EcoUnionist News #62

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 25, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

• Spending time in a controversial camp that’s blocking tar-sands pipelines - By Sam Bliss, Grist, August 21, 2015
• Why Public Transportation Is So Limited in the United States - By Daniel Faris, Truthout, August 17, 2015

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flood the System - Fall 2015: Flood, blockade, occupy and shut down the systems that jeopardize our future! | #FloodTheSystem
• Northern California Convergence - November 21, 2015
• People’s Climate Strike - November 26 - December 12, 2015
• Railcon15 - Chicago, Illinois Saturday, September 19, 2015 | #Railcon15
• Trade Union Climate Summit - September 14 & 15, 2015 Paris | #unions4climate

Bread and Roses:

• United Front salutes "Abahlali Basemijondolo (AbM)" for its court Victory - By Kwezilomso Mbandazayo, et. al., NUMSA, August 21, 2015
• Day Two of Work Stoppage at Sakuma Farms in Skagit - By moderator, Boycott Sakuma Berries, August 18, 2015; [related] FUJ Won 2 Victories Today - By moderator, Boycott Sakuma Berries, August 20, 2015

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Rail safety bill sent to Governor - Staff Report, Vallejo Times Herald, August 22, 2015
• In Victory for Corporations, Court Rejects Rule on Labeling Goods Containing "Conflict Minerals" - Zorka Milin interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now, August 21, 2015
• As oil train burned, firefighters waited 2 hours for critical details - Curtis Tate, McClatchy DC, August 21, 2015; [related] Fire Chief Criticizes CSX Over 2014 Virginia Derailment - By John Raby, Associated Press, August 21, 2015
• Fires That Killed 3 Firefighters Explode In Size - Staff Report, OPB TV, August 21, 2015
• JR East begins decontaminating tracks in areas affected by nuclear crisis - Staff Report, Mainichi, August 21, 2015
• $18 million lawsuit filed over coal-ash worker's death - By Bob Fowler, Knoxville News Sentinel, August 20, 2015; [related] The Truth About Coal - By Nick Mullins, The Thoughtful Coal Miner, August 21, 2015
• EPA Stealth Rollback of School PCB Safeguards: Material and Exposure Testing Discouraged; Child Exposure Levels Loosened - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, August 20, 2015
• OSHA proposes cutting worker exposure to beryllium by 90 percent - By Mark Gruenberg, People's World, August 19, 2015
• Death on the Job: Putting Names and Faces on Fatality Statistics - By Sandy Smith, EHS Today, August 18, 2015
• Here’s why I won’t be buying anything from Amazon again - By Katie Herzog, Grist, August 17, 2015
• Workers protest against ‘return to apartheid’ at Rio Tinto in Namibia - Press Release, IndustriALL, August 17, 2015
• 70 Chilean Miners Block Themselves in Mine to Protest Wages - Staff Report, Telesur, August 14, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Oil settles below $40 per barrel amid wider rout - By Robert Grattan, FuelFix, August 24, 2015
• Stock Selloff: Panic Time or a Blip on the Radar? - By Mike Whitney, CounterPunch, August 24, 2015
• Texas adds 35,800 jobs in July, but oil and gas employment still muddled in crude crash - By Joshua Cain, FuelFix, August 24, 2015
• As oil industry reels from plummeting prices, layoffs stun, worry workers - By Rhiannon Meyers, Houston Chronicle, August 22, 2015
• Oil and gas listings on job websites fell by half after industry cutbacks - By Rhiannon Meyers, FuelFix, August 20, 2015
• Chevron gives notice to workers as it prepares to cut 950 jobs - By Rhiannon Meyers, FuelFix, August 17, 2015; [related] Chevron starts layoffs at Louisiana office - AP Wire, FuelFix, August 21, 2015

Just Transition:

• Greek protesters arrested in clash over Eldorado suspension of 2,000 workers - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, August 24, 2015
• New paper shows that renewables can supply 100% of all energy (not just electricity) - By Michael Sweet, Skeptical Science, August 20, 2015
• California lawmakers seek greater oversight of 'green jobs' spending - By Randy Lilleston, Utility Dive, August 18, 2015
• Can California turn the West green? - By Dan Morain, Sacramento Bee, August 12, 2015

Other News:

• Rio’s Olympic preparations under the spotlight - By Adam Talbot, RoarMag.Com, August 21, 2015
• How developing countries are paying a high price for the global mineral boom - By John Vidal, The Guardian, August 20, 2015
• Canadian miner profit hit by Codelco’s striking contractors, snow storm - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, August 19, 2015
• A hero of the Western Wobblies - By Avery Wear, Socialist Worker, August 19, 2015
• How the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Keeps Working People Poor and Destroys the Environment - By Simon Swartzman, In These Times, August 19, 2015
• UD expert calls on oil train operators to step up safety measures - By Jon Hurdle, Delaware Public Media, August 18, 2015
• Oil exports would harm U.S. energy independence - By Leo W. Gerard, Philly.Com, August 17, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW