fracking

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, March 5, 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:

• Register now for the Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers, Community & the Environment Conferences: Richmond, California (March 14, 2015) and Olympia, Washington (March 21, 2015) - railroadconference.org
• Five years post-explosion, Tesoro strikers still push for safety measures - By J.M. Wong, Seattle Globalist, March 3, 2015
• Op-Ed: Oil refineries need to heed concerns, implement safety improvements - By Antonia Juhasz, Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2015

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• Crossing the Line: Money, Safety, Power; What Makes a Union Strike at a Bad Time for Oil and Gas? - By Dianna Wray, Houston News, March 3, 2015
• Daughter of Man Killed at Texas City Refinery Watches USW Strike - By Dianna Wray, Houston News, March 3, 2015
• ‘Disappointed’ in union, Shell says it is hiring relief workers - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, March 3, 2015
• Environmental groups join St. Charles Parish refinery workers on picket line - By Jennifer Larino, The New Orleans Times-Picayunne, February 25, 2015
• Letter to USW Oil Workers - By Leo W. Gerard, Thomas M. Conway and others, United Steelworkers, February 26, 2015 [related] This is What We're Fighting For.
• LyondellBasell accuses Steelworkers of threatening returning workers - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, March 3, 2015
• Shell unveils plan to replace USW refining workers - By Lynn Doan and Zain Shauk, Bloomberg, March 3, 2015
• Steelworkers’ local reminds strikebreakers of their union oath - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, March 3, 2015
• Striking USW refining workers, Shell to resume labor talks Wednesday - By Lynn Doan and Lucia Kassai, Bloomberg, March 2, 2015
• USW strike is about worker safety - By Susan Criss, The Daily News, March 3, 2015, February 18, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Bank of England Issues Warning Over Looming 'Carbon Bubble' Threat - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, March 4, 2015
• Kentucky Doesn’t Have Any More Working Union Coal Miners - By Erica Peterson and Whitney Jones, WFPL 89.3 FM, February 26, 2015
• Nabors cuts nearly 3,500 jobs as U.S. drilling takes big hit - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, March 3, 2015
• US running out of room to store oil; price collapse next? - Associated Press, March 3, 2015

Health and Safety:

• Coal Mine Explosion in Ukraine Traps Dozens - Associated Press, March 3, 2015
• 'Fracking' and worker safety: U.S. oil boom is in full swing, as are questions about hazards - By Tom Musick, Safety + Health, November 23, 2014
• Inspector General Auditing FRA's Railroad Bridge Safety Oversight - OSHA Online, March 2, 2015
• Oil — The risks outweigh the rewards - Editorial, Daily World, February 28, 2015
• Tank Car Debate Rolls On - By Jerry Laws, OSHA Online, March 1, 2015
• 350 Seattle Hub Unanimously Approves Support of Two Railroad Workers (United) Resolutions  - By 350 Seattle, March 4, 2015, February 26, 2015
• Transporting Tar Sands “As Dangerous” As Shale Oil - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, March 2, 2015

Other News:

• American mass transit is dying - By Henry Grabar, Salon, March 1, 2015
• Commentary: The risks that arise from violating CSR norms - By Mark N. Sills and Jennifer L. Egsgard, Northern Miner, March 2, 2015
• Community Voices: Fighting for the Rights of Farmworkers in the Border Region - By Andrianna Natsoulas, Why Hunger, March 2, 2015
• Goodbye, Mr. Spock: Leonard Nimoy’s passing reminds us of the spirit of wonder and discovery represented by Spock and the Star Trek series - By Leigh Phillips, Jacobin, March 2, 2015
• Oregon's signature solar energy project built on foundation of false hopes and falsehoods - By Ted Sickinger & Jeff Manning, The Oregonian, February 27, 2015
• The Problem with the Environmental Movement - By Alexis Goggans, The Equation, February 20, 2015
• The Risk of Climate Catastrophe Is So Severe, We Had to Break the Law, Say Activists - By Peter Rugh, Vice News, March 2, 2015
• Tiny radio stations a big tool against gentrification - By Anna Goren, Seattle Globalist, February 19, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, February 10, 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:

• Register now for the Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers, Community & the Environment Conferences: Richmond, California (March 14, 2015) and Olympia, Washington (March 21, 2015) - railroadconference.org
• An Oil Worker & a Union Staffer Explain Why 1,000s of Oil Workers Across the Country Are On Strike - By David Bacon, In These Times, February 12, 2015 [related] USW Web Petition: Safe Refineries Save Lives!

