health and safety

Read more about EcoUnionist News #116

EcoUnionist News #115

Submitted by x344543 on Mon, 08/01/2016 - 19:34

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 2, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

World's largest carbon producers face landmark human rights case – By John Vidal, The Guardian, July 27, 2016; [related]: World’s Largest Carbon Producers Face Human Rights Abuse Allegations - By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, July 28, 2016
Busting the Myths of a Workerless Future – By Chris Brooks and Kim Moody, Labor Notes, July 26, 2016
North Sea Platform Workers Launch Biggest Strike in Decades – By Irina Slav, Oilprice.com, July 26, 2016; [related]: Surface tension—the battle against the North Sea oil bosses - By staff, Socialist Worker (UK), July 29, 2016 | ‘Our North Sea oil strike is for safety and is solid' – By Raymie Kiernan, Socialist Worker (UK), July 26, 2016
'You Cannot Explain it by Chance': Climate Crises Can Fuel Armed Conflict – By Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams, July 26, 2016; [related]: Weather disasters can fuel war in volatile countries, study finds – By John Upton, Salon, July 28, 2016 | Climate Change Can Cause Conflict - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, July 26, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
Mount Polley Mine Resistance Gathering - Canada, August 4, 2016 | #ImperialNoMore
TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 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:

Vancouver Oil Terminal Hearings End with Overwhelming Testimony in Opposition and Attorney General Call for Denial – By staff, Columbia Riverkeeper, July 29, 2016; [related]: Month-Long Tesoro-Savage Oil Terminal Hearing Comes to a Close – By staff, Columbia Riverkeeper, July 28, 2016
Cities turn to local action to block oil trains – By Associated Press, FuelFix, July 27, 2016

Just Transition:

President Obama, the coalfields, and this election – By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, July 28, 2016
Oilsands workers supporting renewable energy (audio) – By Scott Neigh, Rabble.Ca, July 27, 2016

Bread and Roses:

CIW Education team wraps up second summer of Fair Food Program education beyond Florida… – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, July 29, 2016
Millions face drought and famine in Southern Africa – By UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Climate and Capitalism, July 29, 2016
Not just cruel to pigs; farmers are the other victims of intensive animal farming – By Tracy Worcester, The Ecologist, July 29, 2016
Karnataka, India: Support prices sought by KRRS to bail out farmers – By Mangaluru, Deccan Herald, July 26, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

Battle over workers’ rights leaves the French government weakened – By Dave Sewell, Socialist Worker (UK), July 26, 2016
12,500 Solar Jobs Lost In The UK – By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, July 26, 2016
Weymouth bus strikers speak out over bosses' lies and bullying – By Dave Sewell, Socialist Worker (UK), July 26, 2016

Whistleblowers:

Ultra-High Radiation Coming to Your Drinking Water – By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, July 26, 2016

Wobbles:

Banner Drop at BNSF Rail Yard Warns of Explosive “Bomb” Trains – By staff, Rising Tide Chicago, July 29, 2016
Day of Action Against Bank of America’s Enbridge Investments – By MICATS, Creative Resistance, July 29, 2016
Anti-TPP Protests Break-Out Inside DNC: Obama & Others Protested – By Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance, July 28, 2016
Climate activists forcibly removed from American Petroleum Institute-sponsored Politico energy event at DNC in Philadelphia – By JL Stewct, Beyond Extreme Energy, July 28, 2016
Migrant workers win equal pay at Fawley oil refinery – By Dave Sewell, Socialist Worker (UK), July 27, 2016
Campaigners gear up for mass march against support for fracking in North Yorkshire – By Kim Hunter, Socialist Worker (UK), July 26, 2016
Coalition Seeks Greater Public Access to Information About Chemicals Used in Fracking – By Katherine O’Brien, Margie Kelly, and Derf Johnson, Montana Environmental Information Center, July 26, 2016
Mayor Of Amsterdam Pressures Dutch Pension Fund APB To Divest From Fossil Fuels – By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, July 26, 2016
A report from Governor McAuliffe’s house – By Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, July 26, 2016
Massive crowd, giant blimp, protests Trans-Pacific Partnership at Rock Against the TPP tour kick-off in Denver – By Evan Greer, Fight for the Future, July 23, 2016

Other News:

Buzzwords will not save us from climate disaster – By Seble Samuel, Rabble.Ca, July 29, 2016
Coal is not what raised me… – By Nick Mullins, The Thoughtful Coal Miner, July 28, 2016
Interior drops appeal of Blair Mountain ruling – By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, July 26, 2016

