Big Oil

By Dan Bacher - Daily Kos, May 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 same region devastated by the Santa Barbara Oil Spill of 1969 is now the scene of a massive clean up of crude oil by the state and federal governments and volunteers. The international and national media have spread throughout the world the startling images of the oil soaked beaches, birds, fish and ecosystem in a deluge of TV, radio, newspaper and internet reports.

The oil spill resulted from the rupture of an oil pipeline owned by Plains Pipeline, a subsidiary of Plains All-American Pipeline, near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County on Tuesday, May 19. A 24-inch wide, 11-mile long section carrying oil from offshore platforms and an Exxon Mobil processing plant onshore leaked as much as 105,000 gallons of crude oil. An estimated 21,000 gallons made into the ocean, devastating nine miles of coastal waters and beaches.    

The oil spill that began off Refugio State Beach was inevitable, when you consider the capture of the regulatory apparatus by the oil industry in California. Until people challenge the power of Big Oil in California and the industry's control over the state and federal regulatory agencies, we will see more of the Refugio-type of oil spill disasters in the future.

During the privately funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative process from 2004 to 2012, state officials and corporate "environmental" NGOs made sure that Big Oil and other corporate polluters weren't impacted by the creation of alleged "marine protected areas" along the California coast. The MLPA Initiative, a controversial "public-private partnership" between the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation (RLFF), was supposed to create a network of "marine protected areas" along the California coast.

In an article published widely in June 2010, I warned that the "marine protected areas" created under the MLPA Initiative don't protect the ocean from oil spills and pollution. (http://yubanet.com/...)

"These marine protected areas, as currently designed, don't protect against oil spills," said Sara Randall, then the program director of the Institute for Fishery Resources and Commercial Fishermen of America. "What's the point of developing marine protected areas if they don't protect the resources?"

MLPA Initiative advocates claimed that other state and federal laws and administrative actions "protect" the ocean from oil spills and new offshore oil drilling, so there was no need for specific bans or restrictions on oil industry activities in and near "marine protected areas."  

In violation of the provisions of the landmark Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) of 1999, the "marine protected areas" failed to protect the ocean from oil spills, oil drilling, pollution, military testing, corporate aquaculture, military testing and all human impacts on the ocean other than fishing and gathering.  

Of course, MLPA Initiative advocates neglected to address why Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the President of the Western States Petroleum Association in Sacramento, was allowed to CHAIR the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force for the South Coast and to sit on the task forces for the Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast, as well as on a NOAA federal marine protected areas panel. (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/...)

They dismissed any questioning of why a Big Oil lobbyist was allowed to oversee "marine protection" in California as "wild conspiracy theories."

To make matters even worse, the WSPA President's husband, James Boyd, served on the California Energy Commission from 2002 to 2012. From 2007 to 2012, he served as the Commission's Vice Chair, the second most powerful position on the Commission! (http://www.energy.ca.gov/...)  

However, as we can see from the current oil spill disaster off the coast of Santa Barbara, the state and federal regulatory agencies and the MLPA Initiative's so-called "marine protected areas" weren't able to prevent a big oil spill like the one now taking place from occurring - and the fishermen, Tribal members and grassroots environmentalists who criticized oil industry lobbyist oversight of the MLPA Initiative process were absolutely right about their fears that the new "Yosemites of the Sea" wouldn't protect the ocean.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, March 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:

• Lessons Discarded: Ten years after a Texas City refinery blast killed 15 and rattled a community, workers keep dying - By Mark Collette, Lise Olsen and Jim Malewitz, Texas Tribune and Houston Chronicle, March 21, 2015
• Anatomy of a Disaster: Studies pinpointed what went wrong in Texas City, but unsafe conditions persist - By Mark Collette, Lise Olsen and Jim Malewitz, Texas Tribune and Houston Chronicle, March 22, 2015
• Blood Lessons: Ten years after a fiery explosion killed 15 in Texas City, preventable deaths continue at refineries - By Jim Malewitz and Jolie McCullough, Texas Tribune and Houston Chronicle, March 22, 2015
• A Deadly Industry: Assembled data shows how and where refinery workers continue to die - By Jim Malewitz, Jolie McCullough, Ben Hasson and Lise Olsen, Texas Tribune and Houston Chronicle, March 22, 2015
• Survivors Remember: For two former BP workers, disaster and its aftermath remain vivid - By Mark Collette and Lise Olsen, Texas Tribune and Houston Chronicle, March 22, 2015

