La Via Campesina

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

The Thin Green Line:

• Canada just shut down another major pipeline proposal - By Xian Chiang-Waren, Grist, July 5, 2016

Just Transition:

• Anatomy of a nuke closure: How PG&E decided to shutter Diablo Canyon - By Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, July 7, 2016
• Retraining the future: Can Wyoming build the workforce outside the energy industry? - By Benjamin Storrow, Casper Star Tribune, July 2, 2016
• Historic Agreement Paves Way for Alliance Between Labor and Environmentalists - By Tom Dalzell, The Huffington Post, June 29, 2016
• Premier Wall should put Sask. people ahead of oil industry - By Mark Bigland-Pritchard, Saskatoon Star Phoenix, June 24, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• EEOC singles out Fair Food Program as “radically different accountability mechanism” in landmark report on harassment in the workplace! - By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, July 11, 2016
• ZIMSOFF co-organises a dialogue on the state of land, seeds and food with allies - By staff, La Via Campesina, July 11, 2016
• Agroecology Learning Exchanges in Uganda - By staff, La Via Campesina, July 8, 2016
• Four Years of Struggle,Three Years Boycott, Sakuma Finally Ready to Negotiate - By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 8, 2016
• Nearly 10,000 petition signatures supporting boycott delivered to Wendy’s CEO Todd Penegor by UU General Assembly! - By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, July 8, 2016
• NUMSA statement on Zimbabwe crisis – By Patrick Craven, NUMSA, July 8, 2016
• A farmer’s guide to Brexit – By staff, Small Farm Future, July 7, 2016
• Farmer-to-farmer training session on Millets at Amrita Bhoomi; Karnataka, India - By Ashlesha Khadse, La Via Campesina, July 6, 2016
• Female Migrant Farmworkers Push Back Against Machismo and Abuse in California’s Wine Country – By Trina Moyles and KJ Dakin, Yes!, June 21, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Five die in wall collapse at Birmingham recycling site – By staff, BBC News, July 7, 2016
• Pan Pac mill workers in 24-hour strike over union agreement – By staff, Stuff (NZ), July 7, 2016
• Trudeau stalling on ban of biggest killer of workers in Canada – By Gerry Caplan, Rabble.Ca, July 7, 2016
• You must read the statement that the Sierra Club just came out with in support of #BlackLivesMatter – By Walter Einenkel, Daily Kos, July 7, 2016; [related]: Yes, ALL Cops: Supporting the Oppressed against the Police – By staff, Appalachian Workers Alliance, July 9, 2016  | Center for Biological Diversity Statement on the Killings of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and Five Dallas Police Officers – By Kierán Suckling, Center for Biological Diversity, July 8, 2016 | Statement by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) on the death of Philando Castile – By Stephen Cotton, International Transport Workers’ Federation, July 8, 2016 | AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – By Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO, July 7, 2016 | CEJA statement on police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – By staff, California Environmental Justice Alliance, July 7, 2016  | Response to Police Killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – By Steve Kretzmann, Oil Change International, July 7, 2016 | Statement On Police Murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – By staff, Rising Tide North America, July 7, 2016 | Statement on Teamster Brother Philando Castile – By Sami Gabriel, Teamsters Local 320, July 7, 2016
• One of Metro’s new board members has potential conflicts of interest, echoing problems of previous board – By Robert McCartney, Washington Post, July 6, 2016
• Despite Mass Protests, France Passes Maligned Labor Bill Without Debate – By Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams, July 5, 2016
• Texas Prison Objects To Ruling That It Must Provide Arsenic-Free Water To Prisoners Amidst Deadly Heat – By Kit O'Connell, Mint Press News, July 5, 2016
• NTSB takes over BNSF Texas derailment investigation – By Mischa Wanek-Libman, RT&S, June 30, 2016; [related]: JP Pens a Song about the Freight Train Collision in Texas – By J.P. Wright, Payday Report, July 1, 2016 | Federal investigators begin survey of train crash’s cause – By Aaron Davis, Amarillo Globe-News, June 29, 2016
• The Night Shift: Capitalism’s Silent Killer – By John Leslie, Left Voice, June 21, 2016; [related]: A French report confirms the severe health effects of night work – By staff, European Trade Union Institute, July 6, 2016

