disaster capitalism

Unions from all over the midwest have donated time, water, dollars, and more to help the residents of Flint, Michigan get through the water crisis that still rages on there.

Firefighters, electricians, nurses, teachers, teamsters, auto workers, plumbers, and government workers have been working to provide help and a sense of humanity in a situation that, frankly, lacks a lot of both. Many have come from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, as well as across the state of Michigan to help lend a hand where necessary, including installing water filters—all with volunteer labor.

“A lot of our members live here in the community,” said Jeff Peake, organizer at Local 370. “We have a responsibility to pay back.”

It’s a community that has been on hard times for decades. The one-two punch of auto plants moving to places like Mexico resulting in a loss of union jobs, combined with the further economic damage of the Great Recession, means this city, once boasting 200,000 people, has about half that these days, and just over 40 percent of them live at or below the poverty level.

In an article from The Grio, one Flint resident talked about watching it change. “It was a wonderful place to grow up,” said Lynntoia Webster, thirty-two. “But I saw a lot of changes by the time I was in the ninth and tenth grade. I could see our economy was changing. People in my family were getting laid off from the auto industry, and that’s when it became not such a great place to live.”

Recently, Flint residents learned that General Motors switched back to the Detroit River for its water after just four months because the Flint River water was rusting the engines at one of its auto plants. The troubling story continues to unfold. It’s clear that the people of Flint took the hit, while business leaders and the state officials responsible for the crisis looked the other way.

There are still many things that need to happen for Flint to be safe again, like replacing corroding water pipes to houses in many neighborhoods, but things are finally progressing — thanks in large part to the help of organizations like Flint Rising, which is leading a grassroots effort to push for change.

Tags:

Read more about What Solidarity Looks Like: Nearly 100 Unions Pitch In to Help Flint

Flint had Many Betrayers

Submitted by x344543 on Sun, 03/20/2016 - 15:26

By Gregg Shotwell - Socialist Worker, March 17, 2016

"The water crisis has also stoked the UAW's social-justice mission, union officials say."
-- Mike Colias, "How GM Saved Itself from Flint Water Crisis," Automotive News, January 31, 2016

"I put The Heretics in the deepest part of hell, though Dante had them spared, on higher ground."
-- Amiri Baraka (formerly LeRoi Jones), The System of Dante's Hell, 1963

PUNDITS EXPRESS astonishment at the perdition of Flint, Michigan, as if the degeneration of a renowned American city is rare rather than emblematic of municipalities throughout the nation. Where have they been? Do they not recall the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in downtown Minneapolis during rush hour in 2007? Can a head in the sand feel so comfortable that they can't feel the tremors, quakes and reverberations?

New Orleans flooded in 1915, 1940, 1947, 1965, 1969 and 2005. Love Canal, Hinkley, California, and the Louisiana Industrial Corridor aren't anomalous cancer alleys. The United States is riddled with environmental depredation.

The calculated failure of American institutions not only to invest in vital infrastructure but to provide basic care for citizens isn't a shock, it's status quo. Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers [ASCE] publishes a report card for the nation's infrastructure. In 2013, the U.S. got Ds in drinking water, wastewater, inland waterways, roads, schools, dams, levees, aviation, transit and energy.

I guess it's uncivil for engineers to flunk an American marvel of mediocrity like Interstate 35W and other bridges, which were ranked at a C+. The overall D+ grade point average indicates that we did get some Cs in a few less precarious spots, like ports, parks and bridges. Take your hat off, hold your breath and pray to the EPA--we are about to cross the river of denial.

Gun ownership makes a home less safe, according to the statistics, but when a person feels surrounded by perilous social institutions and structural instability, it's natural to reach for a security prop, come as it may--blanket, rifle or bottle of gin.

For all the self-proclaimed greatness and chest-thumping bravado, Americans' expectations are low and receding like opinions pursued by dogged facts. Our characteristic emphasis on individuality and private property narrows and subverts the circumspection of our social purview to a belly-button muse.

The American Dream has shriveled into a gated community--the modern version of the besieged frontier stockade, now struggling to survive on minimum wage. What do you want to bet that more Americans invest in the lottery than the stock market?

The year before Delphi, a spinoff of General Motors, filed for bankruptcy in 2005, management garlanded the factories with a new slogan: "The Future Isn't What It Used to Be." And a sign posted on the demolished Buick City plant in Flint, Michigan, proclaimed, "Demolition Means Progress."

The policy of neglect is the counsel of despair. No wonder we have a volunteer army and multiple foreign wars. The homeland is hopeless. The walls of denial are caving in.

