Our Principles

We are a DC, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia community-focused coalition that lives at the intersection of economic and environmental justice. We work collectively and strategically to create good economic opportunities for the employee, employer and community, with every person’s health and well-being as a top priority.

Collectively, we are inspired to:

  • Respond with urgency to the twin crises of economic inequity and environmental destruction, which have imperiled our own lives and those of communities worldwide.

  • Create a healthy and just society in which people can flourish in harmony with one another and in harmony with nature.

  • Fight for bold solutions that match the economic and environmental justice needs of and challenges faced by all; especially workers, lower-wealth communities, communities of color, and other marginalized people.

  • Repair harms to our environment and to ourselves. 

  • Build unity and power across a diverse cross-section of people from across our region.

  • Ensure that people who bear the brunt of social and environmental harms are central in determining what we fight for and how we fight.

  • Prioritize justice and equity, and oppose any policy that neglects or punishes communities who are already overburdened. 

  • Distribute resources among coalition partners in a transparent and equitable way.

  • Foster healthy movement cultures that proactively address racism, sexism, classism, and other oppressive internal behaviors and aim for deep, meaningful inclusion.

  • Live our values as best we can, but acknowledge also our imperfection, and give each other grace to learn and do better.