NATIONWIDE SUPPORT FOR DNC CLIMATE DEBATE RESOLUTION GROWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 14, 2019
More than 60 State Democratic Party Chairs and DNC Members have now signed onto the attached resolution which will be proposed to the DNC’s Executive Committee at its meeting in Pittsburgh at the end of this month. The resolution, organized by Washington State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski, calls for the DNC to reconsider the decisions to dedicate a presidential debate or forum on the climate crisis facing our nation. Podlodowski laid out the case for a dedicated Climate Debate in response to Chairman Perez’s Medium post.
The climate crisis is not a single-issue concern, it touches every issue from healthcare to jobs and the economy to national security. Washington State Labor Council President Larry Brown expressed his support for a conversation about the climate crisis that acknowledges that reality:
“As the national conversation on how we address the impact of climate change on our communities, our economy, and the future of our planet takes center stage, we cannot afford to ignore the needs of workers whose livelihoods depend on impacted industries,” said Larry Brown, President of the Washington State Labor Council. “Any discussion of this issue must not only include a plan for union jobs in the emerging sectors of our economy, but also a serious consideration of how we will provide family-wage jobs to workers whose industries will be dramatically reshaped by this necessary transition. Simple hand-waving about ‘re-training’ is not enough; America’s workers both deserve and want the dignity that comes with a union job.”
Democratic Party leaders from across the country also expressed their support for the growing momentum behind the resolution for a Climate Debate:
“Living in one of the most isolated areas in the U.S., the people of Hawaii witness the devastating impacts climate change has already had on our way of life and know firsthand the dangers of inaction,” said Kealii Lopez, Chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii and DNC Member. “Sea levels rise alone presents a threat to the very existence of our communities and we strongly urge our party leaders to do everything in their power to galvanize the public to action.”
“No one more so than us in Indian Country know the devastating impact of climate change, which is why Native Americans have been on the frontlines of this issue for decades. Most recently, our people put their bodies on the line in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests to drive home the costs of inaction on this issue to our families and our way of life,” said Rion J. Ramirez and Paulette Jordan, Chair and Vice Chair of the Native American Caucus of the DNC.
The resolution to the DNC Executive committee currently has 61 signatories from DNC Members in 21 states. We will continue gathering support and having discussions related to this resolution until it is presented to the DNC Executive Committee at its meeting in Pittsburgh at the end of the month.
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