privatization

By the admin - Systemic Disorder, November 11, 2015

The text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership can now be viewed by the public, thanks to the New Zealand government, and it is every bit as bad as activists have been warning.

The TPP, if enacted, promises a race to the bottom: An acceleration of jobs to the countries with the lowest wages, the right of multi-national corporations to veto any law or regulation their executives do not like, the end of your right to know what is in your food, higher prices for medicines, and the subordination of Internet privacy to corporate interests. There is a reason it has been negotiated in secret, with only corporate executives and industry lobbyists consulted and allowed to see the text as it took shape.

The threat from the TPP extends beyond the 12 negotiating countries, however — the TPP is intended to be a “docking” agreement whereby other countries can join at any time, provided they accept the text as it has been previously negotiated. Moreover, the TPP is a model for two other deals: the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the United States and the European Union, and the Trade In Services Agreement (TISA), an even more secret “free trade” deal being negotiated among 50 countries that would eliminate any controls on the financial industry.

The elimination of protections is precisely what U.S. multi-national corporations intend for Europe by replicating the terms of the TPP in the TTIP, a process made easier by the anti-democratic nature of the European Commission, which is negotiating for European governments. Already, higher Canadian standards in health, the environment and consumer protections are under sustained assault under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The TPP is an unprecedented corporate giveaway, going well beyond even NAFTA, which has hurt working people and farmers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

More than 300,000 jobs in the U.S. alone may be eliminated by the passage of the TPP. The Wall Street Journal, in an article celebrating victory for multi-national capital, nonetheless reported that 330,000 manufacturing jobs would be lost, basing this estimate on an estimated US$56 billion increase in the national trade deficit. That forecast is based on a U.S. Department of Commerce estimate that 6,000 jobs are lost for every $1 billion of added trade deficit.

By Doro Chiba - Translated into English by Transport Workers Solidarity Committee, September 27, 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.

Doro-Chiba adopted unanimously a new policy of struggle on the 44th Annual Convention today held in the Union Hall. We resolutely confront with the second round offensive of the Division and Privatization by the JR Companies and also advance the fight against the rejection of a final appeal for the Japan Railways' employment discrimination at the time of the Division and Privatization of JNR in 1987.

Doro-Chiba made a final appeal in regard to the above case to the Supreme Court in 2013, but on June 30 of this year, the Court denied the appeal. This reactionary decision of the Supreme Court was an attempt to peremptorily put a period to the National Railway Struggle. Under the explosive situation of railroading the war legislation, the state power was finally forced to make a decision of dismantling militant labor movement at large. However, our consistent struggle has driven the Supreme Court into the corner. The Court was obliged to admit that the JR and the state power itself had committed unfair labor practices in its policy making of discriminating re-employment and dismissal at the time of the Division and Privatization. At last the bedrock of the assault of Division and Privatization of National Railway was shaken! This is a significant victory.

Our thirty year-long struggle has never let the Division and Privatization of JNR slide by as a past issue and prevented the completion of Rengo (system-friendly Japanese Trade Union Confederation) which was established to destroy militant labor movements in 1989.

Our persistent struggle against the Division and Privatization of JNR has defended labor movements and the rights of workers in the nick of time. Now we launch a fresh struggle to have the unfair dismissal withdrawn and laid-off workers reinstated.

We are now drawing up a strike plan to protest against the planned outsourcing toward October 1, the day our members were forced to go on loan to the subcontractor three years ago. We claim; “Cancel immediately our outsourcing contract and reinstate all jobs to JR!” The privatizing and outsourcing issues have not at all been settled yet. An all-out struggle starts from now on.

We denounce Abe administration with fierce anger for railroading the war legislation. However, this historic abominable onslaught has released millions of workers’ anger and let them swing into action, On August 30, more than 120,000 people occupied and liberated the closed area in front of the Diet building, breaking through the police’s cordon. The corrupt knots of Japan Communist Party (JCP) and Rengo became terrified and tried to calm the situation within the framework of co-opted opposition forces. But the protest action grew more and more militant every day and sparked a heavy clash with police power for a week. The history began to change then.

