Legendary Organizer Joe Uehlein on the “Three Roads” of Labor, Climate and Music

After decades organizing from within the labor establishment, Joe Uehlein realized that winning real climate and economic justice meant moving beyond the limits of traditional labor and environmentalism. As former secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO’s Industrial Division and director of the AFL-CIO’s Center for Strategic Campaigns, Joe fought from the inside. But in 2005, he stepped away from the AFL-CIO to found the Labor Network for Sustainability, forging deep alliances between labor, climate, and environmental movements. His vision: transform the labor movement to embrace ecological responsibility—and environmentalism to uplift working-class solidarity.

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But Joe’s work has never been confined to boardrooms or picket lines. With a guitar in hand, he’s shared stages with Pete Seeger and Tom Morello, turning songs into rallying cries and stories into tools for resistance.

In our latest, we’re excited to talk with legendary labor and climate organizer Joe Uehlein (@joeuehlein) about his new memoir that details his life’s work of labor organizing, climate organizing and music.

Guest bio//
Joe Uehlein is a labor organizer, musician, and climate activist. He is the founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability and author of the recent memoir, “Three Roads Labor, Music, Ecology.”