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• Remembering lives lost in tragedy; Candlelight vigil highlights victims of BP blast - By Christopher Smith Gonzalez and T.J. Aulds, Galvaston Daily News, March 23, 2015
• Shell workers in Deer Park end strike - By Andrea Rumbaugh, FuelFix, March 20, 2015
• Vigil mourns 15 oil workers who died in Texas blast 10 years ago - By Joseph S. Pete, NWI Times, March 23, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Experts: New Mexico oil patch could lose 2,000 jobs - Associated Press, March 25, 2015
• Oil field services company cuts 200 of 250 employees in Arkansas - Associated Press, March 21, 2015
• Oilsands producers face harsh reality of rout: There’s no one to save them this time - By Jeremy van Loon and Rebecca Penty, Bloomberg News, March 23, 2015
• Texas landmen left out of work as oil patch boom times go bust - Bloomberg, March 23, 2015
• US coal market in ‘structural decline’, warning to global investors - By Sophie Vorrath, Renew Economy, March 25, 2015

Just Transition:

• Congressman: The Keystone XL Pipeline Is Worth Building Even If It Only Creates One Job - By Scott Keyes, Think Progress, March 19, 2015
• Keystone XL Pipeline = Less Jobs Than You Think - By Drew Toal, NextGen Climate, March 19, 2015
• Too Much Oil; Taking on climate change will require massive state investment and the destruction of the fossil fuel industry - By Matt Huber, Jacobin, March 22, 2015

1267-Watch:

• Editorial: No time to lose on rail safety - By Montreal Gazette Editorial Board, Montreal Gazette, March 13, 2015
• Improving Track Maintenance is Key to Oil Train Safety; Track Related Defects are a Leading Cause of Train Accidents in U.S. - By Clark Ballew, PR Newswire, March 23, 2015
• Jen Wallis, Steering Committee member of Railroad Workers United, Part 2 [audio] - By Jen Wallis, We Do the Work, March 17, 2015
• Oil trains: track inspection finds "critical defects" on North Country line - By Brian Mann, North Country Public Radio, March 18, 2015
• Rail industry’s improved tank cars failing to prevent spills - By Daneil Tyson, Register-Herald, March 17, 2015
• Train crash site was due to get crossing gates - By Allison Ross, The Courier Journal, March 17, 2015

Health and Safety:

• Bangladesh: Business as Usual as Garment Brands Stall Progress - By the International Trade Union Confederation, Portside, March 13, 2015
• Canada regulator probing TransCanada’s pipeline safety code violations - By EBR Staff Reporter, Energy Business Review, March 19, 2015; [related] National Energy Board investigates TransCanada over pipeline safety-code violations - By Brent Patterson, Rabble.Ca, March 20, 2015
• Honeywell lockout at Illinois uranium plant coming to an end - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.com, March 23, 2015
• Salvadoran Maquila Plants Use Gang Members to Break Unions - By Edgardo Ayala, Inter Press Service, March 23, 2015
• Steelworkers Withdraw From Lakeland Sawmill Inquest - By Stephen Hunt and Brad West, United Steelworkers, March 23, 2015
• Thousands of Sweatshop Workers In China Go On Strike - By John Vibes, True Activist, March 17, 2015

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

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, March 19, 2015; image by Jon Flanders

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 Conference: Olympia, Washington (March 21, 2015) - railroadconference.org
• Florida’s Climate Change Gag Order Claims Its First Victim - By Farron Cousins, DeSmog Blog, March 18, 2015
• A Rational Agriculture Is Incompatible with Capitalism - By Fred Magdoff, Monthly Review, March 2015
• Who Controls Our Food? - By Nick Dearden, New Internationalist, March 4, 2015