By Tom Lawson - Occupy.Com, September 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.

Private companies have been working to make a profit from water since the 1600s, when the first water companies were established in England and Wales. The first wave of water privatization occurred in the 1800s, and by the mid- to late-19th century, privately owned water utilities were common in Europe, the United States and Latin America, and began to appear in Africa and Asia.

But the privatization flurry faded, and throughout much of the 20th century water was largely a publicly controlled resource. In the U.S., for example, just 30% of piped water systems were privately owned in 1924, dropping from 60% in 1850.

It wasn't until the late 1980s that the idea of private companies managing water re-emerged on a large scale. Under Margaret Thatcher, the U.K. government privatized all water companies in England and Wales in 1989 – making it the first country to do so. Coupled with the global emphasis on free market capitalism after the fall of communism, it began the second wave of water privatization that continues today.

Privatizing water was, and still is, encouraged by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which make public-to-private takeovers a condition of lending. As a result, the early 1990s saw a rush of cities and countries around the world signing over their nations' water resources to private companies.

It is argued by industry and investors that putting water in private hands translates into improvements in efficiency and service quality, and that services will be better managed. Privatizing also provides governments an opportunity to gain revenue by selling off water services, and for companies to generate profit. But with profit the main objective, the idea of water as a human right arguably becomes a secondary concern.

Problems with water privatization often begin to occur soon after the initial wave of enthusiasm – from lack of infrastructure investment to environmental neglect. A 2005 study by the World Bank said that overall evidence suggests "there is no statistically significant difference between the efficiency performance of public and private operators in this sector." The most common complaint about water privatization concerned tariff increases, which occur in the vast majority of cases, making safe water inaccessible for many.

Despite these issues, aid agencies, water companies and many governments around the world continue to pursue privatization of water in the name of profit. In 2011, economist Willem Buiter described water as "an asset class that will, in my view, become eventually the single most important physical-commodity-based asset class, dwarfing oil, copper, agricultural commodities and precious metals."

But opposition to this ideology is mounting. Known as remunicipalisation, more and more communities and governments are choosing to resist and reverse private water contracts. According to a 2014 report by the Transnational Institute, around 180 cities in 35 countries have returned control of their water supply to municipalities in the past 15 years.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, September 3, 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.

Ten years ago, between August 23-31, Hurricane Katrina overran the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, destroying major portions of the city, killing at least 1245 people. The destruction and death disproportionately affected the poor, mostly nonwhite, working class people and neighborhoods of New Orleans, and the response by the capitalist class and every government from the local municipal authorities to the State of Louisiana to the United States, was to render aid to the mostly white employing class while letting the working class suffer. Law enforcement and the capitalist, in an orgy of racism and class bias, displayed blatant double standards, greatly exaggerating the actions of black survivors, labeling their actions as "violent", "looting", and "thuggish" while ignoring at least as serious actions by white survivors. Then, they used the disaster to bust unions, privatize public institutions (including the public school system), and shred environmental laws, so they could remake New Orleans into a hyper capitalist mecca. Ten years later, the devastation of Katrina is still wreaking havoc on the 99%, however, as a result, broad based, intersectional working class resistance has arisen among them and they are fighting back. A good portion of the resistance is working under the banner of #GulfSouthRising and Katrina Truth. Following are just some of their stories:

• Amid Katrina Commemoration Spectacle, a Southern Freedom Movement Takes Shape - By Anna Simonton, TruthOut, September 1, 2015
• Bush Administration Exemption Allowed Contractors To Steal Wages From Katrina Reconstruction Workers - By Esther Yu-Hsi Lee, Think Progress, August 31, 2015
• Dodging potholes in New Orleans: 10 years after Katrina - By Hannah Bonne, RoarMag, August 31, 2015
• Social Justice and Climate Justice Movements Merge in New Orleans 10 Years After Hurricane Katrina - By Julie Dermansky, DeSmog Blog, August 31, 2015
• Still left behind in the new New Orleans - Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky interviewed by Elizabeth Schulte, Socialist Worker, August 31, 2015
• Gulf South Rising Remembers Katrina, Builds Campaign - By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance, August 30, 2015
• How the Ruling Class Remade New Orleans - By Thomas Jessen Adams, Jacobin, August 29, 2015
• These New Orleans Residents Are Still Trying To Go Home - By Bryce Covert, Think Progress, August 29, 2015
• Change Everything or Face A Global Katrina - By Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything, August 28, 2015
• Katrina Plus Ten: Climate Justice in Action - By Scott Parkin, CounterPunch, August 28, 2015
• Shock Doctrine: A Look at the Mass Privatization of NOLA Schools in Storm’s Wake & Its Effects Today - Wendell Pierce and Gary Rivlin interviewed by Juan González and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, August 28, 2015
• Ten years on: Katrina, militarisation and climate change - By Nick Buxton and Ben Hayes, Open Democracy, August 28, 2015
• Was the Katrina Oil Spill Disaster a Harbinger for the Atlantic Coast? - By Sue Sturgis, Facing South, August 28, 2015
• Still Waiting for Help: Lessons of Hurricane Katrina on Poverty - By Laura Lein, The Conversation, August 27, 2015
• A Decade After Katrina, RNs Reflect on What We’ve Learned and Refuse to Learn - By Staff, National Nurses United, August 26, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW

By NUMSA - Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, June 19, 2015

Electricity Crisis Conference Declaration

1. Introduction:

We, as representatives of trade unions that organise in the energy sector and delegates from communities that are struggling around outages, loadshedding, high electricity prices and poor quality of energy services, met for four days (from 02 to 05 June 2015) in the midst of what we consider as a far-reaching electricity crisis in our country. As we met, on the table of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) is an application by South Africa’s electricity utility – Eskom – for a 25.3% increase in the price of electricity for the year 2015/16 to 2017/18. As we met, Nersa had agreed to grant municipalities an above-inflation increase of 12.2% from 01 July 2015 and that nine municipalities were applying for average increases above the Nersa increase guideline of 12.2%. We also gathered when delegates at this conference from two municipalities were unsure whether they will reach their homes at the end of our deliberations still with some power, as Eskom threatened to plunge into darkness their defaulting municipalities today.

The electricity crises that face us worsen with each day that passes. The crisis is multipronged. It is a supply crisis and chronic load-shedding. What we see is a financial meltdown of Eskom; massive cost and time overruns in the build programme of new power plants such Medupi and Kusile; and a worsening governance practices within Eskom as executives come and go, leaving with millions of rands as golden handshakes. We have also seen the downgrading of Eskom within capital markets and a ballooning debt for the utility as municipalities fail to pay their bills to Eskom.

As delegates to this Electricity Crisis Conference, we are enthused that our people are refusing to shoulder the implications and consequences of the crises. Throughout the four days, we heard of gallant battles against unaffordable electricity increases and imposition of prepaid meters that are being waged in different communities who refuse to have the burden of the electricity crises shifted onto them. At the forefront of these battles are women who unfortunately still bear the brunt of reproductive activities in our society. Our people realise that the electricity crises directly affects their children’s ability to learn and to be taught as schools are cut off. Our people realise that as most of their staple diets are electricity intensive, tariff hikes increase food hunger in South Africa. They know that an increase in the price of electricity will lead to retrenchments and short-time for workers.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, June 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 Story:

• Global warming: the ‘slowdown’ that never happened; New scientific analysis shows that the rate of global warming has continued without pause. The ‘hiatus’ simply didn’t happen - Press Release, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, June 4, 2015

Fracking the EPA:

• Don’t Be Fooled by Yesterday’s Headlines, EPA Finds Fracking Contaminates Drinking Water - By Wenonah Hauter, EcoWatch, June 5, 2015
• Fracking Does Cause ‘Widespread, Systemic’ Contamination of American’s Drinking Water - By Josh Fox and Lee Ziesche, EcoWatch, June 5, 2015
• EPA Study: Fracking Puts Drinking Water Supplies at Risk of Contamination - By Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog, June 4, 2015
• Long-Awaited EPA Study Says Fracking Pollutes Drinking Water - By Anastasia Pantsios, EcoWatch, June 4, 2015