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

Tags:

whistleblowers

Railroad Workers United (RWU)

Read more about EcoUnionist News #115

NO! Single Employee Train Crews

Submitted by x344543 on Thu, 07/28/2016 - 19:19

By Karl (Fritz) Edler - Railroad Music, July 15, 2016

Oral comments on Train Crew Staffing
Docket Number FRA-2014-0033
RIN 2130-AC48

Good Morning,

My name is Fritz Edler. I recently retired after more than 37 years working for railroads, the last 25 years on the engine. I’m here for the literally millions of passengers who entrusted their safety to me and the other members of my train crews. I’m also here as a Special Representative for Railroad Workers United, an international cross-craft solidarity and advocacy organization. Our membership extends over most major and many lessor railroad systems in North America, passenger and freight. Nobody cares more about train safety than the men and women who work on the railroad.

I feel obliged to mention a third group as well. I just returned from the small town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. I was one of the speakers at the 3rd anniversary commemoration of the rail tragedy. Three years ago this month, 47 people died when a runaway oil train crashed and burned. I can’t presume to speak for them, or for the 27 Lac-Mégantic orphans.

But the truth is, this hearing is happening because of that train tragedy. The Lac-Mégantic wreck was the biggest international exposé of the dangers of single crew operations, although there was a long history leading to that incident. Lac-Mégantic is why there is FRA consideration of a Train Crew Staffing rule. The evidence is now clear from multiple investigations that single crew operation at Mégantic was a proximal cause of that wreck.

Safety rules are sadly often forged in fire. Fire safety rules in tall buildings came after 146 garment workers perished in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City. Now new Train Crew Rules will come from 47 graves in Lac-Mégantic in 2013.

I have appended the full statement submitted by Railroad Workers United to my remarks here. Let me summarize. One-person train operations are NOT safe.

The FRA should not be in the business of making rules for the unsafe operation of trains. The FRA should not be telling carriers that there might be some circumstances that would allow more risky operation of trains. The FRA should not be producing a roadmap or a manual on how to get “special” approval to run unsafe trains. That is a specific lesson of Lac-Mégantic.

No carrier promises or new operating rules and procedures change the basic fact that one-person trains are LESS SAFE. The FRA should not be working with the carriers to make them just a little bit less unsafe. The record is clear. The rail industry is incapable of self-regulating to eliminate the real risk of death from single crew operation. There are no credible authorities that support single crewmember operations as being as safe as multiple crewmember operations over time. Every time a one-person train goes out it is a high-risk gamble.

Former FRA Director Szabo was right when he said, “… safety dictates you never allow a single point of failure.” Not rarely allow, NEVER.

The FRA already has all the evidence demonstrating beyond any reasonable doubt that one-person trains are more unsafe. All railroaders know it. The airlines use co-pilots. Nobody would fly on a 777 that had a one-person crew. Freight trains are twenty times longer than the biggest 777. They are often longer than the airport runway and there is no autopilot for trains.

Even the carriers will say they don’t plan to run many one-person crew trains, but they want the flexibility, just in case. Just in case of what? A tight deadline? A drop in stock prices? Upcoming negotiations with the unions? Failure to fill vacant jobs?

There are already too many commonplace problems in regular rail operations that require more than one crewmember. At Lac-Mégantic single crew operations were accompanied by a simultaneous reduction of qualified backup crewmembers available for safety assurance. Carrier cost cutting and lax regulatory enforcement are a recipe for disaster

I wish I could have told the Lac-Mégantic survivors that the United States government has commemorated this tragedy by making sure no one-person train runs on any US railroad. We could even call it the “Lac-Mégantic Rule.”

It is not too late. The final FRA rule should not be a yellow light with an arrow saying, This Way To 1-Person Crew Trains. It should be a bright red light, a Stop Signal. If sometime in the future there is some new development in train operation that meets a strong scientific standard for train safety, the FRA should convene a new hearing and develop new rules. But today there is no safe way to operate trains with one-person crews. So the only rule called for is no one-person trains.

If the FRA fails, as did their Canadian counterparts, to guarantee minimum crew standards that prohibit single crew operations, it is absolutely certain that more people will die. In Canada in the aftermath of the disaster, the Trudeau government is scrambling to try to make up for the industry self-regulation that led to an industry that has reported more runaway trains each year since 2013, the year of the wreck. Communities and rail workers across the continent are watching and expecting the FRA to act to prevent even more deaths from such risky operations.