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• After 6-Week Strike, Oil Workers Say They Have “Won Vast Improvements in Safety and Staffing” - By David Moberg, In These Times, March 16, 2015
• All across Australia, solidarity with USW oil workers - United Steelworkers, March 17, 2015
• Holding the line against Big Oil - By Lee Sustar, Socialist Worker, March 18, 2015
• Minor fire extinguished at Shell Martinez, Calif. refinery - Reuters, March 13, 2015
• New Fire At Troubled Exxon Refinery Quickly Extinguished -By Sacha Feinman, Think Progress, March 12, 2015
• Refinery deal struck, Bay Area gasoline prices set to fall - By George Avalos, Bay Area News Group, March 13, 2015
• Solidarity in the heartland: Chicago Fight for $15 joins striking BP oil workers on the picketline - By Bob Simpson, Daily Kos, March 13, 2015
• Striking Motiva workers approve contract - By Sarah Scully, Houston Chronicle, March 16, 2015
• Striking oil workers emerge victorious thanks in part to green group solidarity - By Kate Aronoff, Waging Nonviolence, March 13, 2015
• Striking refinery employees could come back to work by end of March - By Andrea Rumbaugh, FuelFix, March 18, 2015
• Striking workers days away from returning to plants - By Sarah Scully, Houston Chronicle, March 16, 2015
• U.S. Refinery Strikes Now Turn to Local Negotiations - By Lynn Doan and Barbara Powell, Bloomberg, March 12, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Bakken Oil: The Anarchy of the Market - By Richard Mellor, We Know What's Up, March 17, 2015 [editor's note: the IWW EUC does not endorse the article writer's definition of "anarchy", so please do not send us angry letters!]
• Carbo Ceramics cuts jobs, dividend as oil plunges - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, March 17, 2015
• ConocoPhillips to lay off 200 Canadian workers - By Robert Grattan, FuelFix, March 18, 2015
• Evacuate the Economy (or By the Way, Your Home Is On Fire) - By Rebecca Solnit, Common Dreams, March 11, 2015
• Faces of Coal - By Nuck Mullins, The Thoughtful Coal Miner, March 17, 2015
• Global Wave of New Coal Plants is Going Bust, New Report Finds - By Mary Anne Hitt and Nicole Ghio, The Sierra Club, March 16, 2015
• Legendary Coal Miner Says We Must Stop the Insane Practice of Mountaintop Removal - By Jeff Biggers, EcoWatch, March 16, 2015
• Oil producer Nexen cuts workforce by 400 - By Ryan Holeywell, FuelFix, March 17, 2015
• Texas Oil/Gas Industry Barometer Falling; Job Losses Climbing - By Joe Fisher, NGI Shale Daily, March 13, 2015

Health and Safety:

• America is literally on fire: How out-of-control oil spills are destroying our population centers - By David Dayen, Salon, March 10, 2015
• Amid Evidence of Illnesses, Activists Call on Electronics Industry to Boost Workplace Safety - By Nicki Lisa Cole, Truthout, March 17, 2015
• Cement-factory roof collapses in Bangladesh, dozens feared trapped - By Julhas Alam, Associated Press, March 12, 2015
• Dangerous Trains, Aging Rails - By Marcus Stern, New York Times, March 12, 2015
• Oilfield safety a concern as companies cut costs during downturn - Bloomberg, March 12, 2015
• Friday the 13th Nightmare for Workers on Chevron’s Barrow Island - By Ashleigh Telford, Maritime Union of Australia, March 13, 2015
• Kelowna man dies fracking - By Bill Everitt, Kelowna News, March 12, 2015
• Linc Energy alleged to have exposed workers to dangerous gases at experimental plant near Chinchilla, west of Brisbane - By Mark Willacy and Mark Solomons, Australian Broadcasting Company News, March 17, 2015
• McDonald’s Workers Nationwide File OSHA Complaints Alleging Hazardous Work Conditions - By Jennifer Baker, Revolution News, March 17, 2015
• Rail workers initiate forums to discuss fight for safety - By Jack Parker and Jim Altenberg, The Militant, March 23, 2015
• 10 Reasons Why BP Got Off and Offshore Oil Drilling Just Got More Dangerous - By Antonia Juhasz, Rolling Stone, March 12, 2015
• A Terrible, Terrible Choice; Gulf of Mexico Oil Industry Veteran Speaks Out - By Cherri Foytlin, Bridge the Gulf, March 13, 2015
• Union alleges Kitimat smelter emissions turn residents into 'guinea pigs' - The Canadian Press, March 17, 2015
• Union warnings of lethal overcrowding ignored - By RMT Press Office, RMT.ORG, March 13, 2015

