EcoUnionist News #108

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, June 14, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• A Diet of Austerity: Class, food and climate change - Reviewed by Martin Empson, Climate and Capitalism, June 13, 2016
• The Doomsday Clock: Nuclear Weapons, Climate Change and the Prospects for Survival - By Noam Chomsky, TomDispatch, June 12, 2016
• Asbestos Industry Knew and Kept Secret for Decades That Their Product Was Deadly - By Alex Formuzis, EcoWatch, June 8, 2016
• Leave it in the ground: A new abolitionism needed for climate change - By David Mirtz, People's World, June 7, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
• TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Cowboy & Indian Alliance Plant “Seeds of Resistance” Ponca Corn in Paths of Atlantic Coast & Mountain Valley Fracked Gas Pipelines - By Mark Hefflinger, BOLD Nebraska, June 8, 2016; [related]: Activists plant ceremonial corn against pipeline - By Laura Peters, News Leader, June 6, 2016
• Oregon oil train explosion fuels growing opposition movement - By Sarah Gilman, High Country News, June 8, 2016
• In the Pipeline: In Oregon, a volatile climate for liquefied natural gas pipeline and terminal projects - By Juliet Grable,  Earth Island Journal, June 6, 2016
  

Just Transition:

• Climate Jobs for New York State - By Jonathan Neale, Global Climate Jobs, June 12, 2016
• New U.S. Solar Capacity Just Outperformed Fossil Fuels - By Alejandro Davila Fragoso, Think Progress, June 9, 2016; [related]: Solar Added More New Capacity Than Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear Combined - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, June 9, 2016; [and]: Solar Made Up 64% of New Electric Generating Capacity in the US in Q1 2016 - By Mike Munsell, Greentech Media, June 8, 2016
• Unemployed oil workers find new home in solar industry - By Brenda Salinas, Marketplace, June 7, 2016
• University of Wyoming Helps Displaced Coal Workers - By staff, Associated Press, June 6, 2016
• Transition Economics–Vermont - Ken Jones, Darren Springer, and Jon Erickson interviewed by Jan Mueller, The Energy Exchange, May 27, 2016 
• Denmark’s Energy Transition - Justin Gerdes interviewed by Chris Nelder, The Energy Transition Show, May 18, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• International Launch of La Via Campesina’s 7th International Conference - By staff, La Via Campesina, June 14, 2016
• Brazil Occupation: MST Landless Take Over Suzano and report environmental problems - By Anne Petermann, Global Justice Ecology Project, June 13, 2016
• Increase Gained Not Enough: Familias Unidas por la Justicia Members Will Continue the Fight for Fair Wages and Union Contract - By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, June 13, 2016
• Some thoughts on the Implications of Brexit - By Matt Lobley, Landworkers Alliance, June 13, 2016
• Striking Colombian Campesinos Reach Deal With Government - By staff, TelesurTv, June 13, 2016; [related]: Colombian Peasant, Indigenous Groups Launch 'Agrarian Strike' - By staff, TelesurTv, May 30, 2016
• Peasant members of SPI demand immediate resolution to land dispute at UPT, Bali Village - By staff, La Via Campesina, June 10, 2016 
• False Promises, Smears and Golden Rice: Is This the Solution for Disease, Poverty and Malnutrition? - By Colin Todhunter, CounterPunch, June 9, 2016
• Farmworkers Union Walk Out from the Fields This Morning - By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, June 9, 2016
• In defense of territorial markets, institutional procurement: Ramona and Angel at CFS Negotiations - By staff, La Via Campesina, June 9, 2016; [related]: Small holder farmers are crucial to ensure food security and nutrition: Javier Sanchez at CFS - By staff, La Via Campesina, June 9, 2016
• MEDIA ROUND-UP: Commentators across the World Wide Web take Publix, Wendy’s to task! - By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, June 8, 2016
• June 20: Farmworkers Organizing for Justice! Report-back on West Coast Tour - By Heather, Community Alliance for Global Justice, June 6, 2016
• Victims of Colombian Death Squads Can Move Forward With Case Against Former Chiquita Executives - By Valentina Stackl, EarthRights International, June 2, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Union demands SF make Uber, Lyft, pay for drivers’ business licenses - By Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, San Francisco Examiner, June 8, 2016
• Another coal miner killed on the job - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, June 7, 2016
• Minister blames Chinese cost cutting for Ramu death - By staff, The National aka The Loggers Times, June 6, 2016
• South Africa in crisis: splits at the top, stirrings from below - By Tom Bramble, Red Flag, June 3, 2016; [related]: South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters: Julius Malema and the Struggle to Continue the Revolution - By Dr. Marsha Cole, Black Agenda Report, May 31, 2016
• Needless radio communications are too distracting, union leader says - By staff, Progressive Railroading, June 1, 2016

Whistleblowers:

• New Nevada monument to be rutted by off-road desert race - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, June 13, 2016
• Whistleblower: EPA Official Covered Up Methane Leakage Problems Across US Natural Gas Industry - By staff, NC WARN, June 8, 2016; [related]: Key government reports were wrong about methane leaks' severity, environmental group alleges - By Ivan Penn, Los Angeles Times, June 8, 2016
• EPA pushing huge hike in drinking water radioactivity - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, June 7, 2016

Wobbles:

• Heckling Governor Frackenlooper - By Jonathan Cunningham, Socialist Worker, June 13, 2016
• BreakFree as told by the Izhma-Komi: report from a ‘blank spot’ in Eurasia - By Mikhail Matveev, 350.org, June 9, 2016
• Strikes Sweep France, Opposing Labor Law Rollbacks - By Dawn Tefft, Labor Notes, June 9, 2016; [related]: Fuel on the fire - striking Le Havre oil workers speak out against bosses' Work Law - By Dave Sewell, Socialist Worker (UK), June 7, 2016; [and]: Floods can't wash away the strikes in France - By Dave Sewell, Socialist Worker (UK), June 7, 2016
• Summer of Anti-Pipeline Action Begins With 3 blockades - By staff, Rising Tide Vermont, June 7, 2016; [related]: Vermont Treesit Stops Pipeline Construction for Second Time in Three Days - By staff, Rising Tide Vermont, June 8, 2016 
• 4 lessons for climate organizers from the anti-nuclear movement - By Will Lawrence, Waging Nonviolence, June 2, 2016
• In McMinnville, a recycled rubber factory goes union - By staff, Northwest Labor Press, May 27, 2016

Other News:

• Nigerian militants blow up Chevron oil well - By Associated Press, FuelFix, June 8, 2016
• Why Shorter Workweeks Will Defeat the Robots - By Dean Baker, CounterPunch, June 7, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

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.