TRCP’s Partnership with Unions of the AFL-CIO

UNION…it’s a term many Americans associate with workers uniting for fair wages, health benefits, safe working conditions and job security. But the full meaning of UNION runs deeper. Unions are about a better quality of life from the workplace to the home to the community and even to the outdoors, where millions of union members enjoy hunting and fishing.

In 2005, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and many of America’s leading trade unions discovered a “match made in heaven”—the TRCP providing unions an opportunity to affiliate with an outdoor organization encompassing the full range of their member’s hunting and fishing interests and the unions providing a large, new audience for the TRCP to reach with its conservation message.

TRCP’s Union Partners include:

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

United Steel Workers of America

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

International Association of Fire Fighters

United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters

Sheet Metal Workers International Association

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers, & Allied Workers

Communication Workers of America

Intl. Assoc. of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, & Reinforcing Iron Workers

Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers Intl. Union

International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craft Workers

I ntl. Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers

United Mine Workers of America

Utility Workers Union of America

Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons Intl. Association

International Association of Heat, Frost Insulators, & Asbestos Workers

Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen

American Postal Workers Union

TRCP’s Union Sponsored TV Shows

That same year, unions made a ground-breaking decision to partner with the TRCP and VERSUS Network to produce a national hunting and fishing television program called TRCP's Life in the Open. In each episode, Host Ken Barrett follows in T.R.’s footsteps to explore his old hunting trails and the best hunting and fishing destinations accessible and affordable to everyday sportsmen and women, while teaching viewers about T.R.’s conservation legacy and the work the TRCP is doing to guarantee us all quality places to hunt and fish.

The success of TRCP's Life in the Open made possible a second innovative TV program called TRCP's Escape to the Wild, a show that honors hardworking union members with trips to world-class hunting and fishing destinations while providing viewers a glimpse into their lives on and off the job.

TRCP’s Escape to the Wild and TRCP’sLife in the Open have increased awareness for the TRCP and demonstrated to Americans that unions and their members care deeply about creating a better world for future generations.

TRCP’s Union Sportsmen’s Alliance

A third endeavor between the TRCP and the unions has the potential to leave a significant mark on conservation and union history - the formation of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA).

As a hunting and fishing club exclusively for union members and their families, the USA provides union hunters and anglers with the opportunity to unite their union and outdoor lifestyles and connect with fellow union hunters and anglers across North America to share stories and photos, trade trips, get opinions on gear or outfitters and more.

The USA brings additional value with deals and discounts on outdoor gear, a subscription to a top outdoor magazine and chances to win phenomenal prizes.

But the USA is more than just a club; it’s a cause. When union members join the USA, they become TRCP partners and get the chance to do what they do best… organize, protect and defend an American way of life…an outdoor heritage for themselves and future generations.

Learn more about the TRCP’s Union Sportsmen’s Alliance.

Return to the TRCP partners page.