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• Climate activists have to stand with the strikers - By Ragina Johnson, Socialist Worker, February 12, 2015
• Labor talks to resume Tuesday - By L.M. Sixel, FuelFix, February 9, 2015 [related] Oil Union Says Shell Talks to Resume in a Week Amid Strike - By Lynn Doan, Bloomberg, February 11, 2015
• Nurses Stand in Solidarity with Steelworkers Amid Safety Concerns - National Nurses United, February 9, 2015
• Oil Workers Are Striking Because They're Underpaid and Overworked—and It's Killing Them - By Rebecca Leber, New Republic, February 10, 2015
• Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the USW Oil Workers’ Unfair Labor Practice Strike - By Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO, February 11, 2015
• Striking Oil Workers Say They’re Fighting Deadly Working Conditions - By Rebecca Burns, In These Times, February 11, 2015
• Tesoro Refinery strike moves into second week - By Laura Anthony, KGO ABC 7 News, February 10, 2015
• USW Building International Solidarity; Steelworkers President Seeks Meeting with Shell CEO - United Steelworkers, February 9, 2015

Rail Safety:

• Teamsters give CP Rail 72-hour strike notice; 3,330 locomotive engineers and conductors could walk off the job this weekend - By Tracy Johnson, CBC News, February 10, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Abandon ship! Riggers flee the collapsing shale oil industry - By Giles Parkinson, ReNew Economy, February 11, 2015
• FMC Technologies to cut about 2,000 jobs - By Collin Eaton, Fuel Fix, February 11, 2015
• Fracking Industry in “Severe Crisis” - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, February 11, 2015
• Global oil layoffs exceed 100,000 - Bloomberg, February 12, 2015
• Halliburton to cut 5,000 to 6,500 jobs - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, February 10, 2015
• Oil budgets slashed to protect shareholder dividends - By Joshua Cain, Fuel Fix, February 9, 2015
• Oil layoffs could come back to haunt the industry - By Tom DiChristopher, CNBC, February 10, 2015
• Why Public Banks Outperform Private Banks: Unfair Competition or a Better Mousetrap? - By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Blog, February 10, 2015

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

• Solar Jobs Boom Makes Keystone XL Pipeline Look Like A Tinker Toy - By Tina Casey, Clean Technica, February 12, 2015
• Texas solar jobs increasing - By Ryan Honeywell, FuelFix, February 12, 2015

Global Anti-Capitalism:

• Can Bolivia Chart a Sustainable Path Away From Capitalism? - By Chris Williams and Marcela Olivera, Truthout, January 28, 2015
• Naomi Klein on how to build a more kick-ass climate movement - By Staff, Grist, February 10, 2015
• Photos: Coal strike in Poland intensifies - Al Jazeera, February 9, 2015
• Polish Farmers Blockade Motorways Across Country - La Via Campesina, February 10, 2015
• Syria’s Kurdish Revolution; the Anarchist Element & the Challenge of Solidarity - By Bill Weinberg, Fifth Estate, Spring 2015 [related] The No State Solution: Institutionalizing Libertarian Socialism in Kurdistan - By Alexander Kolokotronis, New Politics, November 2, 2014

An Injury to One is an Injury to All!:

• Rising Tide North America Statement of Solidarity with Anti-Fossil Fuel Activists in the Northwest - By Rising Tide North America, February 9, 2015

Other News:

• A City Where Everyone Works, There is No Police, and the Salary is 1200 Euros - Live Travel Enjoy, February 6, 2015
• Court denies appeal by worker who claimed fracking chemicals blinded him - By Matt Miller, The Patriot News, February 11, 2015
• The looming climate catastrophe - By Chris Williams, Socialist Worker, February 4, 2015
• Making occupational illness visible: a call for a coalition between scientists and workers - European Trade Union Institute, February 10, 2015
• Market no solution to climate catastrophe - By James Plested, Red Flag, January 29, 2015
• It May Not Be Making Headlines But That Doesn’t Mean It’s Over….Update on EBOLA [audio] - By Pattie Lockard, Nurse Talk Radio, February 10, 2015
• Oil ship explosion in Brazil kills three, union says - Associated Press, February 11, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, February 10, 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:

• Register now for the Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers, Community & the Environment Conferences: Richmond, California (March 14, 2015) and Olympia, Washington (March 21, 2015) - railroadconference.org
• Demanding Respect for Worker Safety - by Leo Gerard, International President, USW, Huffington Post, February 9, 2015 [related] USW Web Petition: Safe Refineries Save Lives!
• Thousands of USW Oil Workers, Supporters Take Action in National Day of Action for Safe Refineries, Secure Jobs, and Healthy Communities - By Kate Aronoff, United Steelworkers Press Release, February 9, 2015

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• Carson’s Tesoro refinery one of 9 U.S. locations being picketed by United Steelworkers during strike - By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze, February 2, 2015
• Largest Steelworkers Strike in Decades Shows No Signs of Abating - By Kate Aronoff, Truthout, February 9, 2015
• Members from District 12 Rally on National Day of Action; Photos from Carson, CA., of the rally of members, their families and supporters for oil workers. Early crowd estimates set at 2,000 people - United Steel Workers Press Release, February 9, 2015
• Steelworkers rally at two local refineries to support strikers in other states - By Jane M. Von Bergen, Philadelphia Inquirer, February 7, 2015
• Two BP refineries join steelworkers’ strike; One BP plant is in Toledo; consumer worries could push gasoline higher - By David Koenig, Associated Press, February 9, 2015
• USW, Allies in Europe United in Fight for Safety at Oil Refineries; Striking Union Members Join Forces with Workers in UK, Netherlands - United Steel Workers Press Release, February 9, 2015
• USW Local 241 Members and their Families Rally in Support of National Oil Bargaining Policy Committee - By Jane M. Von Bergen, United Steel Workers Press Release, February 8, 2015
• United Steelworkers Widens Oil Refinery Strike - By Jane M. Von Bergen, Al Jazeera and Reuters, February 8, 2015

Rail Safety:

• CP Rail train conductor speaks out on her firing after Banff derailment - CBC News, February 9, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Baker Hughes to lay off 110, close plant in North Texas - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, February 9, 2015

March for Real Climate Leadership:

• KPFA FM Livestream of the March for Real Climate Leadership in Oakland, California | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | - February 7, 2015

Other News:

• Environmental justice sought for people of color, poor; Symposium participants share stories, strategies of taking on big industry, agriculture - By Rona Kobell, Bay Journal, January 15, 2015
• Pink Is Not Green: Companies That Support Fighting Cancer Should Not Use Chemicals That Cause It - Annie Sartor, EcoWatch, February 9, 2015
• PA Gov. Wolf Issued 73 Fracking Permits in Two Weeks, On Pace for 7,300 in First Term - By Jane M. Von Bergen, Energy Justice Summer, February 9, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

By Robert Galbraith, Gin Armstrong, and Kevin Connor - Public Accountability Initiative, February 2015

The global development of ‘unconventional’ fossil fuels (UFF) such as shale gas has provoked much debate involving scientists,industry, political decision-makers, environmental groups and civil society. More than a decade of large- scale development in North America has left a legacy of environmental damage, primarily resulting from the use of high- volume horizontal hydraulic-fracturing (also known as ‘fracking’) to extract the unconventional oil and gas. Despite the controversy surrounding this technique, the numerous unknowns and uncertainties concerning its impacts and the growing number of questions about the economic benefits of this industry, oil and gas operators are eager to identify new opportunities and so are engaged in a battle to make frackingpublicly and socially acceptable worldwide.

Read the report (PDF).

By Robert Galbraith, Gin Armstrong, and Kevin Connor - Public Accountability Initiative, February 2015

In the wake of New York Stateʼs decision to ban fracking, drilling proponents have criticized Governor Andrew Cuomo and his administration for basing the decision on “pseudo science”and “junk science.” When asked about the New York fracking ban at his 2015 “State of American Energy” press conference, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard called for “more thoughtful consideration as to economics, environment, and sound science –because the science is clearly on the side of development and on the side of industry.”

Over the years, some of this science has proven less than reliable. In a trend that became known as “frackademia,”several universities issued industry-friendly fracking studies that the institutions later retracted and walked back due to erroneous central findings, false claims of peer review, and undisclosed industry ties. The studies bore the hallmarks of an industry effort to manipulate and corrupt the scientific debate around fracking, much like the tobacco industry manipulated the scientific debate around the dangers associated with smoking.

This report suggests that those studies, rather than being isolated cases, were consistent with a larger pattern – pro-fracking scholarship is often industry-tied and lacking in scientific rigor. An in-depth look at frackademia reveals that many of these kinds of studies have been produced by industry and its allies in academia, in government, and in the consulting world.

