Sean Sweeney is the founding Director of the International Program on Labor, Climate & Environment (IPLCE) at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU). ILPCE serves as a global hub, linking trade unions, grass roots organizations, social movement leaders, and policy-oriented allies to advocate for effective solutions to the climate emergency and to advance the struggle for energy democracy at all levels.

Sweeney also coordinates Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED), a global network of 68 unions from 23 countries in both the Global North and Global South. Recognizing the need for democratic control and social ownership of energy resources, infrastructure, and options, TUED is committed to developing an independent trade union approach to energy transition and climate protection.

Earlier in his career, Sweeney was an Associate Director of the Queens College Center for Worker Education (a predecessor to SLU). Before returning to CUNY, in TK, Sweeney was a labor educator at the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations’ Manhattan division and with the UAW/ Hofstra University college program. sean.sweeney@slu.cuny.edu