Any Green New Deal that promises to be genuinely transformative needs to understand the circumstances of the labour market within which it will operate. This is particularly the case when it comes to organised labour; in other words, trade unions. And these circumstances are characterised by decline. In 2017, the Resolution Foundation produced a devastating report about trade union membership in the UK, noting that in that year alone, numbers had fallen by a quarter of a million. It is a particularly eye-watering example of a general pattern of deterioration which began in the late 1970s, and shows little sign of abating. In the face of this deterioration, what we need is strong links between organised labour and the environmental movement.

The decline in British trade unionism is not only a problem for trade unions themselves as institutions. It also means that trade union density — the proportion of the overall workforce that is unionised — has reduced. This phenomenon has coincided with an explosion of income and wealth inequality and the stagnation of wages. Usually, collective gains made by trade union members are expanded to everybody working in that industry, whether they are union members or not. A reduction of trade union members harms all workers.

The decline of trade unions is both cause and symptom of the surge in precarious work and self-employment. Since the financial crisis of 2008, the number of workers classed as self-employed has surged. These workers frequently do not have access to occupational benefits like pensions, sick pay and holiday pay. They are not entitled to statutory benefits such as maternity and paternity pay and leave. According to the TUC, half of them earn below the minimum wage. Trade unions were founded to organise workers in stable, long-term employment. The decline of this type of employment, and its replacement with jobs in the gig economy, have hammered the ability of trade unions to effectively organise. As giant bureaucratic structures, trade unions have struggled to adapt quickly to the pace and extent of change in the labour market.

Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett note that one of the consequences of the decline of trade unionism is the decline of the left as a political force in Britain. In other words, the pressures that have historically led to governments adopting policies which support workers and redistribute wealth have been eroded.[5] The consequences of the erosion of the left in public life are evident in the UK economy: the selling of public assets, the explosion of the financial sector and the deregulation of trade and industry have all deteriorated conditions for workers, and have contributed to the increase of greenhouse gas emissions.

But what goes up must come down. As neoliberal capitalism has advanced, so have its consequences worsened. Following the financial crisis of 2008, we have now reached a tipping point where the outcomes of this type of political economy have become so severe that large numbers of people are rejecting it altogether, in favour of the far right and the radical left. This has meant that the leadership of political parties, like the Labour Party in the UK and the Democrats in the US, have shifted to the left. In these countries and others, the left now has a real chance to re-insert itself into public life, reshape the economy, and take power. The Green New Deal can be the instrument through which these political parties address the crisis in the labour market caused by the current status quo, and reprogramme our economy to work for the majority.

In order to make this a reality, organisers for a Green New Deal must recognise the sensitivities of trade unions in response to the decline of their movement. In the face of hostile governments, the right-wing press, suffocating anti-union legislation, and the erosion of the stable work trade unions rely on to organise, they are in survival mode and are defending what they have. Taking a defensive posture means it is all the more challenging for unions to embrace radical future-facing ideas if these ideas feel alien and uncertain. While there is no doubt that the leading figures of the British trade unions recognise the need for major economic change in order to reverse the decline of organised labour, they are vigilant to the danger of change being imposed upon the movement, as opposed to emanating from the movement. Remember that the overwhelming experience of British trade unions is that major economic changes have historically resulted in thousands of their members being thrown on the scrapheap. These are painful memories for trade unions, and their priority above all else is preventing it from happening again.

Green New Deal organisers must respond to this context, not simply because it is the progressive thing to do, but because the future of a Green New Deal relies on it. In the UK, the only political party which is positioned to both win an election and implement a Green New Deal is the Labour Party. This is also the party which receives huge amounts of financial, policy and staff support from the unions that represent fossil fuel workers. These unions also actively work with and organise hundreds of Labour MPs, and consult with the party over policy and its general election manifesto. It is no exaggeration to say that a Green New Deal that alienates these trade unions is unlikely to ever become Labour Party policy.

So what can be done? The following is a non-exhaustive selection of suggestions for how a Green New Deal could address the decline of the British labour movement, respond to the crisis created by the economic status quo, and build bridges between the trade unions and the environmental movement, leading to a stronger, more unified political left. All of these suggestions have historically commanded public support. The Green New Deal can act as a template to transform the wider economy in favour of workers, and bring about a fundamental rebalancing of power.