Other News:

• Building people power before the Paris climate summit - By Jeremy Brecher, Waging Nonviolence, March 5, 2015
• Seattle doesn’t want Shell’s stinkin’ Arctic drilling fleet - By Ana Sofia Knauf, Grist, March 5, 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 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:

• 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
• OSHA Whistleblower Investigator Blows Whistle on Own Agency; Employee says the federal whistleblower program isn’t protecting whistleblowers or the public - By Vicky Nguyen, Liz Wagner and Felipe Escamilla, NBC Bay Area, February 24, 2015

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• Flare-up roars at BP Whiting Refinery - By Joseph S. Pete, NWI.com, February 23, 2015
• On strike against the next "accident" - By Ragina Johnson, David Judd and Elizabeth Schulte, Socialist Worker, February 24, 2015
• Some contractors (unionized) not so bad, Steelworkers say - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, February 25, 2015
• Steelworkers union, Occupy Wall Street dump manure at ExxonMobil Torrance refinery - Staff, Daily Breeze, February 22, 2015
• Strike at U.S. Refineries Widens; Workers Walk Out of Three More Facilities - By Erin Ailworth and Alison Sider, Wall Street Journal, February 22, 2015
• Union chief says U.S. refinery strike could spread - By Erwin Seba, Reuters, February 24, 2015
• Union is striking for safety, Steelworkers’ international head says - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, February 24, 2015

1267-Watch:

• Bill to regulate vans and shuttles for railroad crews draws fans and foes - By Cathy McKitrick, Ogden Standard-Examiner, February 23, 2015
• Canada: Oil train accident shows new safety rules inadequate - Associated Press, February 23, 20155
• CN derailment shows new safety standards inadequate, watchdog says - By Paola Loriggio, The Globe and Mail, February 23, 2015
• Report Predicting 10 Oil-train Derailments Per Year Underscores Need for Immediate Moratorium on Crude-by-rail; Dangerous Trains Risk Hundreds of Deaths, $4 Billion in Damages Annually - By Jared Margolis, Center for Biological Diversity, February 23, 2015
• Unifor reaches late-night deal with CN - By Ella Bedard, Rabble.ca, February 24, 2015
• Why bitumen isn’t necessarily safer than Bakken - By David Thomas, Railway Age, February 23, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Labor negotiations at a standstill at Bruce Mansfield power plant - By Sam Kusic, Pittsburgh Business Times, February 24, 2015
• Oil Giant Shell Shelves Dirty Tar Sands Mine - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, February 24, 2015
• Is Oil Returning To $100 Or Dropping To $10? - By Martin Tillier, OilPrice.com, February 22, 2015
• Shell pulls plug on long-delayed Alberta oil sands mine - By Jeff Lewis, The Globe and Mail, February 23, 2015
• Shell Withdraws From Largest Tar Sands Project Yet - By Ari Phillips, Think Progress, February 25, 2015
• Texas oil tool companies cutting more than 1,100 jobs - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, February 23, 2015

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

• Labour and Nature: Power in Numbers - By Tegan Tallullah, Post Growth Institute, February 24, 2015

Other News:

• Climate Strike! - By Sean Farmelo, Slaney St, January 18, 2015
• Flood Wall Street goes on trial - #Flood11 Collective Statement, February 24, 2015
• Government Documents Reveal Canadian Embassy Backed Mining Abuses in Mexico - By United Steelworkers Union and Mining Watch Canada, Mining Watch Canada, February 25, 2015; [related]: Community Responds to Report Revealing Complicity between Canadian Embassy in Excellon Violations against La Sierrita - By Ejido La Sierrita de Galeana, Tlahualilo, Durango, Mining Watch Canada, February 25, 2015
• Palisades Nuclear Power Plant denies wage lawsuit claims - By Jim Hayden, Holland Sentinel, February 24, 2015
• The Paris climate talks and the failure of states - By Gabriel Levy, People and Nature, February 25, 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 22, 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
• The Seeds of an Alternative; Thousands of oil refinery workers are striking for safer working conditions. Their fight is central to the struggle against climate change - By Trish Kahle, Jacobin, February 19, 2015

