Labor Leader Sara Nelson Says Workers of Disrupted Industries Must Be Engaged in Green New Deal Solutions

“Our country, our economy doesn’t work without aviation.”

That’s what the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, Sara Nelson, told Common Dreams in an interview Tuesday. Nelson believes that the airline industry needs to get on board with finding swift solutions to the climate crisis. 

“Let’s have lawmakers, scientists, and innovators get together to keep planes in the air,” said Nelson.

Nelson sees a prominent role for her union in figuring out how to balance the demands of aviation with the deepening reality of the climate catastrophe and President Donald Trump’s policies. If the president won’t lead, said Nelson, others need to step forward.

“We have to be engaged in the conversation about solutions,” said Nelson. 

For the airlines, that means taking a hard look at what can be changed in the industry to meet the goals of the Green New Deal. Air travel and shipping is indispensable to the U.S. economy, shuttling people and product across the country and the world. 

Thus there’s no time to waste, said Nelson, who believes that air travel will become unsustainable if nothing is done.

“There are solutions that cut emissions,” said Nelson. “Airlines have already been doing that—we need to do it at a faster rate.”