Tags:

Read more about NO! Single Employee Train Crews

EcoUnionist News #114

Submitted by x344543 on Tue, 07/26/2016 - 21:40

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 27, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

Former cleanup workers blame illnesses on toxic coal ash exposures – By Kristen Lombardi, Center for Public Integrity, July 20, 2016
Why Now Is the Perfect Time For a Radical Labor Movement – By Saqib Bhatti and Stephen Lerner, In These Times, July 19, 2016
Soaring Temperatures Will Make It Too Hot to Work, UN Warns – By Jessica Shankleman and Kambiz Foroohar, Bloomberg, July 18, 2016; [related]: Extreme heat is exhausting and expensive – By Xian Chiang-Waren, Grist, July 21, 2016 | Scorching heat is driving down economic productivity around the world – By Brady Dennis, Washington Post, July 19, 2016
Nation’s Largest Teachers Union Endorses Teaching “Climate Justice” – By Bill Bigelow, Huffington Post, July 16, 2016
CalSTRS moves $2.5 billion into low-carbon fund – By Robert Silvey, Fossil Free California, July 15, 2016
The World’s Most Invisible Workers Plan to Revolutionize Labor for Millions – By Carlin Carr, Next City, July 4, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
International Resistance Gathering Against Extractivism - July 28-30, Mexico
Mount Polley Mine Resistance Gathering - Canada, August 4, 2016 | #ImperialNoMore
TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 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:

Alameda Becomes Fifth California County to Ban Fracking – By Dan Bacher, Daily Kos, July 19, 2016
Protesters Call for a Halt to Three Massachusetts Pipeline Projects – By Phil McKenna, InsideClimate News, July 19, 2016
Vancouver City Council Votes Unanimously to Prohibit Future Oil Projects – By Stand Up To Oil, Columbia Riverkeeper, July 18, 2016

Just Transition:

Here’s how a post-coal Appalachia could thrive – By Jeremy Deaton, Grist, July 25, 2016; [related]: On “In the Black” by Gary Bentley – By Nick Mullins, The Thoughtful Coal Miner, July 25, 2016
Now It’s Time to Take Care of Workers – By Anne Hedges, Montana Environmental Information Center, July 25, 2016
Transforming Wyoming into wind energy leader comes with challenges – By Benjamin Storrow, Casper Star Tribune, July 23, 2016
Off-Grid LED Lighting Could Create 2 Million Jobs – By Katherine Tweed, Greentech Media, July 22, 2016
Renewable Energy Training Opportunities for Vets and Displaced Fossil Energy Workers – By Jennifer Runyon, Renewable Energy World, July 20, 2016
Green transformation is a political project, not an economic one – By Lili Fuhr, The Ecologist, July 19, 2016
Wind Manufacturing Booms In Colorado, Stalls In Wyoming – By Leigh Paterson, Inside Energy, July 19, 2016
66,000 Pennsylvanians Employed In Clean Energy Jobs – By Jake Richardson, Clean Technica, July 18, 2016

Bread and Roses:

What is a corporation to do if it is looking to partner with a real social responsibility program? – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, July 25, 2016
Farmworkers Return to Sakuma Fields – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 21, 2016; [related]: Farmworkers Walk Out of Sakuma Fields – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 20, 2016 | Meeting with Sakuma, the boycott continues! – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 20, 2016
Nairobi: Via Campesina mobilise around UNCTAD 14th Session – By Ndabezinhle Nyoni and David Cidi Otieno, La Via Campesina, July 20, 2016
LVC Declaration on Trade, Markets and Development – By staff, La Via Campesina, July 19, 2016
Glyphosate Causes Changes to DNA Function Resulting in Chronic Disease, According to Study – By staff, Beyond Pesticides, July 18, 2016
18 Years of SPI: Celebrations across Indonesia – By staff, La Via Campesina, July 18, 2016
Poor Farmers Mustn’t Be the Losers in the Fight Against Climate Change – By Kelly Stone, Food Tank, July 18, 2016
Women peasants in South Korea on a nationwide protest tour – By staff, La Via Campesina, July 18, 2016
The uncertain future for food and farming in the UK – By Patrick Holden, Sustainable Food Trust, July 15, 2016
As farmers in Connecticut age, market for niche products grows – By Anna Bisaro, New Haven Register, July 9, 2016

Tags:

Coalition of Immokalee Workers

La Via Campesina

whistleblowers

Read more about EcoUnionist News #114

EcoUnionist News #113

Submitted by x344543 on Mon, 07/18/2016 - 21:36

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 19, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

