agricultural workers and peasants

By James Plested - Red Flag, October 2, 2016

US agriculture giant Monsanto has agreed to a US$66 billion takeover by German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer. If the deal is approved by international regulators, Bayer-Monsanto will become the world’s biggest agribusiness, controlling 29 percent of the global seed market and 24 percent of pesticides.

The companies have dismissed widespread concern about the deal among farmers and environmentalists as fearmongering. Separately, they claim, their products have contributed to a significant boost in crop yields over the past few decades. Together, they’ll be able to increase investment in research and development, driving the agricultural innovation necessary to meet the demands of a growing world population.

We can only imagine what kind of new health and environmental threats may lurk in the “step change” a company like Bayer-Monsanto will make in an effort to restore profits.

In assessing the claims and counterclaims, we would do well to heed the words of radical US historian Howard Zinn: “If you don’t know history, it is as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can you tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up on it”.

By Kerstin Lindgren - Fair World Project, October 2016

A growing number of eco-social certifications are available on food products at a variety of retail locations. These certifications cover a range of environmental and social values and include claims like fair trade, humane, and environmentally friendly. As the historically invisible contribution of farmworkers in the agriculture system gains more attention, so too do the dangerous, often unsanitary conditions and low pay of farm labor. In recent years, eco- social certifications claiming to benefit farmworkers have emerged in response to this growing recognition. This has coincided with the decreasing prominence of and membership in labor unions, the traditional tool for addressing labor issues. The emergence of farmworker labels has also coincided, especially in the U.S., with the surge of wage victoriesat the state and local level, led by the Fight for $15 labor activists. Political advocacy, collective bargaining through worker associations, and social certifications can serve to reinforce each other to achieve the broad goals of fair pay and decent working conditions. This report looks at the role that certification can play and compares seven certification schemes.

Read the report (PDF).

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, September 20, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Global Warming and the Future of Humanity: An Interview With Noam Chomsky and Graciela Chichilnisky – By C.J. Polychroniou, Truthout, September 17, 2016
• The Climate Mobilization Victory Plan: Foreword – By Paul Gilding, The Climate Mobilization, September 16, 2016
• French police fire tear gas at labor reform protesters – By Brian Love, Reuters, September 15, 2016; [related]: French Workers Step Up Labor Strikes: “With This Law, We’re Going Toward a Catastrophe” – By Cole Stangler, In These Times, September 14, 2016
• Guess Who’s Winning the Argument on Trade? – By Kathy Kiely, Moyers and Company, September 15, 2016
• Political declaration: International Meeting of the Struggling Youth: Women of Kobane – By staff, La Via Campesina, September 15, 2016
• #PrisonStrike Was Huge and It Is Continuing – By Support Prisoner Resistance, It's Going Down, September 14, 2016; [related]: Here's What's Gone Down So Far in Three Days of America's Largest Prison Strikes – By Jeremy Galloway, The Influence, September 12, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Nyéléni Europe Movemet for Food Sovereignty - Cluj Napoca, Romania, October 26-30, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Anti-pipeline Movement Gathers Steam – By Chuck Collins, OtherWords, September 14, 2016
• Hundreds rally for and against methanol plant – By Marissa Luck, Daily News, September 14, 2016
• Rail proposal draws fire – By Jesse Burkhardt, The Dalles Chronicle, September 9, 2016
• This “Gas Highway” Is Angering Everyone in Its Path – By Christiana Lilly, Climate Desk, September 8, 2016

Just Transition:

• How do we get off fossil fuels when we’ve always feared change? – By Nathanael Johnson, Grist, September 13, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• California Farmworkers Win Equal Overtime: “This Bill Corrects 78 Years of Discrimination” – By Mario Vasquez, In These Times, September 16, 2016; [related]: California first U.S. state to promise overtime to farmworkers – By Sharon Bernstein, Reuters, September 12, 2016 | In historic move, Gov. Jerry Brown expands overtime pay for California farmworkers – By Jazmine Ulloa and John Myers, Los Angeles Times, September 12, 2016
• Monsanto and Bayer: Why Food and Agriculture Just Took a Turn For The Worse – By Colin Todhunter, CounterPunch, September 16, 2016; [related]: International Criminal Court Paves Way to Prosecute Monsanto – By Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association, September 15, 2016 | Bayer to Buy Monsanto Creating World's Largest Seed and Pesticide Company – By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, September 14, 2016 | Big deal: Bayer getting Monsanto for $66B – By Nathan Bomey, USA Today, September 14, 2016 | Farmers Union Condemns Bayer/Monsanto Deal – By Andrew Jerome, Institute for Public Accuracy, September 14, 2016 | International Monsanto Citizens’ Tribunal Names New Judges, Announces Program and Registration – By Tjerk Dalhuisen, Katherine Paul, and Ercilia Sahores, Organic Consumers Association, September 14, 2016
• International Mission of Solidarity with Colombia – By staff, La Via Campesina, September 15, 2016
• A union victory in Sakuma's fields – By Steve Leigh, Socialist Worker, September 15, 2016
• Even Organic Farms Sacrifice Sustainability to Cut Costs – By Jill Richardson, OtherWords, September 14, 2016
• No Labor Day holiday respite for Wendy’s! – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, September 12, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• After wage cases, energy sector makes biggest payouts to employees – By LM Sixel, FuelFix, September 15, 2016
• Transit workers vote down proposed contract – By Andrew Goldstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 12, 2016

