Class & Climate: Winds of Change with Alex Connolly

The fight for better workplace conditions doesn’t stop at renewable energy. Workers in renewable energy need union representation, collective bargaining and a voice in their workplace for the energy transition to benefit all Canadians.

Alex Connolly, a renewable energy worker in Nova Scotia, compares the workplace conditions from his time in the oil sands to his current work putting up wind turbines. He shares how quality wages and work closer to home aren’t at odds with lower emissions.

But the fight for better workplace conditions doesn’t stop at renewable energy. Workers in renewable energy need union representation, collective bargaining and a voice in their workplace for the energy transition to benefit all Canadians.

This is the sixth episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, a short series from the Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network mapping how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers—while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment. In this episode, Connolly answers what it’s like working in the oilsands and discusses the opportunities for workers in renewable energy.

Notes and further reading:

• ‘Fly-in, fly-out’ oilsands workers face significant mental health challenges, report suggests
• Heads in the sands: Understanding the social and economic risks of declining global demand for Alberta oil
• How Canada can equip workers for a low-carbon future

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