Lac Mégantic Cries for Help – By Krystle Alarcon, National Observer, July 14, 2016
Post-Brexit Britain: navigating the culture war – By Joseph Todd, ROARmag, July 13, 2016
The ‘new colonialism’: Rio Tinto in Madagascar – By Ross Hemingway, Red Pepper, July 12, 2016; [related]: Canadian gold mining firm embroiled in labour dispute and corruption allegations in Mauritania – By Yves Engler, Rabble.Ca, July 12, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
In Defense of Mother Earth and Land - Oaxaca, MX: July 21-22, 2016
March on the Mansion - Richmond, VA, July 23, 2016
March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
International Resistance Gathering Against Extractivism - July 28-30, Mexico
Mount Polley Mine Resistance Gathering - Canada, August 4, 2016 | #ImperialNoMore
TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 2016
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:

Northwest Tribes Band Together to Stop Oil-by-Rail – By Ralph Schwartz, Yes!, July 12, 2016
No Coal in Oakland featured on Arise! with Bill Fletcher (audio) – Lora Jo Foo, Rev. Ken Chambers, and Derrick Muhammad interviewed by Bill Fletcher, KPFA 94.1 FM, July 1, 2016

Just Transition:

27,000 New Jobs By 2021 Due To Solar & Energy Storage – By Jake Richardson, Clean Technica, July 15, 2016
A Green Transition Can Preserve the Livelihood of Workers (audio) – Robert Pollin interviewed by Paul Jay, The Real News Network, July 14, 2016
Oil Sands Workers Sign Historic MOU With Offshore Wind Energy Company – By Devin Tepleski, Iron and Earth, July 13, 2016

Bread and Roses:

The enforcement imperative at the heart of Worker-driven Social Responsibility… – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, July 17, 2016
March celebrates historic progress at Sakuma – By David Groves, The Stand, July 14, 2016; [related]: 4 Years of Struggle: Workers March and Rally at Sakuma Farms – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 13, 2016 | FUJ marches to Sakuma Bros. farms to urge FAIR, GOOD-FAITH negotiations for a union contract – By John Nichols, Farm Worker Ministry-Northwest, July 13, 2016 | Hundreds of Consumers and Boycott Supporters March With Farm Workers to Sakuma Farms – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 12, 2016 | Sakuma berry farm proposes vote on union – By Don Jenkins, Capital Press, July 12, 2016
Markets don't regulate, markets speculate – By staff, La Via Campesina, July 14, 2016
Biodiversity, GMOs, Gene Drives and the Militarized Mind – By Vandana Shiva, Common Dreams, July 10, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

Workers and chemicals: 12th ETUI seminar – By staff, European Trade Union Institute, July 14, 2016
The Liberal record on asbestos so far worse than the Conservatives' – By Gerry Caplan, Rabble.Ca, July 13, 2016
Marathon Oil sued over use of workers’ health care funds – By LM Sixel, FuelFix, July 13, 2016
Migrant workers die at Birmingham recycling site – By Simon Basketter, Socialist Worker (UK), July 12, 2016
Rail bosses threaten safety with their lies – By Raymie Kiernan, Socialist Worker (UK), July 12, 2016
An Update from the Recent Floods – By staff, RAMPS, July 12, 2016
National Nurses United Petitions Federal OSHA for Workplace Violence Prevention Standard – By staff, National Nurses United, July 11, 2016

Whistleblowers:

National parks punt on overcrowding – By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, July 14, 2016

Wobbles:

Brazil: 25 Buildings Occupied in Mass Indigenous Mobilization – By Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil, translated by Earth First! Journal, July 16, 2016
Amid Mounting Controversy, BLM Halts New Mexico Fossil Fuel Auction – By Eleanor Bravo, et. al., Food & Water Watch, et. al., July 13, 2016
Ban the Bomb Trains Week of Action ends with a bang! – By Drew Hudson, Environmental Action, July 12, 2016
Virginia Activists Inspired by Recent Victories Over Pipelines – By Mark Hand, DC Media Group, July 12, 2016

Other News:

Unite union backs Trident renewal as delegates denounce Len McCluskey's 'fudge' – By Dave Sewell, Socialist Worker (UK), July 12, 2016

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

Tags:

Coalition of Immokalee Workers

La Via Campesina

Read more about EcoUnionist News #113

EcoUnionist News #112

Submitted by x344543 on Mon, 07/11/2016 - 21:09

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 12, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