Bread and Roses:

• Food sovereignty and agroecology-People’s Expo recipe to mend broken food systems - La Via Campesina, June 6, 2015
• Hands on the Land for Food Sovereignty - By Frederica Toscano and Elisa Caricato, La Via Campesina, June 6, 2015
• Peasants are under the thumb of free market - La Via Campesina, June 6, 2015
• Peasants from around the world: views on Expo 2015 - By Frederica Toscano and Elisa Caricato, La Via Campesina, June 5, 2015
• Africa's farmers fight the corporate takeover of seeds, land and food - By Chris Walker, The Ecologist, June 4, 2015
• Big Ag Claims Cancer-Causing Glyphosate No More Dangerous Than ‘Coffee or Working the Night Shift’ - By Mary Ellen Kustin, Environmental Working Group, EcoWatch, June 4, 2015
• G7, be warned: your 'New Alliance' threatens to destroy small-scale farmers; the Global Convergence of Land and Water Struggles - By The Global Convergence of Land and Water Struggles, The Ecologist, June 4, 2015
• People Should Control the Food System, Not Corporations; Why you should ditch the official EXPO and go to the People's EXPO instead - By Kirtana Chandrasekaran and Stanka Becheva, Common Dreams, June 1, 2015
• Marching on Monsanto and its Government Protectors - By Pete Dolack, CounterPunch, May 29, 2015

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Fire at Kentex footware factory kills more than 70 workers - By Jiselle Hanna Sam, rabble.ca, June 8, 2015
• Coal ash spill workers given second chance in court - By Staff, WBIR.COM, June 5, 2015
• Watch: Nancy Hutchison speaks at Justice for Injured Workers rally - By Rebel Sage, rabble.ca, June 4, 2015
• Communities Deserve A Say in Chemical Security - By Taylor Smith-Hams, GreenPeace Blog, June 3, 2015

Carbon Bubble:

• Norway confirms $900bn sovereign wealth fund's major coal divestment - By Damian Carrington, The Guardian, June 5, 2015
• Oil field services hit hard in jobs report - By Jennifer A. Dlouhy, FuelFix, June 5, 2015

Just Transition:

• Jobs, justice, climate: A new climate movement is rising from below - By Naomi Klein, rabble.ca, June 8, 2015
• 1.2 Million US Green Jobs Reported In Q1. Here’s Why That’s A Problem - By Silvio Marcacci, Clean Technica, June 5, 2015
• Systemic Problems Require Systemic Solutions: Time to Talk About the Next System - By Gus Speth, The Leap, June 5, 2015
• If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It!Potential Impacts of Privatizing the Tennessee Valley Authority - By Joel Yudken, Economic Policy Institute, June 4, 2015

Other News:

• RMT responds to collapse in East Coast performance - By RMT Press Office, rmt.org, June 4, 2015
• Vast Federal Biological Collections at Risk; U.S. Geological Survey Shirks Responsibility for Managing Troves of Specimens - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, June 4, 2015
• Striking workers occupy Telefónica HQ in Barcelona - By Timothy Ginty, RoarMag, June 2, 2015
• Take over of the National Gallery: privatisation, oil sponsorship and Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ - Press Release, Reclaim the Power, June 1, 2015

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

By Brenda Ryan - Workers World, May 4, 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.

In a stunning victory, the militant, fighting rank and file of the Boston school bus drivers’ union, United Steelworkers Local 8751, voted in the full slate of Team Solidarity candidates, led by four illegally fired leaders, on the union’s Executive Board.

The April 30 election was the largest voter turnout in the history of the local and resulted in an unprecedented landslide vote by more than 3 to 1 for the Team Solidarity ticket. The membership sent a clear message to Veolia/Transdev, the union-busting school bus management company, as well as to Boston Public Schools and Mayor Marty Walsh, that they will fight and win a just contract and the rehiring of their leaders. They will also unite with the communities they serve to struggle for Equal Quality Education.