Whistle Blowers:

• $90 Billion Whistleblower Suit Filed Against Four of the Nation's Largest Chemical Companies – By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, September 16, 2016
• Why Do Oil Trains Derail More Often than Ethanol Trains? – By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog, September 15, 2016; [related]: Bomb Trains: What Can We Learn From Shipping Ethanol to Improve Oil-By-Rail Safety? – By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog, September 14, 2016
• A Pipeline By A Different Name: Algonquin – By Christine Macpherson, Articulate Ink, September 12, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, September 13, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• 150 Million Workers in India Just Staged the Largest Strike in History To Resist Neoliberalism – By Theo Anderson, In These Times, September 9, 2016; [related]: The Biggest Strike in World History? No Thanks, We’re Focusing on the New iPhone - By Jim Naureckas, Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, September 8, 2016 | Over 150 Million People Participate In Largest Labor Strike In History – By Eric Scott Pickard, Mint News Press, September 7, 2016
• Can We Bring Back Many Factory Jobs? Let’s Do the Math – By Frank Stricker, CounterPunch, September 8, 2016
• 45 Years After Attica, Prisoners Are Organizing What Could Be the Biggest Prison Strike Ever – By Anna Simonton, In These Times, September 8, 2016
• Political organization, not light bulbs, key to climate fight says Bill McKibben – By Joe Ware, New Internationalist, September 8, 2016
• The Rise of the Unorganizable - Jacobin, September 7, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• NoDAPL Global Weeks of Solidarity - September 3-17, Camp of the Sacred Stones and Red Warrior Camp, ND | #NoDAPL
• Free Space Utopia in Defense of Land - September 17-18, Genova, Italy
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Nyéléni Europe Movemet for Food Sovereignty - Cluj Napoca, Romania, October 26-30, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Opinion: Northwest communities can’t risk another oil train disaster – By Arlene Burns, Ben Stuckart, and Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Seattle Times, September 7, 2016

Just Transition:

• Jobs in Renewable Energy: the importance of Community Ownership, and the growth of good union jobs under California’s policies - By Elizabeth Perry, Work and Climate Change Report, September 10, 2016
• Canadian Building organizations call for Zero Emissions by 2030, along with World Green Building Council; Vancouver and Victoria take action - By Elizabeth Perry, Work and Climate Change Report, September 6, 2016
• Massive support for community renewable energy - By Oliver Tickell, Ecologist, September 6, 2016
• Can the ‘new economy’ and labor movements come together again? - By Eric Dirnbach, Waging Nonviolence, August 31, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• We must reclaim our freedom from Monsanto like we did from the British – By Vandana Shiva, New Internationalist, September 8, 2016
• Farmworkers, allies announce ‘Behind the Braids’ national truth tours, weekend of action this fall! – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, September 8, 2016
• "More farmers, better food" – By Isabel Vilalba, La Via Campesina, September 7, 2016
• Bayer Increases Bid To Form GM and Pesticide ‘Juggernaut’ with Monsanto – By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, September 6, 2016
• From the archive: "Second Seattle" in Cancun (2003) – By Peter Rosset, La Via Campesina, September 6, 2016
• New Mexican farmers struggle to stay on the land – By J.R. Logan, Taos News, September 6, 2016
• "Take agriculture out of the WTO", Farmer Lee Kyung Hae; Reproducing his letter from 2003 – By staff, La Via Campesina, September 6, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Federal Judge Finds Violation in Pennslvania’s Refusal to Treat Mumia’s Hep-C – By Dave Lindorff, CounterPunch, September 9, 2016
• No State Charges For Cops Who Shot And Killed Mexican Farmworker In Washington State – By Eric M. Johnson, Huffington Post, September 9, 2016
• Union faces £1 million bill for fighting Southern Rail firm – By Raymie Kiernan, Socialist Worker (UK), September 9, 2016
• BART could face additional fines for 2013 worker deaths – By Erin Baldassari, East Bay Times, September 7, 2016
• Tories bail out Southern rail bosses to bash the union – By Raymie Kiernan, Socialist Worker (UK), September 7, 2016
• Union Leadership Disputes Dominion Statement on Lockout – By staff, Clinton County Record, September 7, 2016
• Major job losses feared when self-driving cars take to the road; Former SEIU Pres Andy Stern Says Plan Ahead – By David R. Baker and Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle, September 6, 2016 