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• BP picketing outside, work inside continues - Karen Caffarini, Chicago Post-Tribune, February 17, 2015
• CBE Demands Safety from Chevron in Richmond during refinery workers strike - Communities for a Better Environment, February 17, 2015
• Fitch: Refinery strikes could send gasoline up if they extend into driving season - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, February 18, 2015
• KPFA WorkWeek February 17, 2015; USW Oil Strike And PMA Lockout OF ILWU On West Coast Docks - KPFA [Soundcloud File]
• LyondellBasell: Strikers, come back to work - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, February 18, 2015
• Strike update: BP training additional replacement workers - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, February 18, 2015

We Just Come to Work Here; We Don't Come to Die:

• Blast hits Exxon Mobil refinery in Southern California [Video] - Associated Press, February 18, 2015
• Explosion at Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, injures four - By Nichola Groom, Reuters, February 18, 2015
• Explosion Rips Through Torrance Refinery, Shakes South Bay; Residents near the oil refinery said the ground shook and ash rained from above after the blast - By Jonathan Lloyd and Toni Guinyard, NBC Los Angeles, February 18, 2015
• Gas prices jump after Torrance refinery explosion - By Veronica Rocha, Los Angeles Times, February 19, 2015
• Huge Explosion Rips Through California Oil Refinery, Adding Fuel To Oil Worker Strike - Emily Atkin and Sacha Feinman, Think Progress, February 18, 2015
• Torrance ExxonMobil Refinery Rocked by Large Explosion; Earthquake-Like Shaking Reported - By Tracy Bloom, Melissa Pamer, Christina Pascucci, Erin Myers and Mary Beth McDade, KTLA TV 5, February 18, 2015
• USW: California Refinery Explosion Provides Further Evidence of Need for Safety Improvements; Union Calls on Industry to Negotiate Solutions to Protect Workers and Communities - By Wayne Ranick, PR News Wire, February 18, 2015

1267-Watch:

• After Oil Train Derailment, Will West Virginia Finally Protect Its Water Supply? - by Katie Valentine, Think Progress, February 17, 2015
• As Extreme Cold Engulfs Eastern U.S., Fossil Fuel Mishaps Leave Disaster Areas on Fire - By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, February 19, 2015
• Citing government threats, Teamsters suppress Canadian Pacific rail strike - By Carl Bronski, World Socialist Website, February 17, 2015
• Company Whose Train Exploded Had Spent Millions on Lobbying, Campaign Contributions - By Andy Szal, Chem.Info, February 20, 2015
• Derailment highlights crude oil train, water safety issues - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette, February 17, 2015
• Electrified rail one of best clean transport options - By Patrick Mazza, Cascadia Planet, February 17, 2015
• Exploding Trains, No New Regulations, Record Industry Profits: The Oil-by-Rail Story - By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog, February 18, 2015
• Last-minute negotiations end strikes at CP Rail - By Ella Bedard, Rabble.Ca, February 17, 2015
• How Would You Like Your Oil Spilled Today Sir?; Oil Trains Spill More Often, But Pipelines Spill Bigger - By Emily Atkin, Think Progress, February 18, 2015
• ND oil train safeguards too little, too late [video] - by Rachel Maddow, Rachel Maddow Show, February 17, 2015
• Oil trains are blowing up all over the place - By John Light, Grist, February 17, 2015
• Report: Oil Trains Threaten 25 Million Americans, Iconic Rivers, Wildlife; Moratorium on ‘Bomb’ Trains Needed Till Safety Can Be Ensured [Notable: includes demands suggested by Railroad Workers United] - By Jared Margolis, Center for Biological Diversity, February 19, 2015
• Riverkeeper Calls for Immediate Steps to Protect Public From Danger of Crude Oil Trains - By Leah Rae, River Keeper, February 18, 2015
• Stephen Harper prepares to trample on workers' rights yet again - By Elizabeth May, Rabble.Ca, February 17, 2015
• Train that derailed in West Virginia had newer crude oil tanker cars - By Jeff Pegues, CBS News, February 17, 2015
• Trains Hauling Crude Oil Across North America Just Keep Exploding - By James West, Climate Desk, February 17, 2015
• Two More ‘Bomb Train’ Explosions Should Be ‘Wake-Up Call to Politicians to Stop These Dangerous Oil Trains’ - By Anastasia Pantsios, EcoWatch, February 17, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Marathon to lay off 350 to 400 workers - By Robert Grattan, FuelFix, February 19, 2015

