GWA’s fourth national meeting, held last week in Houston, was a great success! Fourteen GWA leaders convened for two days to review our progress in 2024 and plan for 2025, hear from government officials and allies, and learn about the history of worker organizing in America’s fourth-largest city.
One of the highlights was our conversation with the OSHA directors for the Houston region. Members had numerous questions for the directors about safety in wind and solar, and the OSHA staff provided valuable feedback on how we can address safety issues in the field. This sparked spirited discussions among GWA leaders about the best ways to campaign for improved conditions.
We always make a point of learning about past and present organizing in the city where we meet. We heard from local allies Amy Zachmeyer of NEW Houston and Ginny Goldman of Organizing Resilience. We also learned about the Houston janitors’ organizing campaign from GWA organizer Maria Garza, who worked on the effort, and toured several downtown sites where they organized.
We also discussed our 2025 campaigns, such as our effort to save the Inflation Reduction Act. Because we know the importance of renewable workers’ personal stories when we talk to politicians and the press, members wrote their “story of self,” which we will use in our upcoming lobby visits and public outreach on the issue.
Members came from all over the country, including Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, New York and Tennessee. This was the first national meeting for some, while others attended prior meetings in DC, Atlanta, and Chicago. One of the most gratifying aspects of these events is the opportunity for GWA leaders and staff to spend time together. We enjoyed some of that over Tex-Mex, barbecue, po-boys, and Shipley’s Donuts (a personal favorite from my time as an organizer in Houston 😉). We were joined by other GWA members in town and allies from groups like the Texas Campaign for the Environment.
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