
- Workers' rights
- Green jobs
- Environmental racism
- Construction
- International action
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