SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Teenage climate Swedish activist Greta Thunberg attends Fridays for Future Climate Change rally in Piazza Del Popolo on April 19, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Photo: Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
'Youth and Workers Uniting Behind This Crisis': German Labor Union Urges 2 Million Members to Join Global Climate Strike
"This is leadership. Who will follow? The world is watching," said 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg
Aug 06, 2019
Germany's second-largest labor union on Monday urged its two million members to join the youth-led "Fridays for Future" climate strikes scheduled to take place next month in over 150 countries across the globe.
"We can only protect the climate together," tweeted Verdi, a service sector union.
As the Associated Pressreported, "Verdi head Frank Bsirske told the WAZ newspaper on Monday he was calling on the union's two million members to take part."
"Whoever can should march and participate," said Bsirske in a tweet. "Anyway, I'll be going."
\u201c20.09 - Save the Date: Klimaschutz schaffen wir nur gemeinsam #solidarity #fridaysForFuture https://t.co/r5PuwvEMep\u201d— ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (@ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft) 1565021683
Organizers of the strikes, which are set to kick off Sept. 20 and continue through Sept. 27, said they expect millions of people to participate around the world.
According to the Global Climate Strike website, the event is on track to be the largest ever "global mobilization against climate breakdown."
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish environmentalist whose activism was an inspiration for the upcoming strikes, applauded Verdi for joining the global movement for climate justice.
"This is leadership," Thunberg tweeted. "Who will follow? The world is watching."
German climate activist Luisa Neubauer also celebrated Verdi's move and called on other unions to follow its lead.
"This is incredible," tweeted Neubauer. "This is youth and workers uniting behind this crisis. Which union will join next?"
\u201cSince this is just so relevant internationally: \n\ud83c\udf0d Today, Germany's second-largest labor union declared to ask their two million members to join the #climatestrike in September. This is incredible. This is youth and workers uniting behind this crisis. Which union will join next?\u201d— Luisa Neubauer (@Luisa Neubauer) 1565032382
As Common Dreams reported in July, the September climate strike is set to take place as world leaders gather for the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York.
"It is time for world leaders to wake up to the truth of the climate crisis," organizers of the strike said in a statement last month. "By demonstrating people's power we will make this week a turning point in history. The climate crisis is an emergency. We have to act like it so we will stop our business as usual and show governments what people want: climate justice."
"This September," the activists added, "millions of us will walk out of homes and workplaces onto the streets and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Germany's second-largest labor union on Monday urged its two million members to join the youth-led "Fridays for Future" climate strikes scheduled to take place next month in over 150 countries across the globe.
"We can only protect the climate together," tweeted Verdi, a service sector union.
As the Associated Pressreported, "Verdi head Frank Bsirske told the WAZ newspaper on Monday he was calling on the union's two million members to take part."
"Whoever can should march and participate," said Bsirske in a tweet. "Anyway, I'll be going."
\u201c20.09 - Save the Date: Klimaschutz schaffen wir nur gemeinsam #solidarity #fridaysForFuture https://t.co/r5PuwvEMep\u201d— ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (@ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft) 1565021683
Organizers of the strikes, which are set to kick off Sept. 20 and continue through Sept. 27, said they expect millions of people to participate around the world.
According to the Global Climate Strike website, the event is on track to be the largest ever "global mobilization against climate breakdown."
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish environmentalist whose activism was an inspiration for the upcoming strikes, applauded Verdi for joining the global movement for climate justice.
"This is leadership," Thunberg tweeted. "Who will follow? The world is watching."
German climate activist Luisa Neubauer also celebrated Verdi's move and called on other unions to follow its lead.
"This is incredible," tweeted Neubauer. "This is youth and workers uniting behind this crisis. Which union will join next?"
\u201cSince this is just so relevant internationally: \n\ud83c\udf0d Today, Germany's second-largest labor union declared to ask their two million members to join the #climatestrike in September. This is incredible. This is youth and workers uniting behind this crisis. Which union will join next?\u201d— Luisa Neubauer (@Luisa Neubauer) 1565032382
As Common Dreams reported in July, the September climate strike is set to take place as world leaders gather for the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York.
"It is time for world leaders to wake up to the truth of the climate crisis," organizers of the strike said in a statement last month. "By demonstrating people's power we will make this week a turning point in history. The climate crisis is an emergency. We have to act like it so we will stop our business as usual and show governments what people want: climate justice."
"This September," the activists added, "millions of us will walk out of homes and workplaces onto the streets and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels."
Germany's second-largest labor union on Monday urged its two million members to join the youth-led "Fridays for Future" climate strikes scheduled to take place next month in over 150 countries across the globe.
"We can only protect the climate together," tweeted Verdi, a service sector union.
As the Associated Pressreported, "Verdi head Frank Bsirske told the WAZ newspaper on Monday he was calling on the union's two million members to take part."
"Whoever can should march and participate," said Bsirske in a tweet. "Anyway, I'll be going."
\u201c20.09 - Save the Date: Klimaschutz schaffen wir nur gemeinsam #solidarity #fridaysForFuture https://t.co/r5PuwvEMep\u201d— ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (@ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft) 1565021683
Organizers of the strikes, which are set to kick off Sept. 20 and continue through Sept. 27, said they expect millions of people to participate around the world.
According to the Global Climate Strike website, the event is on track to be the largest ever "global mobilization against climate breakdown."
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish environmentalist whose activism was an inspiration for the upcoming strikes, applauded Verdi for joining the global movement for climate justice.
"This is leadership," Thunberg tweeted. "Who will follow? The world is watching."
German climate activist Luisa Neubauer also celebrated Verdi's move and called on other unions to follow its lead.
"This is incredible," tweeted Neubauer. "This is youth and workers uniting behind this crisis. Which union will join next?"
\u201cSince this is just so relevant internationally: \n\ud83c\udf0d Today, Germany's second-largest labor union declared to ask their two million members to join the #climatestrike in September. This is incredible. This is youth and workers uniting behind this crisis. Which union will join next?\u201d— Luisa Neubauer (@Luisa Neubauer) 1565032382
As Common Dreams reported in July, the September climate strike is set to take place as world leaders gather for the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York.
"It is time for world leaders to wake up to the truth of the climate crisis," organizers of the strike said in a statement last month. "By demonstrating people's power we will make this week a turning point in history. The climate crisis is an emergency. We have to act like it so we will stop our business as usual and show governments what people want: climate justice."
"This September," the activists added, "millions of us will walk out of homes and workplaces onto the streets and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.