A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #373 - Ecology - Eco-Union Days 2026: "We have become aware of the need for alliances" (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On May 22nd and 23rd, the Ecological and Social Encounters took place in 
Nantes, a series of meetings to discuss how to combine union and 
environmental action, organized by the Nantes Earth Uprisings, 
Solidaires 44, the FSU 44, ATTAC 44, CGT unions, and the UCL. A look 
back at a workshop! Here is a summary transcript of the introductory 
roundtable, "Environmentalists and Unions: How to Form an Alliance?" We 
chose to develop two examples of successful alliances, with Dam from the 
Earth Uprisings Plaine Tempête committee (northern suburbs of Paris) and 
Yann from the union collective against the Notre-Dame-des-Landes 
airport, a CGT union member, and also an activist with the UCL.

Can you explain the context of these struggles?

Dam: I'm happy to talk about it, especially since we just won! 
Initially, we were fighting against the Greendock logistics warehouse 
project, which was supposed to be a huge warehouse on the banks of the 
Seine. Then, in February 2025, a major strike broke out at the port of 
Gennevilliers, in a Geodis warehouse. It wasn't an "environmental" 
strike at all; it was a strike for higher wages, but we decided to go in 
support. And that strike was successful: after three weeks, they won a 
pay raise. Of course, they won because 90% of the workers were on 
strike, but the alliance played a role. We think these two 
victories-against the Greendock warehouse and the strike for higher 
wages-worked together.

As an aside, when the regional director of Geodis came to sign the 
successful agreement, he went to see the union representative and asked 
him, "What do the Earth Uprisings have to do with this?" The CGT union 
representative replied, "Well, you think we're not environmentalists?"

Yann: We did the same thing when we were demonstrating with the people 
of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. The anti-crime squad would come up to us, the 
CGT, and ask, "What are you doing with the ZAD activists?"

The Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport is a very old project that has 
targeted this territory, which is a wetland, and very quickly, the local 
farmers opposed it. Things weren't progressing much, but they 
accelerated in the 2000s. The ZAD activists settled in the area starting 
in 2009. The labor movement was still very much in the background. But 
in 2014, there was a demonstration in Nantes that was heavily repressed, 
and some union members were outraged. Following that, the next year, the 
ZAD activists came to Nantes for days of union action. We started 
talking at demonstrations, and connections were made.

At the CGT, our comrades from the Nantes-Atlantique airport site union 
also talked with the ZAD activists and expressed their opposition to the 
new airport, because they didn't want to work there. In May-June 2015, 
the ZAD activists held an event in Nantes to commemorate May '68. At the 
time, there were connections between striking workers in Nantes and 
farmers who provided meals. In 2016, we decided to organize ourselves a 
bit more and created the union collective against the airport and its 
associated projects. The CGT Vinci union also took a stand, because 
Vinci had taken over the management of Nantes-Atlantique Airport, and 
Vinci was also slated to manage the Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport. The 
CGT Vinci issued a statement saying, "We will not pour concrete on a 
wetland." On May 1, 2017, there was a joint march between union members 
and ZAD activists; it was festive and joyful. And the collective finally 
dissolved after the 2018 victory.

What form did this alliance take?

Dam: The blockade really strengthened our bonds during the strike. It 
was a tactic we shared with the Geodis employees, but one of the 
drawbacks of the blockade is that it can be very costly afterward in 
terms of lawsuits and fines. So the idea arose for the Earth Uprisings 
movement to take over the blockade. The first night it was blocked from 
the outside, the police arrived, and the workers formed a long line of 
red vests in front of the environmental activists.

We also contributed our expertise in communication and social media. We 
provided supplies, bringing back vegetables via comrades from the 
Confédération Paysanne (Farmers' Confederation) on the picket line, and 
we also set up strike funds.

The Eco-Union Meetings brought together more than a hundred people.

Credits: UCL Nantes
Ultimately, what's most enriching is almost the connections it's made. 
It's a night strike, the peak of which is from 8 pm to 11 pm, so 
bringing in people from outside, a brass band, having an open mic, it 
feels good.

If all of this was possible, it's also because we're in Gennevilliers, 
where the CGT (General Confederation of Labour) has maintained a very 
militant base. There was a historical, communist, working-class 
foundation, a union base that was used to doing this kind of thing.