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

• Analysis: Enercon affiliate loses labour dispute over weekend work - By Sara Knight, Wind Power Monthly, February 17, 2015
• Fossil fuel divestment backlash forces the question: Which side are you on? - By Kate Arnoff, The Ecologist, February 18, 2015

Greenwashing:

• The Bitter Twilight of Social Democracy: NDP, unions and enviro NGOs back transit referendum - By Aiyanas Ormond, The Mainlander, February 13, 2015
• Despite Claims of Progress, Labor and Environmental Violations Continue to Plague Apple - By Nicki Lisa Cole and Jenny Chan, Truthout, February 19, 2015

An Injury to One is an Injury to All!:

• Support the Injured Colombian Workers!!!  - By Paige Shell Spurling, Alliance for Global Justice, February 17, 2015

Other News:

• Doc Shows Canadian Police View Environmentalists, Not Climate Change, as Real Threat; RCMP document says 'small but violent-prone faction' of groups could pose 'a credible threat' to security - By Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, February 19, 2015
• Ohio Farmers Union opposes proposed pipeline project - By Aaron Krause, Norwalk Reflector, February 16, 2015
• Thousands of Polish farmers march in Warsaw - By Julian Rose, La Via Campesina, February 19, 2015
• Trade Deals Should Come With Their Own Warnings for Public Health - By Chuck Idelson, National Nurses United, February 18, 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 15, 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
• Support the USW Oil Workers ULP Strike and Defense Fund - USW Fundraising Appeal

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• [Photos] USW Tesoro Picket 2/12/15 (Martinez, California) - United Steelworkers, February 12, 2015
• At my oil refinery, my life is worth the price of a pie; We don’t want to be exposed to potentially fatal hazards unnecessarily. That’s why we’ve organised the largest strike since 1980 to demand worker safe - By Butch Cleve, The Guardian, February 12, 2015
• Health and Safety Concerns Forced Workers into a Work Stoppage [Podcast] - By Steve Garey, United Steelworkers, February 9, 2015
• The same fight; Nurses support the United Steelworkers on their strike lines - By Lucia Hwang, National Nurses United, February 15, 2015 [related] Nurses support refinery protest - By Rick Hurd, San Jose Mercury News, February 13, 2015
• Shell, union spar over picket line etiquette - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, February 13, 2015
• Three U.S. Oil Plants Targeted by Union Strike Report Upsets - By Lynn Doan and Daniel Murtaugh, Bloomberg, February 11, 2015
• USW Striking Oil Workers Speakout For Health And Safety At Tesoro Refinery [video] - By Steve Zeltser, Labor Video Project, February 12, 2015
• Washington Refinery Workers Protest for Better Working and Safety Conditions; Thirteen workers were killed in accidents at two refineries in the state in recent years - By Jonathan Rosenblum, Alternet, February 10, 2015
• [Another Strike?] 1,100 natural gas utility workers on Long Island eye walkout - Associated Press, February 12, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Apache slashing Eagle Ford drilling rigs - By Jennifer Hiller, FuelFix, February 13, 2015
• Cenovus to cut 15% of staff, freeze pay - By Michael Allan McCrae, Mining.Com, February 12, 2015
• Driller: More than 1,000 field hands out of work as rigs decline - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, February 12, 2015
• Hercules Offshore lays off 30 percent of workforce - By Ryan Holeywell, FuelFix, February 12, 2015
• Mirroring oil, this fossil fuel is plunging, too - By John W. Schoen, CNBC, February 11, 2015
• Texas idles more drilling rigs - By Jennifer Hiller, FuelFix, February 13, 2015