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, September 7, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Labor Day 2016: We Need Unions for Environmental, Racial and Climate Justice – By Larry Williams Jr, Sierra Club, September 2, 2016
• World's Largest Strike? Tens of Millions in India Rise Up Against Right-Wing Economic Policies – By Nika Knight, Common Dreams, September 2, 2016
• TPP Is Not Dead, Unfortunately – By Lori Wallach, Huffington Post, August 31, 2016; [related]: France demands an end to TTIP talks – By Sean Farrell, The Guardian, August 30, 2016  | Germany’s Vice-Chancellor says ‘TTIP has failed’ – By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, August 29, 2016 | Why The TPP and TTIP Trade Deals May Now Be Dead In The Water – By Kate Aronoff, In These Times, August 29, 2016 | TTIP has failed; but no one is admitting it, says German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel – By Alexandra Sims and Jon Stone, The Independent, August 28, 2016 | Obama’s chances to sign TPP sink as Senate majority leader says no to vote – By staff, Russia Times, August 26, 2016
• Labor's New Sources of Leverage – Kim Moody interviewed by Chris Brooks, Labor Notes, August 12, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• NoDAPL Global Weeks of Solidarity - September 3-17, Camp of the Sacred Stones and Red Warrior Camp, ND | #NoDAPL
  Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Free Space Utopia in Defense of Land - September 17-18, Genova, Italy
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Nyéléni Europe Movemet for Food Sovereignty - Cluj Napoca, Romania, October 26-30, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Clean Energy Jobs Are Exploding in America. Why Don’t Mainstream Reporters Know? – By Jigar Shah, Greentech Media, September 2, 2016
• Solidarity, love, & resistance: marching for justice in the Gulf Coast – By Genny Roman, 350, September 2, 2016

Just Transition:

• G20: Dodged taxes could finance renewable power for world's poorest 50% – By Dipti Bhatnagar and Sam Cossar-Gilbert, The Ecologist, September 2, 2016
• New $3.6B Project in Iowa Could Be One of Many ‘Mega’ Wind Orders – By Julia Pyper, Greentech Media, August 31, 2016
• The Commons: A Frame for Thinking Beyond Growth – By Silke Helfrich, Green European Journal, August 30, 2016
• Oilpatch to Solar Field: Alberta Oil and Gas Workforce Lines Up for Solar Training – By Aurora Tejeida, Green European Journal, August 29, 2016
• Why three-day weekends could help to save the world – By Alex Williams, The Independent, August 29, 2016 

Bread and Roses:

• How a meeting in Cork could save rural Europe – By Ramona Duminicioiu and Stanka Becheva, EurActiv, September 4, 2016
• National Council of Churches, Robert F. Kennedy Center endorse Wendy’s Boycott! – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, September 1, 2016
• [Letter to the Editor] Sonoma magazine lacking sensitivity for farm workers? – By Pamela Singer, Wine and Water Watch, September 1, 2016
• No Other Way Than to Struggle: The Farmworker-Led Boycott of Driscoll's Berries – Felimon Piñeda interviewed by David Bacon, Truthout, August 31, 2016
• Historic Farmworker Overtime Bill Awaits California Governor's Nod – By Viji Sundaram, New America Media, August 30, 2016; [related]: California lawmakers pass farmworker overtime bill after 8 hours – By Alison Noon, NBC KCRA TV 3, August 30, 2016
• Zero Budget Natural Farming in India – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 30, 2016
• Meet the Farmworker Who Helped Win Rent Control in California’s Wine Country – Gervacio Peña López interviewed by Brooke Anderson and Davin Cardenas, Yes! Magazine, August 30, 2016 | en español: Gervacio Peña López, Centro Laboral de Graton; Conciencia Popular en un Clima Cambiante
• Shashe Agroecology School: A true centre of Agroecology and practical food Sovereignty – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 29, 2016
• UAWC condemns the Israeli decision to close and demolish school in Khan Al-Ahmar – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 29, 2016
• Being a Mexican migrant worker and female, a recipe for double discrimination – By Emilio Godoy, Equal Times, August 26, 2016 
• ChemChina-Syngenta deal: why it matters – By Adrian Ely, China Dialog, August 26, 2016
• Food Sovereignty in Rebellion: Decolonization, Autonomy, Gender Equity, and the Zapatista Solution – By Levi Gahman, Solutions, July 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Alaska’s emergency wildfire crews are burning out – By Gloria Dickie, High Country News, September 5, 2016
• Isis’ oil empire is employing thousands of children – By Karl Mathiesen, Climate Change News, September 5, 2016
• Women Say EPA Officials Sexually Harassed Them—and Their Bosses Did Nothing – By Natalie Schreyer, Mother Jones, September 2, 2016
• Union decline lowers wages of nonunion workers – By Jake Rosenfeld, Patrick Denice, and Jennifer Laird, Economic Policy Institute, August 30, 2016; [related]: Strong Unions Help All Workers—Not Just Union Workers – By David Moberg, In These Times, September 5, 2016 | How a union raises your wage — even if you're not a member – By Jeff Spross, The Week, August 31, 2016
• Nurses Nationwide Focus On Workplace Violence Protections – By Pattie Lockard, Nurse Talk Radio, August 29, 2016 
• Clashes erupt between police, protesting miners in Bolivia – By staff, Press TV, August 24, 2016

Whistle Blowers:

• Off-Road Race Through Nevada Monument Aborted – By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, September 1, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 31, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• This. Means. WAR. – By Chris Dragon, Clean Technica, August 25, 2016
• Day After Obama Tours Louisiana Flood Damage, Gov't Holds Massive Gulf Oil & Gas Lease Auction – Antonia Juhasz interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, August 24, 2016; [related]: Historic Louisiana Flooding, Katrina Anniversary Serve as Stark Reminders of Need for Increased Resilience – By staff, Restore the Mississipi River Delta, August 25, 2016 | Bill Nye takes CNN to task on what really happened in Louisiana – By Katie Herzog, Grist, August 25, 2016 | Flood-Ravaged Gulf Coast Residents Ask President Obama To Cancel Federal Offshore Drilling Lease Auction – By Julie Dermansky, DeSmog Blog, August 24, 2016 | Four Arrested In Protest, But Feds Continue With Plan To Sell The Gulf To Oil Interests – By Samantha Page, Think Progress, August 24, 2016 | “President Obama: More Drilling = More Floods” – By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, August 24, 2016 | Four Arrested at Louisiana BOEM Office Delivering Petitions Demanding President Obama Cancel Offshore Drilling Lease Sale – By Anne Rolfes, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Dani Heffernan, 350.org, and Steve Jones, Center for Biological Diversity, August 23, 2016 | Gulf Residents Occupy BOEM office in Louisiana To Demand That President Obama Cancel Upcoming Fossil Fuel Lease Sale – By Jamie Henn, Common Dreams, August 23, 2016 | Louisiana Climate-Deniers Who Refused Sandy Victims Now Want Federal Flood Relief – By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, August 23, 2016 | Race and Class Gap Widening: Katrina Pain Index 2016 by the Numbers – By Bill Quigley, CounterPunch, August 23, 2016 | Louisiana’s flood couldn’t have been stopped, but it didn’t have to be so devastating – By Heather Smith, Grist, August 22, 2016
• Inaction on Climate Change Could Cost Millennials $8.8 Trillion in Lifetime Income – Heather McGhee interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, August 24, 2016
• Noam Chomsky Stars in New Documentary About the Major Risks Humanity Faces From Pesticides – By Alexandra Rosenmann, Alternet, August 22, 2016
• Beyond Social Movement Unionism – By Sam Gindin, Jacobin, August 2016
• Occupations, assemblies and direct action – a critique of ‘body politics’ – By Joseph A Todd, Red Pepper, August 22, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
  Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Nyéléni Europe Movemet for Food Sovereignty - Cluj Napoca, Romania, October 26-30, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Mining Company Behind Oakland Coal Terminal Withdraws IPO Plans, Bogged Down in Lawsuit – By Darwin BondGraham, East Bay Express, August 23, 2016

Just Transition:

• Canadians are demanding a bold new future for our public postal system – By staff, Rabble.Ca, August 26, 2016
• New B.C. Climate Leadership Plan leaves carbon tax untouched – By Elizabeth Perry, Work and Climate Change Report, August 26, 2016
• Geothermal Picks Up Steam With Alberta Proposal to Retrofit Abandoned Oil Wells – By James Wilt, DeSmog Canada, August 25, 2016
• Queensland solar projects that could create 2,600 jobs at risk in federal cuts – By Michael Slezak, The Guardian, August 24, 2016
• Ukraine Crisis Can Be Solved With Its Own Energiewende – By Karel Beckman, Energy Post, August 22, 2016
• Bigger, better, cheaper: wind power is flourishing in the US – By David Roberts, Vox, August 19, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• 420 SAKUMA FARMWORKERS VOTE FOR FUJ UNION WITH THEIR VOICES & FEET – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, August 28, 2016; [related]: Unrest Continues at Sakuma Berry Farm – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, August 24, 2016 | With Berries in Demand, Local Co-ops Won't Budge to Support Driscoll's Boycott – By Victoria Bouloubasis, Indyweek, August 12, 2016
• Dicamba may threaten Missouri peach farm – By Bryce Gray, Missouri Farmer Today, August 26, 2016
• Over 15 years’ struggle for the recognition of peasants in the international human rights system – By Sandra Moreno Cadena, La Via Campesina, August 26, 2016
• Key Democrats Could Deny Farm Workers Overtime Pay as Battle Goes Down to the Wire – By David Bacon, Capital and Main, August 25, 2016; [related]: Emotions flare over legislation to expand overtime pay for California farmworkers – By Jazmine Ulloa, Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2016 | Is California really progressive? The vote on farmworker overtime is a test of our values – By Marcos Breton, Sacramento Bee, August 24, 2016
• Summer campers join Wendy’s Boycott, gather 100+ signatures to send to fast food hold-out! – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, August 25, 2016
• Dark days ahead for British agriculture? Or green shoots of a brighter future? – By Keith Tyrell, The Ecologist, August 25, 2016
• The Struggle for Democratic Representation in Quebec Gets a Boost at the 2016 World Social Forum – By Debbie Grunbaum, La Via Campesina, August 24, 2016
• Why Do Farmers Care About Climate Change: Extreme Precipitation – By Tom Driscoll, Ohio Farmers Union, August 24, 2016
• How the GE Food Venture Has Been Chronically Dependent on Deception – By Steven M. Druker, J.D, Independent Science News, August 21, 2016

By Margaret Gray - Jacobin, August 21, 2016

We live in the shadows,” explained Javier, a Hudson Valley farmworker, while describing his life to me. “We are treated like unknown people . . . We are not paid well and cannot ask for more.” A worker on another farm said, “They treat us like nothing; they only want the work . . . Whether we like it or not, we have to like it.”

Some of today’s liveliest political conversations concern agricultural production and distribution. But these discussions are also among the most confused.

Exploitative conditions on factory farms have rightly drawn the attention of academics, activists, and journalists. Indeed, the vast majority of research on farmworkers focuses on the largest farming sites. Consumers are offered countless reasons to avoid produce from them — but few alternatives other than to “buy local.”

Much contemporary food writing argues that when we buy locally grown food directly from farms, we not only secure fresher, more seasonal produce, but we also create an intimate, trusting relationship with the farmer. This supposed bond reinforces the common understanding that the local food production process is more wholesome than the industrial agricultural system.

Food writers and scholars have highlighted the many positive aspects of local food systems: economic and social justice, the sense of community facilitated by face-to-face interactions with food producers, and the civic engagement and democracy promoted by alternative agri-systems.

For example, as Barbara Kingsolver argues in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, “‘locally grown’ is a denomination whose meaning in incorruptible.” Later in the book she addresses the poor pay and conditions of workers on factory farms, citing their average annual income of $7,500. Clearly, she intends readers to feel grateful that local farms offer a more just and well-paid alternative.

Or take another prominent example: in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, a landmark in the new food literature, Michael Pollan describes two types of farming — industrial and pastoral — and offers no in-between.

In promoting local diets as healthy and righteous alternatives to the capitalist-industrial monoculture food system, such writers have sold us an idea premised on a false dichotomy.

On one hand, they demonize factory farms for poisoning the land and local waterways, for confining and mistreating animals, and for exploiting their workers in the name of earning profits. On the other hand, they promote local agriculture as the antidote to the factory farms’ corporate ills.