The report approaches this topic by analyzing a broad set of fracking studies that the industry has put forward to help it make its case. Specifically, the report considers an extensive list of over 130 studies compiled by an oil and gas industry group, Energy in Depth. The list was specifically used to convince the government of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, home of the city of Pittsburgh, to lease mineral rights under its Deer Lakes Park to Range Resources for gas drilling. Though that decision was a relatively minor one in the context of the nationwide fracking debate, the list provides a telling window onto the fracking research that the industry believes is fit for public consumption, and which it uses to make the case that the science around the issue is settled.

The report assesses the relative independence and quality of the studies by identifying and classifying each studyʼs industry ties –through funders, authors, and issuers –and determining whether it was peer-reviewed.

Read the report (PDF).

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, February 1, 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:

• Register now for the Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers, Community & the Environment Conferences: Richmond, California (March 14, 2015) and Olympia, Washington (March 22, 2015) - railroadconference.org
• How Scrappy Community and Labor Activists Took on a California Oil Giant—and Won - By Jane Slaughter, In These Times, January 26, 2015
• Shut It Down Now! Former Nuclear Plant Technician Bob Rowen on Nuclear Power - By Steve Zelter, TruthOut, January 30, 2015
• Union rejects second refinery workers contract proposal - By Erwin Seba, Reuters, January 27, 2015

Crude by Rail:

• California Cities and Citizens Speak Out Against Oil Trains - By Ethan Buckner, Forest Ethics, January 26, 2015
• The Dangers of Hauling Crude Oil by Rail - By John Kristensen, Railroaded, January 25, 2015
• Oil Train Spills Hit Record Level in 2014 - By Tony Dokoupil, NBC Nightly News, January 26, 2015
• Why New "Improved" Oil Trains Are Not Nearly Good Enough: a closer look at the many flaws of CPC-1232 tank cars - By Eric de Place, Sightline Daily, January 28, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Big Oil needs a Plan B. It hasn’t got one - By Giles Parkinson, ReNew Economy, January 29, 2015
• BP cuts jobs in Houston as it trims Gulf of Mexico business - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, January 28, 2015
• BP will freeze pay for most of its employees - By Robert Grattan, FuelFix, January 26, 2015
• ConocoPhillips tells employees to expect layoffs - By Robert Grattan, FuelFix, January 29, 2015
• Drilling contractor may cut 2,000 field jobs as rigs idle - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, January 30, 2015
• The False Promise of Local Fracking Jobs - By Susan Christopherson, The Conversation, January 27, 2015
• Glencore mulls shutting down South African coal mines, lay offs - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, January 28, 2015

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

• Just Transitions Speaking Tour with Bob Massie - Yes 2 Renewables [FOE], January 30, 2015
• Parents, Teachers and Students Ask School Districts to Go 100% Renewable Energy - By Stefanie Spear, EcoWatch, January 27, 2015
• SMA Solar to cut 1,600 jobs as European demand slides - By Christoph Steitz and Maria Sheahan, Reuters, January 27, 2015

Other News of Interest:

• 400 parts per million and class struggle - By Victor Wallis, Climate and Capitalism, January 25, 2015
• ALEC Forces the Question: Will Labor Really Go Local? - By Simon Davis-Cohen, Truthout, January 25, 2015
• Bangladesh Garment Workers Win Bargaining Pacts at 5 Factories - By Jennifer Kuhlman, AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, January 27, 2015
• Bribery Is a Bargain for Big Oil - By Steve Kretzmann, Oil Change International, January 22, 2015
• Former DNR employees say regulator stifles public information - By Jacob Barker, St Louis Post Dispatch, January 26, 2015
• The Heat Is On: Via Campesina and Allies Challenge Climate Capitalism - La Via Campesina, January 27, 2015
• The Precariat and the Basic Income: Part 1 - By Andrew Curry, The Next Wave, January 26, 2015
• The Precariat and the Basic Income: Part 2 - By Andrew Curry, The Next Wave, January 27, 2015
• 'Tiny houses' no solution to the unaffordability crisis - By Mike Stewart, Rabble.Ca, January 28, 2015
• Uber Accused of Lax Safety Practices by Delhi Woman - By Mike Isaac, New York Times, January 29, 2015
• Union workers press their case for contract demands at Lyondell refinery - By LM Sixell, FuelFix, January 28, 2015
• Up to 6,000 carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxins floating around EU - European Trade Union Institute, January 30, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, January 26, 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:

