"Enviro Groups Align With Unions in Fierce State Labor Battles"

"Most Americans view the intense political protests in Wisconsin through an apt but narrow prism: unions versus the governor and his allies. Yet many environmentalists are standing by labor's side in the fray at the state capital.

'We need to stand together to support the people who work every day to ensure that the air we breathe and the water we drink is safe,' Shahla Werner, director of the Sierra Club's Badger State chapter, wrote to her members this week ....

The union members are mobilized against a budget bill that Walker touts as necessary to close the state's $137 million deficit for this year but most workers view as an attack on labor rights. The bill's broad limits on collective bargaining have drawn the most attention -- but for environmental advocates, the battle in Madison represents a chance to defend their priorities while striking a blow for the middle-class 'green jobs' that are often little more than a talking point on Capitol Hill.

A similar dynamic is playing out in Indiana ....  "

Elana Schor reports for Greenwire February 24, 2011.