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

• California labor: "There are no jobs on a dead planet" - By Michelle Kern & Alex Farr, People's World, February 10, 20155

Global Anti-Capitalism:

• The Debt Slavery Must End to Prevent Environmental Catastrophes: Will Greece Kick Start a Paradigm Shift? - By Stefano Balbi, Common Dreams, February 10, 2015

Other News:

• Constitution Pipeline Threatening 7 PA Landowners With Un-Constitutional Eminent Domain - Energy Justice Summer, February 14, 2015
• Death toll in Brazil offshore oil platform explosion climbs to 5 - Natural Gas Watch, February 11, 2015 [related] Death toll of Brazilian oil ship explosion rises to 5 - Associated Press, February 12, 2015
• Enormous Toxic Cloud Shrouds Six Towns In Spain After Blast At Chemical Plant (VIDEOS) - By Dylan Hock, Addicting Info, February 12, 2015
• Exclusive: Exxon wants five-year Beaumont pact to avert strikes during buildout - By Erwin Seba, Reuters, February 12, 2015
• Growing voices say gig workers need protections, benefits - By Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle, February 13, 2015
• Homophobic culture permeates mining industry - By Ashley Renders, Corporate Knights, February 6, 2015
• Libya reopens strike-hit oil port as U.N. convenes talks - By Ahmed Elumami, Reuters, February 10, 2015
• The Lumber Man In Charge of Climate Policy; Bay Area billionaire Robert Fisher profits by logging California's North Coast forests, even as Governor Jerry Brown has tapped him to help implement the state's anti-global warming agenda - By Will Parrish, East Bay Express, February 11, 2015
• Peru anti-oil protest leaves 1 dead, 22 wounded - Associated Press, February 11, 2015
• VT Gas pulls the plug on pipeline expansion to NY - By Dan D’Ambrosio, Burlington Free Press, February 10, 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 9, 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

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• BP Cleanup Crews, Refinery Workers, Fenceline Communities and the Effects of API-Funded Science - By Karen Savage, Bridge the Gulf, February 6, 2015
• Building unions return to Kentucky refinery despite Steelworkers' Picketlines - By Jarrett Renshaw, Reuters, February 6, 2015
• CBE Supports Striking Refinery Workers - Communities for a Better Environment, February 7, 2015
• First Nationwide Oil Worker Strike In Decades Grows Even Bigger - By Ari Phillips, Think Progress, February 8, 2015
• Steelworkers strike extends to BP plants outside Texas - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, February 7, 2015
• Supporters join steelworkers on strike at Tesoro: Union leaders call for nationwide “Day of Action” as a sign of solidarity - By Evan Marczynski , Go Skagit, February 8, 2015
• Union says U.S. refinery strike widened; cites unfair labor practices - By Erwin Seba, Reuters, February 7, 2015
• US Oil-Worker Strike Reaches BP Plants With Talks on Hold - By Lynn DoanAngela and Greiling Keane, Bloomberg, February 6, 2015
• USW Oil Workers at BP Refineries in Indiana and Ohio Join Unfair Labor Practice Strike - By Lynne Hancock and Tony Montana, USW Press Release, February 7, 2015
• United Steelworkers rally in downtown Houston after rejecting Shell contract offer - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, February 6, 2015
• White House urges USW to strangle oil workers’ strike - By Jerry White and E.P. Bannon, World Socialist Website, February 6, 2015

Crude by Rail:

• CP Rail, Teamsters union tensions near boiling point; Latest fight involves union members training management to drive trains - By Kyle Bakx, CBC News, February 6, 2015
• Teamsters Membership Authorize Strike Action at CP - By Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, CNW, February 7, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Baker Hughes to close plant, cut 60 jobs in Louisiana - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, February 6, 2015
• Siemens to cut 7,800 employees - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, February 6, 2015
• The Oil Price Collapse Is Not Just Another Bust Cycle - By Michael T. Klare, The Nation, February 4, 2015