The new executive board-elect of the 850-strong union, whose members are largely Haitian, Cape Verdean and African-American, includes President Andre Francois, long-time chief steward; Vice President Stevan Kirschbaum, a founder of the local; Treasurer Georgia Scott, veteran of the 1965 Civil Rights battle on Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala.; Financial Secretary Steven Gillis, the outgoing vice president and benefits administrator; Recording Secretary Claude “Tou Tou” St. Germain, a Fanmi Lavalas activist; Grievance Committee members Garry Murchison, a three-term past president, Frantz Mendes, two-term president, and Richard Laine; Trustees Frantz “Fan Fan” Cadet, Fred Floreal and Judy Long; Guide Chantal Suffrant Casimir; Guards Adriano Barbosa and Ludnay Pierre; and Accident Review Committee members Jerome Samir Stanley, Kathy Moore and Robert Salley. Murchison led the local’s last five-week strike in 1991, which ended with a 48-hour occupation of the mayor’s office.

Veolia illegally fired Francois, Gillis, Kirschbaum and Murchison in November 2013, following a company-ordered, police department-enforced lockout on Oct. 8, 2013, which occurred after the local requested an emergency meeting. The lockout occurred in the midst of a three-month fight with the new company over wage theft, its refusal to honor the drivers’ long-standing contract and Veolia’s illegal demand — because it’s in violation of the contract — made the day before, that even 40-year veteran drivers must file new hire applications.

A small clique of business-minded, company-inspired opponents, including the current president — who bowed out during the election campaign — tried to turn the membership against Team Solidarity’s fighting slate. They bombarded members with the message: “Don’t vote for the people who were fired. They won’t do you any good.”

The climax of year-long bargaining over a new concessionary contract was the company’s divisive campaign that included pushing a “final” proposal with no amnesty for the fired leaders and using false “retro-pay” payroll documents produced by management. But the members voted for the new board based on their personal experience with Team Solidarity’s leaders, who have filed hundreds of their grievances, administered and defended their benefits, and fiercely fought for them and the union’s survival during the nearly two years since Veolia and the mayor’s office began their union-busting assault.

By Dan Bacher - Indybay, March 27, 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.

Environmental and human rights activists, holding plastic “torches” and “pitchforks,” formed human barricades at both entrances to the Nestlé Waters bottling plant in Sacramento at 5:00 a.m. on Friday, March 20, effectively shutting down the company's operations for the day.

Members of the “Crunch Nestlé Alliance" shouted out a number of chants, including ”We got to fight for our right to water,” “Nestlé, Stop It, Water Not For Profit," and “¿Agua Para Quien? Para Nuestra Gente.”

The protesters stayed until about 1 pm, but there were no arrests.

Representatives of the alliance said the company is draining up to 80 million gallons of water a year from Sacramento aquifers during a record drought. They claim Sacramento City Hall has made it possible through a "corporate welfare giveaway."

“This corporate welfare giveaway is an outrage and warrants a major investigation,” Coalition spokesperson Andy Conn said. “For more than five months we have requested data on Nestlé water use. City Hall has not complied with our request, or given any indication that it will. Sacramentans deserve to know how their money is being spent and what they’re getting for it. In this case, they’re getting ripped off.”

Lola Ellis of 99 Rise Sacramento, who spoke on the bullhorn at the protest, said, “Nestlé’s bottling of water in Sacramento is unsustainable in the current state of drought. We really don’t’ know how much water they are taking from the aquifer and that is a scary thing.”

“The water needs to be used for the local community. If there is not enough water for the local community, the Nestlé corporation should not be making a profit,” she emphasized.

The coalition protested what they call Nestlé's “virtually unlimited use of water” while Sacramentans (like other Californians) who use a mere 7 to 10 percent of total water used in the State of California, have had severe restrictions and limitations forced upon them.

The coalition is calling on Nestlé to pay rates commensurate with its enormous profit, or voluntarily close down.

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 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

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