Yann: I think it's interesting to see why it works. It requires a 
convergence of interests between workers and environmentalists, between 
union activists already aware of environmental issues, and environmental 
activists willing to ally with workers.

We invited the ZAD activists to come, we had meals together, and 
conversely, we were invited to the ZAD. When things go well, laughing, 
at meals, at our demonstrations... we can make progress. The struggle 
was nationwide and brought in independent activists who clashed with the 
police, which wasn't the CGT's way of protesting. As the demonstrations 
progressed, we found ways to demonstrate together. It's a whole range of 
situations where we need to talk to each other beforehand, get to know 
each other.

Were there any reservations about fighting together?

Dam: Actually, not many, but there are issues of image. For example, we 
felt that in working-class circles, the term "ecology" brings to mind 
Green Party politicians who preach on TV. We said to ourselves, "We're 
not going to say 'eco-friendly' in our speeches," but it was too 
complicated, nobody could manage it. It's better to try to connect 
through jokes and food rather than hiding. We must also be wary of 
adopting an external stance, of saying, "Look, I support you, but it 
doesn't concern me." We are not factory workers, we have never said 
otherwise. But at the same time, we realized that logistics concerns us 
all; it's a central element of current capitalism, and we are all 
dependent on these logistical networks. We can seek organic positions, 
to say that we are part of this struggle in a certain way. It's a shared 
battleground.

Yann: At the CGT, there was a lot of turmoil, because many comrades 
thought it could divide the CGT. Until the 1990s, the CGT's position was 
"we don't need others, we can do it ourselves," but the balance of power 
has changed, so we became aware of the need for alliances. And the CGT's 
productivist side has also evolved; the climate crisis is challenging 
this productivist logic. We still hear it within the CGT, but it's 
changing because young people are joining the unions.

How sustainable is this alliance?

Dam: The next step is the counter-proposal. From the beginning, we said, 
"We're not just creating a counter-proposal for Greendock, but for the 
port of Gennevilliers as well." It's a great tool for continuing to take 
ownership of this industrial site. We spend time there, analyzing the 
situation, and we organize nature walks with employees. It's also a way 
for the unions to re-engage in activism with projects for transforming 
the area. The counter-proposal includes ideas for bringing back rail 
freight, increasing river transport, but also for transforming 
logistics, eliminating subcontractors, halting long-distance flows, and 
considering what logistics would actually be beneficial to the region. 
There's also a specific workshop on "what would socializing the Port of 
Gennevilliers look like?" How long would a strike in how many warehouses 
be necessary to declare, "We're taking over the Port of Gennevilliers 
headquarters and declaring a workers' cooperative for the Port of 
Gennevilliers?" This pushes us to think about what that would mean in 
concrete terms.

The counter-proposal also allows us to reach out to other union members 
and employees, since one of the limitations of this whole situation is 
that while there are 8,000 workers and many warehouses at the Port of 
Gennevilliers, there's only one with a truly militant base. The 
counter-proposal allows us to meet other workers in a less 
confrontational environment.

Very recently, there was a blockade of the Thales plant in Gennevilliers 
as part of the War on War campaign. It was primarily led by the Earth 
Uprisings movement, but we joined the Geodis workers, who were thrilled 
to be involved, along with the local CGT union, and even the mayor of 
Gennevilliers, a communist, who had just admitted defeat in the 
Greendock dispute.

This reminds us that the issue at stake wasn't just environmental; it's 
a much broader struggle.

Yann: In January 2018, the victory against the airport was still a 
victory for our social movement. At the CGT, it was also seen as a 
victory of our own; it proved we could make the government back down, 
and in a period where we rarely win, it rekindled our enthusiasm. We 
continue to mobilize around other major, unnecessary projects; today, 
we're much more willing to take action since the victory at 
Notre-Dame-des-Landes. And we also continue to put environmental issues 
on the agenda within the union movement; we've set up an eco-union 
collective within the CGT 44 departmental union.

Interview conducted and transcribed by Agrippine (UCL Nantes)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Journees-ecosyndicales-2026-Nous-avons-pris-conscience-d-un-besoin-d-alliance
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