By shopping at the farmers market or joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, consumers support smaller (though not necessarily small) farmers, keep food dollars local, encourage limited pesticide use, and ensure animals are treated humanely.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 24, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Beyond Coal: Imagining Appalachia’s Future – By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, August 17, 2016
• A World at War: We’re under attack from climate change—and our only hope is to mobilize like we did in WWII – By Bill McKibben, New Republic, August 15, 2016; [related]: Clean, Green, Class War: Bill McKibben’s Shortsighted ‘War on Climate Change’ – By Elliot Sperber, Counterpunch, August 22, 2016
• [Trigger Warning] Whipped, kicked, beaten: Illinois workers describe abuse of hogs – By David Jackson and Gary Marx, Chicago Tribune, August 4, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
  Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Judge Upholds Oregon Denial of Coal Export Permit – By Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press, August 15, 2016

Just Transition:

• California Climate Policies a $48 Billion Boon for State’s Economy, Analysis Finds – By Mike Gaworecki, DeSmog Blog, August 19, 2016
• The Fight for a Six Hour Workday – By Alex Richardson-Price, Counterpunch, August 19, 2016
• Alberta's solar-power sector can't keep up with demand for training courses – By Emma Graney, Edmonton Sun, August 15, 2016
• The End Is Nigh — Advocacy, Climate Change and Renewables Growth – By Joel B. Stronberg, Renewable Energy World, August 15, 2016
• Iron & Earth East to build renewable energy demonstration greenhouse in St. John’s – By Lyndsey Easton, Iron & Earth, August 15, 2016
• Work program trains unemployed oil and gas workers in solar technology – By Danika Worthington, Denver Post, August 14, 2016; [related]: Declining energy sector jobs switching to solar power – By staff, Associated Press, August 14, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Rooted in the soil: the birth of agro-resistance in Palestine – By Jonathan Cook, The Ecologist, August 19, 2016
• The People of Vermont vs Monsanto and the Feds – By Paul Cienfuegos, Counterpunch, August 19, 2016
• Peasants are making a comeback – By Wayne Roberts, Rabble.Ca, August 17, 2016
• This Region Is Twice Flint’s Size—And Its Water Is Also Poisoned – By Tom Philpott, Monther Jones, August 17, 2016
• Change.org launches Wendy’s Boycott petition! – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, August 15, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Citywide Ferry Operator Hornblower Has 'Pathetic' Labor Record, Union Says – By James Fanelli, DNA Info, August 17, 2016
• Railroads show little progress on key safety technology – By Joan Lowy, Phys.Org, August 17, 2016
• Tyson Foods Fined $263,000 Over Unsafe Working Conditions In Poultry Plant – By Bryce Covert, Think Progress, August 17, 2016
• Don Blankenship’s defense, appeal based on ‘intricate fantasies’ – By Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette-Mail, August 16, 2016; Federal prosecutors defend Blankenship conviction – By Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette-Mail, August 15, 2016
• How Massachusetts Nurses Are Reducing Workplace Violence – By Cady Spencer, and Erin Johnson, Labor Notes, August 16, 2016
• South Africa’s Marikana Massacre: Prompting the Longest Strike in the Country’s Mining History – By Luke Sinwell and Siphiwe Mbatha, Counterpunch, August 16, 2016; [related]: Amnesty International releases report on Lonmin’s broken promises for 4th anniversary of Marikana massacre – By Richard, London Mining Network, August 16, 2016
• Muni operator says she was beaten, but fended off attacker – By Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, San Francisco Examiner, August 15, 2016

Whistle Blowers:

• Mitsubishi Execs Were Warned By Employee About Fuel-Economy Fraud Back In 2005 – By James Ayre, Clean Technica, August 16, 2016; [related]: Employee warned Mitsubishi execs about mileage cheating in 2005 – By Brandon Turkus, AutoBlog, August 5, 2016
• Park Service Pours Bucket of Mush on Effigy Mounds Scandal – By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, August 15, 2016
• Top U.S. Scientist Resigns & Announces GOP Water Poison Cover-Up Scandal – By Georgia Bristow, Bipartisan Report, August 15, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 17, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Thousands gather in Montreal for World Social Forum – By Pierre Beaudet, Rabble.Ca, August 10, 2016; [related]: CKUT-FM Interviews GJEP on Corporatist Solutions to Climate Crisis – By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, August 12, 2016 | Ears on the earth: Taking the next leap – By Victoria Fenner, Rabble.Ca, August 12, 2016 | (Sojourner Truth Radio) Earth Watch: Njoki Njoroge Njehu from the World Social Forum – By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, August 12, 2016 | World Social Forum creates community, activism, and controversy – By Emily Blake, Rabble.Ca, August 12, 2016 | Here's a quick list of everything happening at the World Social Forum – By staff, Rabble.Ca, August 11, 2016 | Leap Manifesto stars at World Social Forum – By Emily Blake, Rabble.Ca, August 11, 2016 | World Social Forum 2016: Day 1 Highlights – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 11, 2016 | Ears on the earth: Releasing the corporate stranglehold – By Victoria Fenner, Rabble.Ca, August 10, 2016 | The 2016 World Social Forum begins in Montreal – By Emily Blake, Rabble.Ca, August 10, 2016 | Candidate for UN secretary general among those denied visa to Montreal's World Social Forum – By Melissa Fundira, CBC News, August 9, 2016 | Ears on the earth: The World Social Forum begins – By Victoria Fenner, Rabble.Ca, August 9, 2016 | World Social Forum in Montreal: "Another World Is Once Again Being Constructed Without Africa" – By Danica Jorden, ZNet, August 9, 2016 | Will World Social Forum become leader the Left needs? – By Nick Fillmore, A Different Point of View..., August 8, 2016
• What If All U.S. Coal Workers Were Retrained to Work in Solar? – By Joshua M. Pearce, Harvard Business Review, August 8, 2016 [related]: US solar industry hailed as ‘light at end of tunnel’ for jobless coal miners – By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, August 12, 2016 | One Year of a Coal CEO's Salary Could Transition U.S. Coal Miners to Work in Solar Industry – By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, August 11, 2016 | What to do with coal workers? Retrain them for solar, says study – By Heather Smith, Grist, August 10, 2016 | Relatively Minor Retraining Investment Could Transition All Coal Workers To Solar Jobs – By Derek Markham, Clean Technica, August 10, 2016 | What to do with coal workers? Retrain them for solar, says study – By Sophie Vorrath, REnew Economy, August 10, 2016 | One Year of Coal CEO Pay Could Retrain Every US Miner to Work in the Solar Industry – By Katherine Tweed, GreenTechMedia, August 9, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
  
• Climate Camp and Degrowth Summer - Rheinland, August 19-29, 2016
• Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Judge: No Constitutional Problem in Oregon’s Denial of Columbia River Coal Export Terminal – By staff, Columbia Riverkeeper, August 12, 2016
• Whatcom County puts new unrefined fossil fuel exports on hold – By Samantha Wohlfeil, The Bellingham Herald, August 10, 2016; [related]: Here’s the latest community to crack down on fossil fuel shipments – By Katie Herzog, Grist, August 11, 2016 | Cherry Point Coal, Oil and Gas Exports Would Create Massive New Carbon Pollution – By Alex Ramel, Stand, August 10, 2016 | Emergency Moratorium Stops All Unrefined Oil, Coal, and LNG Export Infrastructure Projects in Whatcom County, WA – By Eddie Scher, Stand, August 10, 2016 | Whatcom County Imposed 60 Day Moratorium On Unrefined Oil Projects – By Roy L Hales, The ECOReport, August 10, 2016

Just Transition:

• Basic Income vs. Job Guarantee – By Josh Davis, Grassroots Economic Organizing, August 11, 2016
• Dual Power as the Route to Democratic Socialism, Sanders or No Sanders – By Andrew Stewart, CounterPunch, August 11, 2016
• A vision of democratic ecosocialism – By Hans Baer, Climate and Capitalism, August 10, 2016
• Crude oil to carrots: Geothermal makeover eyed for Alberta’s old wells – By Reuters, Toronto Globe and Mail, August 9, 2016
• Renewables offer “unrivalled opportunity” to grow rural jobs, economies – By Sophie Vorrath, REnew Economy, August 9, 2016
• U.S. must bury coal to save miner jobs: Interior secretary – By Valerie Volcovici, Reuters, August 9, 2016
• When Systems Crumble: Looking Beyond Global Capitalism – By Richard D. Wolff, Truthout, August 9, 2016
• Why I spoke at the Clean Energy Incentive Program Rally in Chicago – By Dick Breckenridge, BlueGreen Alliance, August 9, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Millions spent, no one served: who is to blame for the failure of GMO Golden Rice? – By Angelika Hilbeck and Hans Herren, The Ecologist, August 15, 2016
• Monsanto in retreat: movement from the grassroots – By Silvia Ribeiro, Alainet, August 11, 2016
• Sakuma Workers Walk Out of Fields Again to Fight for a Fair Wage – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, August 11, 2016
• In South Texas, Fair Wages Elude Farmworkers, 50 Years After Historic Strike – By John Burnett, NPR, August 11, 2016
• Statement from the Popular University of Social Movements Workshop held at Harare – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 11, 2016
• Tribunal Monsanto in The Hague: 14th-16th of October 2016 – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 10, 2016
• Take Action: Demand justice for Baek Nam-gi – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 10, 2016
• Farmers Dealing with Fall-Out from Monsanto’s New GE Crops – By staff, Beyond Pesticides, August 9, 2016
• Karnataka, India: Workshop on agroecology at Amritabhoomi – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 9, 2016
• Urgent Appeal and Call for Action from Korea – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 9, 2016
• “Dear Wendy’s: I’m Boycotting You, but I’m Not the One You Should Be Worried About…” – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, August 8, 2016
• Contractual, ‘pakyawan’ workers in Mindanao plantations urge DOLE to act on labor rights violations – By Marya Salamat, Bulatat, July 29, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 10, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Chicken Factory Owners Are Some of the Cruelest Employers in America: Workers Share Horror Stories as Campaign Builds to Fight Exploitation – By Michael Arria, AlterNet, August 4, 2016
• Death in The Fields – By Mauricio Peña, Desert Sun, August 4, 2016
• Oil Sands Workers Lead on Climate Action – By staff, People's Climate Plan, August 4, 2016
• Portland Teachers Expose Lead in Schools – By Samantha Winslow, Labor Notes, August 2, 2016; [related]: Book Review: Organizing against the Toxins Lurking in Our Schools – By Hyung Nam, Labor Notes, August 2, 2016
• Millions of people yearning for a "Brexit" from destructive trade deals – By Maude Barlow, Edmonton Journal, July 23, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
  
• TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 2016
• Unions Organizing around Energy Democracy, Climate Jobs and Just Transition - Montreal, August 9th-13th, 2016
• United Students Against Sweatshops Summer Convention - August 13-14, 2016, Silver Spring, MD
• Climate Camp and Degrowth Summer - Rheinland, August 19-29, 2016
• Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Finish line in sight in campaign to cap refinery emissions – By Steve Nadel, The Yodeler, August 3, 2016
• Canada needs further rail safety reforms – By staff, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, July 29, 2016
• “When an oil spill happens…that creates jobs”: Duck washers wanted – By Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper, July 29, 2016

Just Transition:

• Bullfrog Power joins oilsands workers in bringing green jobs to Newfoundland and Labrador – By Lyndsey Easton, Iron and Earth, August 8, 2016
• WSF Montreal: Record Union Participation, a Big Step for Both Labor and Social Movements – By Sean Sweeney, Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, August 5, 2016
• Latrobe Valley vision for a Just Transition – By staff, Yes 2 Renewables, August 4, 2016
• How Electrifying Railroads Could Help Us Transition from Fossil Fuels and Power Rural Economies – By Bill Moyer, In These Times, August 2, 2016
• Renewfoundland – By Adam Cormier, Iron and Earth, August 2, 2016
• The NY Times Got It Wrong: Renewable Energy Is Key to Fighting Climate Change – By Noah Long and Kevin Steinberger, EcoWatch, August 1, 2016
• Weighing Carbon WA’s Tax Swap Ballot Initiative – By Kristin Eberhard and Alan Durning, Sightline Institute, August 1, 2016
• In Conversation: Communities and Infrastructure in a 100% Renewable World – By Daniel Lerch, Warren Karlenzig, Hillary Brown, Post Carbon Institute, July 30, 2016
• Energy Voices Radio Show: Energy Systems in Transition – By Kali Taylor, Student Energy, July 26, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Monsanto in India: Meet the New Boss – Same as the Old Boss? – By Colin Todhunter, CounterPunch, August 4, 2016; [related]: Holdi ng Monsanto to account: the People's Tribunal – By Heidi Chow, The Ecologist, August 4, 2016
• Via Campesina will join 2016 World Social Forum to strengthen and advance food sovereignty and peasants’ rights – By Carlos Marentes, et. al., La Via Campesina, August 4, 2016
• National Farm Worker Ministry endorses Wendy’s Boycott! – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, August 3, 2016
• Towards a People’s Food Policy – By staff, Landworkers Alliance, August 3, 2016
• Update of our work with the European Coordination of Via Campesina – By Jyoti Fernandes, Landworkers Alliance, August 3, 2016
• GMO Wheat Found in Washington State Could Hurt US Trade – By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, August 1, 2016
• Why farmworkers are dying from extreme heat – By Nathanael Johnson, Grist, August 1, 2016
• Grass-Fed Nation – By Megan Perry, Sustainable Food Trust, July 29, 2016
• Avoid ‘miracle’ rice, just eat a carrot! – By Vandana Shiva, Asian Age, July 15, 2016
• ‘I will never give up my land’ – By Máxima Acuña, New Internationalist, July 2016