On May 22-24, eleven GWA members from across the country joined us in Atlanta for our second-annual national leadership meeting, where we came together for two days of training, relationship building, and strategizing around the future of our movement for more and better green jobs.
We were fortunate to have Dieynabou Diallo, the climate justice manager for our parent organization, PowerSwitch Action, join us to discuss utility justice, while GWA leaders also participated in discussions about issue campaigns and overcoming apathy. Perhaps the most powerful part of the gathering was visiting the Martin Luther King, Jr. historic site, including his childhood home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and his grave. The experience was incredibly moving, and it strengthened our commitment to the work we are doing.
We also had the chance to join local organizers for a rally at the headquarters of mega-utility Southern Company to demand change for workers, communities, and the environment. GWA member Brittney Linton joined allies at the company's shareholder meeting, calling on them to take responsibility for working conditions at their renewable energy contractors. In an important victory, the company's new CEO committed to talking to their contractors about these issues--and we will hold them to it. Check out Brittney's remarks and the response here.
Members came back excited to build our movement--and went right to work recruiting new members, taking us over the 1,000 member mark! And we're building out the tools to increase engagement in the organization, including a new Spanish-language page on our website.