Fear This: How the Movement (Not Clinton) Can Stop Trump - By Richard Moser, CounterPunch, July 8, 2016
Are Oil Trains Just Too Heavy? No Regulations, No Weigh To Know - By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog, July 7, 2016
De-Privatize! - By Don Fitz, ZNet, July 7, 2016
Some comments on Andreas Malm’s ‘Fossil Capital’ - By Luke Neal, Climate and Capitalism, July 6, 2016
As Temperatures Climb Across the Country, Workers Will Suffer - By Elizabeth Grossman, In These Times, July 5, 2016
Feminist Socialism and the Commons - By Hilary Wainwright, Commons Transition, June 9, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
In Defense of Mother Earth and Land - Oaxaca, MX: July 21-22, 2016
March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
International Resistance Gathering Against Extractivism - July 28-30, Mexico
TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 2016
Climate Camp and Degrowth Summer - Rheinland, August 19-29, 2016
Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
Lucas Plan - November 2016

Tags:

Coalition of Immokalee Workers

La Via Campesina

Read more about EcoUnionist News #112

EcoUnionist News #111

Submitted by x344543 on Tue, 07/05/2016 - 21:49

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 6, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

How Oakland Defeated Coal - By Brentin Mock, CityLab, July 1, 2016
The Remaking of the Global Working Class - By Beverly Silver, ROARMag, July 1, 2016
From Livelihoods to Deadlihoods - By Ashish Kothari, Local Futures, June 30, 2016
Gulf Coast Activists Tell 'Big Green' to Quit Exploiting Their Disasters for Financial Gain - By Yessenia Funes, Colorlines, June 30, 2016; [related]: An open letter demanding respect and solidarity - By Alicia Cooke, et. al., Radical Arts & Healing (RAHC) Collective, June 27, 2016
Stopping a Climate Change and Pollution Nightmare in the East Bay - By Will Parrish, East Bay Express, June 28, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

In Defense of Mother Earth and Land - Oaxaca, MX: July 21-22, 2016
Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
International Resistance Gathering Against Extractivism - July 28-30, Mexico
TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 2016

The Thin Green Line:

Record-Breaking Opposition to Coal - By Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky, Columbia Riverkeeper, July 1, 2016
Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline bites the dust - By Gregory Smith, EcoJustice, June 30, 2016; [related]: Northern Gateway Ruling Puts Tar Sands "At Risk" - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, July 4, 2016 | Victory for First Nations in Northern Gateway Fight - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, July 1, 2016 | Federal court overturns Northern Gateway pipeline approval - By Sophia Reuss, Rabble.Ca, June 30, 2016 | Northern Gateway pipeline approval overturned - By Jason Proctor, CBC News, June 30, 2016
Oakland City Council Votes to Ban Coal Exports in Big Win for Local Advocates - By Zoe Loftus-Farren, Earth Island Journal, June 28, 2016; [related]: In our opinion: 2 initiatives mark Utah's energy upheaval - Editorial, Deseret News, June 30, 2016 | Oakland City Council unanimously supports ban on coal exports - By staff, Sierra Club Yodeler, June 29, 2016 | Oakland says no thanks to coal exports - By Katie Herzog, Grist, June 29, 2016 | Oakland council bans coal - By Erin Baldassari, San Jose Mercury News, June 28, 2016 | Oakland council bans coal shipments, citing health risks - By staff, Associated Press, June 28, 2016

Just Transition:

Oil Sands Worker Inspires Calgarians to Embrace Renewables - By staff, Iron and Earth, July 5, 2016
ISEA: Solar Energy Can Generate 7,300 Jobs & Slash EU Fines €300 Million A Year - By James Ayre, CleanTechnica, July 4, 2016
The Stupid Thing About Politics & Jobs - By Zachary Shahan, CleanTechnica, July 1, 2016
Swollen solar pipeline could make Texas 2nd largest utility-scale market in US - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, June 30, 2016
Teleseminar: Just Transition with Mateo Nube of Movement Generation [seminar] - By Mateo Nube, Resilience, June 30, 2016
A new danger descends on Canada - By the Leap Manifesto, Rabble.Ca, June 28, 2016
Alberta Coal Communities Worry For Their Future - By Ian Bickis, Huffington Post, June 22, 2016

Bread and Roses:

North Carolina: "We will keep fighting until Publix comes on board!" - By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, July 5, 2016
Mother-of-Three Sues Monsanto Claiming Roundup Caused Her Cancer - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, July 1, 2016
New Film about the Boycott of Driscoll’s & Familias Unidas por la Justicia - By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 1, 2016
Opinion: Traditional crops keep our culture alive - By Elizabeth Mpofu, La Via Campesina, July 1, 2016
"We aren’t asking you to create the solution; The solution already exists…" - By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, June 29, 2016
More rain, less freshwater: Why the government of Ghana needs to stop coal expansion - By lerato, 350.org, June 28, 2016
Herbicide, chemical fertilizer use doubled on Vermont dairy farms in a decade - By Anne Galloway, VTDigger, June 27, 2016
The Fight Isn’t Over for Farm Worker Overtime - By David Bacon, Capital and Main, June 16, 2016

Tags:

renewable energy workers

health and safety

Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD)

Read more about EcoUnionist News #111

News: Air District Commits to Studying Refinery Pollution Caps

Submitted by x344543 on Wed, 06/29/2016 - 18:46

By Shoshana Wechsler - Sunflower Alliance, June 18, 2016

The community-worker coalition that’s been fighting for years to limit pollution from Bay Area refineries won a significant victory June 15. The Air District board told the staff to evaluate our proposal for immediate, numerical caps on refinery emissions, along with three other proposals. This move came despite strong opposition from Air District staff, who argued that numerical caps on greenhouse gases are pointless and that numerical limits on all forms of pollution are legally questionable.

The next challenge for the coalition will be getting the Air District to move fast enough to prevent the refineries from bringing in a major influx of extra-polluting crude oil from Canadian tar sands.

In the June 15 board meeting of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, staff presented four proposals for controlling refinery emissions:

Analyze each refinery’s total energy efficiency as a way of reducing greenhouse gases
Continue the current program of making rules for reducing greenhouse gas and toxic emissions by separately analyzing each process in the refinery.
Place an immediate overall cap on greenhouse gas and toxic emissions from each refinery
Develop a Bay-Area-wide program for reducing emissions of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas)

The staff recommended that the board authorize further analysis of three of these proposals. It recommended dropping the community-worker proposal, using the same arguments offered before: that emissions caps may not be legally defensible and could conflict with the state’s cap-and-trade process for greenhouse gas emissions.

After strong arguments from the community-worker coalition and allies on the board, however, the board directed the staff to prepare an official Environmental Impact Review of each of the proposals. In more than two years since the coalition has been advocating these caps, the staff has failed to produce a detailed analysis of this proposal, despite numerous board requests. So this clear board direction represents a major advance for the environmental, community, and labor groups.

Board members John Avalos of San Francisco, Rebecca Kaplan of Oakland, and John Gioia, the Contra Costa County supervisor whose district includes four oil refineries, joined the community-worker coalition in insisting on a full review of all four proposals.

It should be possible to produce the Environmental Impact Reviews, provide a period for the public to comment, and produce revised reviews before the BAAQMD’s next board meeting in September. But given the slow pace of work on refinery emissions rules in the past, the community-worker coalition intends to keep pushing for a September report, so it will be possible to adopt final rules before the end of the year.

There’s also the question of what topics the Environmental Impact Review will include. In the June 15 meeting, Board member Kaplan insisted that the EIR must include an estimate of the health impacts of the emissions increases that would occur if caps are not adopted.

Background

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) has been discussing methods for limiting refinery pollution for more than three years. More than two years ago the community-worker coalition submitted its proposal: Tell refineries they’re not allowed to increase the levels of pollution they emit, starting now.

In addition to limiting harm to health and the climate, this proposal is critical for stopping Bay Area refineries from bringing in large amounts of crude oil from Canadian tar sands. Because tar sands oil takes so much energy to process, and because it spews out such large amounts of pollution that’s harmful to health, a cap on refinery emissions would effectively prevent an increase in tar sands refining. Scientists have stated that to prevent runaway climate disaster, the tar sands oil has to stay in the ground.

Bay Area refineries are turning to tar sands crude because their traditional sources of crude oil – in California and Alaska – are drying up. Tar sands oil producers, for their part, are increasingly looking to the Bay Area as an outlet for their product, since the Keystone XL pipeline was defeated, and Canadian First Nations are strongly resisting the shipment of tar sands oil through their territories. And Bay Area refineries, already equipped to handle “heavy” crude oil, are closer to being ready to refine tar sands than most others.

The Western States Petroleum Association, representing the oil companies, has been fighting regulation every step of the way. Recently they’ve sent mailers opposing regulation to residents in the districts of selected BAAQMD board members. It is reported that they are hoping to get a California legislator to introduce a bill banning local caps on greenhouse gas emissions.