Tags:

Read more about Flint had Many Betrayers

EcoUnionist News #95

Submitted by x344543 on Sun, 03/13/2016 - 19:20

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, March 15, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

Letter to U.S. Sec. of State Kerry Condemning the Honduran Assassination of Berta Caceras - By Various, Family Farm Defenders, March 12, 2016
A Current Longshore Battle Shows that the NLRB Is Not a Friend of Organized Labor - By Joe Burns, In These Times, March 11, 2016
Assassination of Berta Cáceres sparks outrage - By Raul Burbano, Rabble.Ca, March 7, 2016
Poisoned, Marginalised, Bankrupt and Dead - By Colin Todhunter, CounterPunch, March 7, 2016
Ten-second procedure might have averted Lac-Mégantic disaster - By Grant Robertson, Toronto Globe and Mail, March 7, 2016
Today's Slaves Often Work For Enterprises That Destroy The Environment - By Kevin Bales, NPR, January 27, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

Appalachia Resist: Regional Action Camp for Social & Environmental Justice - March 18-21
Break Free 2016 - May 2016
Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11-13, 2016
Earth Day to May Day! - April 22-May 1, 2016
Flush the TPP - Spring 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
2016 Labor Notes Conference - April 1-4, 2016

The Thin Green Line:

The Vermont gas pipeline: where do we go from here? - By Staff, Rising Tide Vermont, February 1, 2016

Just Transition:

Clocking off: Can Wales’ steel heartland survive in a greener world? - By Alex Pashley, Climate Change News, March 10, 2016
How many jobs do wind farms create? - By Guest, Clean Energy Footprints, March 9, 2016
Change is in the air - By David Suzuki, Rabble.Ca, March 8, 2016
Just How Democratic Are Rural Electric Cooperatives? - By John Farrell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, March 7, 2016
A Campaign to Demand Canada Post Deliver A New Green Economy - Katie McKenna and Mike Palecek interviewed by Nadia Kanji, The Real News Network, March 6, 2016

Bread and Roses:

Support the Berrypickers Union!: March 18th & 19th - By Maralena, Rising Tide Portland, March 13, 2016
Familias Unidas por la Justicia Newsletter - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, March 12, 2016
Wendy’s Boycott wins key court battle for right to protest today in Palm Beach as Workers’ Voice Tour rolls into Florida with triumphant Day 9 action in Gainesville! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 12, 2016
Day Six: The Mid- South stands up for Fair Food! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 10, 2016
Review: Farmageddon, The True Cost of Cheap Meat - By Martin Empson, Climate and Capitalism, March 10, 2016
The farm that grows climate solutions - By Eric Toensmeier, Ensia, March 9, 2016
Union of Agricultural Work Committees' Statement on the occasion of March 8th; International Women's Day - By Staff, La Via Campesina, March 9, 2016
Violence on the Factory Farm: How Not to Feed the World - By Colin Todhunter, Counterpunch, March 9, 2016
“We are not tied down by slavery… we are embraced by freedom.” - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 9, 2016
West African Caravan for Land, Water and peasant seeds - By Staff, La Via Campesina, March 9, 2016
Internationally Recognized Rights Defender Berta Cáceres Murdered in Honduras - By Shannon Young, Truthout, March 7, 2016
Wendy’s Boycott takes Columbus by storm! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 7, 2016
Food, hunger, health, and climate change - By Alistair Woodwardemail and John R Porter, The Lancet, March 2, 2016

Tags:

Eco Unionist News

green unionism

just transition

agricultural workers and peasants

labor and environment

Read more about EcoUnionist News #95

Pages

The Fine Print I:

Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) unless otherwise indicated and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s, nor should it be assumed that any of these authors automatically support the IWW or endorse any of its positions.

Further: the inclusion of a link on our site (other than the link to the main IWW site) does not imply endorsement by or an alliance with the IWW. These sites have been chosen by our members due to their perceived relevance to the IWW EUC and are included here for informational purposes only. If you have any suggestions or comments on any of the links included (or not included) above, please contact us.

The Fine Print II:

Fair Use Notice: The material on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes. It may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of scientific, environmental, economic, social justice and human rights issues etc.

It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have an interest in using the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The information on this site does not constitute legal or technical advice.

Main menu

Search form

You are here

disaster capitalism

Lead Stories:

Ongoing Mobilizations:

The Thin Green Line:

Just Transition:

Bread and Roses:

Lead Stories:

Ongoing Mobilizations:

The Thin Green Line:

Just Transition:

Bread and Roses:

Lead Stories:

Ongoing Mobilizations:

The Thin Green Line:

Just Transition:

Bread and Roses:

Lead Stories:

Ongoing Mobilizations:

The Thin Green Line:

Just Transition:

Bread and Roses:

Lead Stories:

Ongoing Mobilizations:

The Thin Green Line:

Just Transition:

Bread and Roses:

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

Lead Stories:

Ongoing Mobilizations:

The Thin Green Line:

Just Transition:

Bread and Roses:

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

Lead Stories:

Ongoing Mobilizations:

The Thin Green Line:

Just Transition:

Bread and Roses:

Lead Stories:

Ongoing Mobilizations:

The Thin Green Line:

Just Transition:

Bread and Roses:

Pages

The Fine Print I:

The Fine Print II:

Official IWW Notice: