HISTORY
Environmental and labor activists in the New Jersey Right to Know Coalition, which won the nation's strongest state right to know law in 1983, formed the New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) in 1986. Since then, WEC has promoted community and chemical worker use of this law, developed innovative "right to act" strategies to prevent pollution, and advocated for new policies to address environmental injustice, hazardous conditions in public schools, and jobs versus environment conflicts. Between 1986 and 1996, WEC programs were coordinated with the New Jersey Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO, a statewide labor federation, and the New Jersey Right to Know and Act Coalition, a network of environmental, community, public health, and labor groups.
In 1997, WEC began to develop a more independent and broad-based strategy. We expanded to involve more labor, community, and environmental organizations and hired full-time staff. WEC led the Justice for Jobs, Health, and Environment campaign, with demands to Governor Christine Whitman on right to know, right to act, environmental justice, and the risks of downsizing. This campaign involved many labor, community, environmental justice, and environmental organizations. In 1999, after extensive discussion and planning by WEC's Board of Directors, we began a transition to a democratically structured, statewide membership coalition, building on our base in the labor movement and our work with environmental and community organizations.