Tags:

Richmond

Communities for a Better Environment (CBE)

Sunflower Alliance

Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)

Read more about News: Air District Commits to Studying Refinery Pollution Caps

EcoUnionist News #110: No Coal in Oakland Prevails and other Green Union news

Submitted by x344543 on Tue, 06/28/2016 - 22:39

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, June 29, 2016

Image, right: Alameda County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council president, Josie Camacho, flanked by dozens of Bay Area union leaders and members, representing 21 Bay Area unions (including the Bay Area IWW), join in with Oakland residents to oppose coal handling, storage, shipment, and exports in the Port of Oakland at a special City Council hearing, held June 27, 2016. At the conclusion of the meeting, the City Council voted unanimously, 7-0 with one member absent, in support of the coal ban. Image by Brooke Anderson.

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

Lead Stories:

Oakland bans coal shipments in a blow to planned export facility - By William Yardley and Natalie Kitroeff, Los Angeles Times, June 28, 2016; [related]: Oakland's Anti-Coal Activists Decry ‘Deceptive’ Mailer - By Arielle Swedback, East Bay Express, June 27, 2016 | Coal: Economic opportunity or environmental risk for poor neighborood? - By Associated Press, FuelFix, June 27, 2016 | Oakland Just Banned Coal! Coal Processing, Loading and Unloading Banned in Oakland - By J P Masser, Daily Kos, June 27, 2016
As Britain exits, the need for a strong climate movement remains - By Kate Aronoff, Waging Nonviolence, June 24, 2016
Mega Corporation Gobbles Up Slightly Less-Mega Corporation; Chops Jobs to Increase Profits; Blames Enviros. Film at 11 - By Matthew Koehler, CounterPunch, June 24, 2016
Zimbabwe: Trade Unions Embrace Climate Change - By staff, All Africa, June 23, 2016
Meet the McDonald’s Cashier Taking on Her CEO for Climate Change - By Brooke Anderson, Yes!, June 17, 2016
The War on Workers’ Comp - By Stephen Franklin, In These Times, June 13, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
International Resistance Gathering Against Extractivism - July 28-30, Mexico
TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 2016

The Thin Green Line:

First Day of Hearings on Vancouver, WA Oil Terminal Begins with Broad Opposition - By staff, Stand Up to Oil, June 27, 2016
Environmentalists, politicians call for shutdown of coal leases in Seattle - By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times, June 21, 2016

Just Transition:

Oilsands workers know how to lead the way on climate change - By Lliam Hildebrand, Iron and Earth, June 27, 2016; [related]: Iron And Earth: Oilsands Workers Call For Training In Renewable Energy - By David Dodge and Dylan Thompson, Huffington Post, June 24, 2016
Ontario’s Green Energy Act: A job creation success - By Elizabeth Perry, Work and Climate Change Report, June 27, 2016; [related]: Clean Energy Investment Slows in Canada; Canada ranks 11th in Clean Energy Jobs - By Elizabeth Perry, Work and Climate Change Report, June 26, 2016
March for a Clean Energy Revolution at the DNC With Breast Cancer Action - By Alyssa Figueroa, EcoWatch, June 26, 2016
Coal To Solar: Retraining Our Energy Workforce - By Glenn Meyers, Planetsave, June 25, 2016
After Decades of Protest, Last California Nuclear Plant to Close & Be Replaced by Renewable Energy - Damon Moglen interviewed by Juan González and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, June 22, 2016 [related]: Nuclear Shutdown in California includes Transition provisions for Workers - By Elizabeth Perry, Work and Climate Change Report, June 27, 2016 | Cost to Replace California Nuclear With Solar: $15 Billion - By Jim Polson and Mark Chediak, Bloomberg, June 23, 2016 | Diablo Shutdown Marks End of Atomic Era - By Harvey Wasserman, EcoWatch, June 23, 2016 | California Goes Nuclear Free As Diablo Canyon Closes In Favor Of Renewables - By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, June 22, 2016 | Honey I shrunk the utility: California's final nuclear plant closure attributed to CCA - By staff, Local Power, June 22, 2016 | PG&E to Replace Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant With 100% Carbon-Free Resources - By Jeff St. John, GreenTech Media, June 21, 2016 | PG&E to close Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, replace it with renewables, efficiency, storage - By Gavin Bade, Utility Dive, June 21, 2016
Beyond Extreme Energy Too Extreme? Not At All - By Jlstewct, Beyond Extreme Energy, June 21, 2016
Canada can transition to renewable energy in just a few decades, says Stanford University professor - By Monique Muise, Global News, June 12, 2016