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

• Syriza can show ‘another energy is possible’ - By Sean Sweeney, Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, February 7, 2015

March for Real Climate Leadership:

• Anti-Fracking Protest Shuts Down California State Building, Street - Earth First! Newswire, February 6, 2015
• Anti-Fracking Activists Stage Direct Action in San Francisco, 12 Arrested - Rising Tide North America, February 6, 2015
• Californians March for Real Climate Leadership Against Fracking - Revolution News, February 7, 2015
• 'Game-Changing March for Climate' as Californians Rise Up Against Fracking; Thousands kick off protest to demand Governor Jerry Brown halt toxic drilling in stated - By Sarah Lazare, Common Dreams, February 7, 2015
• Protesters march in Oakland, push for Jerry Brown to ban fracking - By Victoria Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, February 7, 2015

Other News

• Bulgarian anarcho-syndicalists protest railway cuts, privatization’ - By Karetelnik, Libcom.org, February 5, 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 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
• The end of conductors? - Featuring Ron Kaminkow, MSNBC, January 29, 2015
• Labor Landscape Analysis - By Joe Uehline, Labor Network for Sustainability, February 4, 2015

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• 3,800 Oil Workers in Four States Enter Fourth Day of Strike - By Kate Arnoff, In These Times, February 4, 2015
• Fourth day of U.S. refineries strike ends with new offer - By Erwin Seba, Reuters, February 4, 2015
• Oil workers’ strike for safety reflects danger of fossil fuels - By Phil Aroneanu, 350.Org, February 4, 2015
• Oil workers strike for their lives - By Elizabeth Schulte, Socialist Worker, February 5, 2015
• Organized Labor Showing Signs of Life - By David Macaray, Huffington Post, February 3, 2015
• Safety Is Life-or-Death, Say Refinery Strikers - By Samantha Winslow, Labor Notes, February 5, 2015
• Striking for safe working conditions - By Ed Schultz (The Ed Show), MSNBC, February 2, 2015
• USW Oil Workers to Rally at Shell Headquarters - United Steelworkers Press Release, February 4, 2015
• WFTU in solidarity with workers in US oil refineries -  World Federation of Trade Unions Press Release, February 3, 2015
• WIN News Report: Steelworkers Refinery Strike Is About Safe Staffing - By Doug Cunningham, Workers Independent News, February 4, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• U.S. loses oil jobs - By Jennifer A. Dlouhy, FuelFix, February 6, 2015
• Weatherford to cut 5,000 jobs, mostly in western hemisphere - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, February 4, 2015
• Weatherford to ax 3,000 more jobs as it cuts layers, execs say - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, February 5, 2015
• Weatherford to lay off 5,000 in wake of oil price decline - By Jennifer Hiller, FuelFix, February 5, 2015
• Weatherford increases layoff plans from 5,000 to 8,000 - By Jennifer Hiller, FuelFix, February 6, 2015

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

• Repower Our Schools: 100% Renewable Energy Offers Schools Savings, Health and Learning Opportunities - By Monica Embrey, Greenpeace Blogs, February 3, 2015 [related] Green Schools: AFT President Thinks Public School Buildings Need Extreme Makeover - By Randi Weingarten, Blue Green Alliance, February 4, 2015
• Solar Jobs Benefit Economy, Maybe More Than Oil and Gas Jobs - By Deborah Lawrence, Energy Policy Forum, January 31, 2015
• The War On Solar Is Real, Unlike the "War on Coal" - By Mike Gaworecki, DeSmog Blog, February 5, 2015

Other News of Interest:

• Farmworker Tribunal - Boycott Sakuma Berries, February 4, 2015
• Photos released from 2013 Entergy ANO fatal drop of a very heavy load - By David Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists, February 3, 2015
• Raw log exports skyrocket in British Columbia - Wilderness Committee Press Release, Eco Report, February 4, 2015
• West Virginia Coal Mine Owners Have Blood on Their Hands - By James Green, The Daily Beast, February 5, 2015

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