Sam Appel is a labor, environmental, and community organizer, researcher, and policy advocate in California with extensive experience in economic justice, environmental, and racial justice campaigns. Most recently Appel led the BlueGreen Alliance’s work in California, overseeing the development and implementation of statewide and regional policy campaigns across transportation, manufacturing, building decarbonization, industrial transformation, energy generation, oil and gas, and equitable climate investment. Prior to BlueGreen Alliance, Appel worked for the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and the UCLA Downtown Labor Center. He holds a master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA. His interest in California climate justice policy dates back to his time at the UCLA Community Scholars Program, where he worked on a project that brought together labor groups and environmental justice organizations to analyze policies for transforming the goods movement and warehouse systems.
This report analyzes a major barrier to successful implementation of new clean truck standards: the common trucking industry practice of classifying (and often misclassifying) truck drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
This report examines wages and working conditions for California’s EMTs and paramedics, and provides context on the industry and governance of the state’s EMS system.