Read more about EcoUnionist News #110: No Coal in Oakland Prevails and other Green Union news

EcoUnionist News #109

Submitted by x344543 on Mon, 06/20/2016 - 21:27

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, June 21, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

Oil Companies Facing Spurt of Lawsuits After Robbing Oilfield Workers of Millions in Wages - By Larry Buhl, DeSmog Blog, June 19, 2016
Rolling blockade at Burghfield nuclear weapons factory - By Theo Simon, Red Pepper, June 16, 2016
American Seafood Has Its Own Forced Labor Problem - By Alex Sammon, Mother Jones, June 15, 2016; [related]: Let’s stop the downgrading of workers and jobs in supply chains - By Steve Cotton, Equal Times, June 7, 2016
Nigeria: Niger Delta Avengers Threaten Further Violence in Oil-Producing Region - By Conor Gaffey, Newsweek, June 14, 2016
Don’t Mess with the Corn: Lessons from Mexico’s Struggle against GMOs - By Soledad Barruti, Argentina Independent, June 7, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

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

The Thin Green Line:

Public health experts expose coal hazard ‘protection’ fallacies - By Steve Masover, No Coal in Oakland, June 19, 2016
Over a Quarter of a Million Public Comments Against Largest Coal Export Terminal in North America - By staff, Power Past Coal, June 13, 2016
Bay Area Residents and Environmental Advocates Push Swift Adoption of Rule to Cap Refinery Emissions - By Andrés Soto and Ratha Lai, Communities for a Better Environment and Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter, June 14, 2016; [related]: Cap Bay Area refinery emissions now - By Andrés Soto and Sandy Saeteurn, San Francisco Chronicle, June 12, 2016
Tesoro refinery expansion poses risk to community - By Alicia Rivera, Daily Breeze, June 3, 2016

Just Transition:

Oil Sands Workers Fear Becoming Climate Change Casualties - By Mychaylo Prystupa, The Tyee, June 17, 2016
50% Renewables In Australia Could Create 28,000 New Jobs By 2030 - By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, June 17, 2016
Australian taxpayers could pay billions to clean up old mines, report says - By Thom Mitchell, New Matilda, June 16, 2016
Here’s How We Get to 100% Renewable Energy - By Richard Heinberg, EcoWatch, June 15, 2016
Public Banks as the Antithesis of Neoliberalism - By Matt Stannard, Public Banking Institute, May 19, 2016
Our Fossil-Fuel Economy Destroys the Earth and Exploits Humanity; Here's the Shift We Need to Be Sustainable - By Iliana Salazar-Dodge, Alternet, May 12, 2016

Bread and Roses:

Pathways of Transition to Agroecological Food Systems - By Adam Parsons, CounterPunch, June 17, 2016
TTIP and CETA: We won't let them trade us away - By Hanny van Geel, et. al., La Via Campesina, June 16, 2016; [related]: NFU Action alert: Trans Pacific Partnership input deadline coming soon - By National Farmers' Union, La Via Campesina, June 16, 2016
Women lead the fight against corporate agriculture around the world - By Mark Karlin, Rabble.Ca, June 16, 2016
“This Program should be everywhere…” - By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, June 15, 2016
Land Reform and food sovereignty - By Nyéléni, La Via Campesina, June 14, 2016
With Measure 1 Failure, DRC Applauds North Dakotans for Mobilizing and Rejecting Corporate Farming - By staff, Dakota Resource Council, June 14, 2016
Sakuma Brothers Farms Raises Wages After Farmworkers Walk Off the Job - By Ansel Herz, The Stranger, June 13, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

NUMSA supports the Working on Fire workers - By Patrick Craven, NUMSA, June 17, 2016
City of Alexandria tries to censor ATU 981 transit workers - By staff, ATU, June 16, 2016
Federal regulators must prohibit one-person freight train crews - By staff, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, June 16, 2016
Nearly half of NYC private garbage trucks have maintenance issues; drivers say they’re ‘unsafe for everyone’ - By Dan Rivoli, New York Daily News, June 16, 2016
Toxic Chemicals Found in Residents Living Near Oil and Gas Operations in Pavillion, Wyoming - By Coming Clean, EcoWatch, June 16, 2016
Payout for widow of forestry worker killed near Stratford - By Jeremy Wilkinson, Stuff, June 3, 2016

Whistleblowers:

OSHA launches pilot program for severe violators of whistleblower protection laws - By staff, BLR.com, June 7, 2016

Tags:

renewable energy workers

health and safety

whistleblowers