• The Agents of Unregulated Globalization vs. the Agents of the Fight against Climate Change - By Jeanette Bonifaz, Center for Economic and Policy Research, January 9, 2015

Crude by Rail:

• CSX reports record fourth quarter results - Trains [paywall alert], January 21, 2015
• Federal Court Order: Explosive DOT-111 "Bomb Train" Oil Tank Cars Can Continue to Roll - By Steve Horn, DeSmog Blog, January 23, 2015
• Interim Settlement Reached in Lac Megantic Oil Train Disaster, but Culprits Say "It Wasn't Us" - By Roger Annis, Truthout, January 22, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Alberta One Of Hardest Hit By Lower Oil Prices - By Andy Tully, OilPrice.Com, January 20, 2015
• Baker Hughes to lay off 7,000 - By Jennifer Hiller, FuelFix, January 20, 2015
• BHP to cut 40 percent of its U.S. shale drilling - By Jennifer Hiller, FuelFix, January 21, 2015
• Halliburton suggests North American layoffs could come - By Jennifer Hiller, FuelFix, January 20, 2015

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

• A Boom in Solar Jobs - By Rick Cohen, Nonprofit Quarterly, January 22, 2015
• In US, There Are Twice as Many Solar Workers as Coal Miners - By Kirsten Korosec, Fortune, January 17, 2015

Other News of Interest:

• Brazilian Workers, Students Battle Fare Hikes Pushed By Workers Party - By Steve Payne, In These Times, January 22, 2015
• Building Bridges with MST - By La Via Campesina South Asia, La Via Campesina, January 20, 2015
• Elizabeth Mpofu speaks before 50,000 people at the “we are fed up” demonstration - La Via Campesina, January 21, 2015
• Kosovo miners return from underground, ending 3-day strike - By Andrew Topf, Mining.Com, January 26, 2015
• 150-foot span of Willits Bypass collapses into Haehl Creek; Several workers injured - By Adrian Baumann and Michael Mott, Willits News, January 22, 2015
• Oil And Gas Production Is Exposing Californians To At Least 15 Different Kinds Of Pollutants - By Katie Valentine, Think Progress, January 22, 2015
• Outside Senators’ Clean Water Act proposal threatens Bristol Bay salmon, culture, jobs - By Tim Bristol, Save Bristol Bay, January 22, 2015
• Report faults Chevron - By D Ross Cameron, Contra Costa Times, January 24, 2015
• Scientists and Doctors Sound Alarm Over Health Dangers of Oil Spill Dispersants - By Dahr Jamail, Truthout, January 20, 2015
• Stop the Free Trade Agreements [brochure] - La Via Campesina, January 20, 2015
• U.S. refinery workers, oil firms start talks for new contract - By Erwin Seba, Reuters, January 21, 2015
• Via Campesina solidarity visit to Douro small wine growers - By La Via Campesina News Team, La Via Campesina, January 20, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

By David Goodner - Truthout, January 20, 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 debate surrounding labor's support for oil pipelines has largely centered on a false "jobs versus climate" dichotomy. But labor's position is also alienating them from their potential allies while strengthening the hand of their sworn enemies.

There's a popular saying on the left that organized labor would build their own gallows if they were offered the jobs, and nowhere is this more true than in labor's support for the environmentally disastrous Keystone XL, Enbridge Sandpiper and Bakken oil pipelines.

As in much of the debate surrounding climate change, proponents of the Keystone XL pipeline, like Teamster president James P. Hoffa, generally argue that short-term job creation and economic growth trump environmental concerns about the long-term fate of the planet.

"America needs more good-paying jobs that support middle-class families. This project supplies them," Hoffa wrote in a letter published by The Detroit News in December 2014. He went on to claim that environmental concerns have been addressed by state and federal regulators, as well as by the oil company itself.

"It will be safer than any other domestic oil pipeline system built under current code," he added.

In reality of course, it is the jobs argument that is overblown, and it is the environmental threat to the survival of every living thing on earth that labor habitually understates or ignores.

The bottom line is there won't be any jobs, or an economy at all, if the planet is no longer hospitable to human life. There's no such thing as a safe oil pipeline because extracting fossil fuels from the ground and burning them into the atmosphere is what causes catastrophic climate change, not accidental oil spills.