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

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

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

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, June 14, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• A Diet of Austerity: Class, food and climate change - Reviewed by Martin Empson, Climate and Capitalism, June 13, 2016
• The Doomsday Clock: Nuclear Weapons, Climate Change and the Prospects for Survival - By Noam Chomsky, TomDispatch, June 12, 2016
• Asbestos Industry Knew and Kept Secret for Decades That Their Product Was Deadly - By Alex Formuzis, EcoWatch, June 8, 2016
• Leave it in the ground: A new abolitionism needed for climate change - By David Mirtz, People's World, 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:

• Cowboy & Indian Alliance Plant “Seeds of Resistance” Ponca Corn in Paths of Atlantic Coast & Mountain Valley Fracked Gas Pipelines - By Mark Hefflinger, BOLD Nebraska, June 8, 2016; [related]: Activists plant ceremonial corn against pipeline - By Laura Peters, News Leader, June 6, 2016
• Oregon oil train explosion fuels growing opposition movement - By Sarah Gilman, High Country News, June 8, 2016
• In the Pipeline: In Oregon, a volatile climate for liquefied natural gas pipeline and terminal projects - By Juliet Grable,  Earth Island Journal, June 6, 2016
  

Just Transition:

• Climate Jobs for New York State - By Jonathan Neale, Global Climate Jobs, June 12, 2016
• New U.S. Solar Capacity Just Outperformed Fossil Fuels - By Alejandro Davila Fragoso, Think Progress, June 9, 2016; [related]: Solar Added More New Capacity Than Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear Combined - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, June 9, 2016; [and]: Solar Made Up 64% of New Electric Generating Capacity in the US in Q1 2016 - By Mike Munsell, Greentech Media, June 8, 2016
• Unemployed oil workers find new home in solar industry - By Brenda Salinas, Marketplace, June 7, 2016
• University of Wyoming Helps Displaced Coal Workers - By staff, Associated Press, June 6, 2016
• Transition Economics–Vermont - Ken Jones, Darren Springer, and Jon Erickson interviewed by Jan Mueller, The Energy Exchange, May 27, 2016 
• Denmark’s Energy Transition - Justin Gerdes interviewed by Chris Nelder, The Energy Transition Show, May 18, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• International Launch of La Via Campesina’s 7th International Conference - By staff, La Via Campesina, June 14, 2016
• Brazil Occupation: MST Landless Take Over Suzano and report environmental problems - By Anne Petermann, Global Justice Ecology Project, June 13, 2016
• Increase Gained Not Enough: Familias Unidas por la Justicia Members Will Continue the Fight for Fair Wages and Union Contract - By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, June 13, 2016
• Some thoughts on the Implications of Brexit - By Matt Lobley, Landworkers Alliance, June 13, 2016
• Striking Colombian Campesinos Reach Deal With Government - By staff, TelesurTv, June 13, 2016; [related]: Colombian Peasant, Indigenous Groups Launch 'Agrarian Strike' - By staff, TelesurTv, May 30, 2016
• Peasant members of SPI demand immediate resolution to land dispute at UPT, Bali Village - By staff, La Via Campesina, June 10, 2016 
• False Promises, Smears and Golden Rice: Is This the Solution for Disease, Poverty and Malnutrition? - By Colin Todhunter, CounterPunch, June 9, 2016
• Farmworkers Union Walk Out from the Fields This Morning - By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, June 9, 2016
• In defense of territorial markets, institutional procurement: Ramona and Angel at CFS Negotiations - By staff, La Via Campesina, June 9, 2016; [related]: Small holder farmers are crucial to ensure food security and nutrition: Javier Sanchez at CFS - By staff, La Via Campesina, June 9, 2016
• MEDIA ROUND-UP: Commentators across the World Wide Web take Publix, Wendy’s to task! - By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, June 8, 2016
• June 20: Farmworkers Organizing for Justice! Report-back on West Coast Tour - By Heather, Community Alliance for Global Justice, June 6, 2016
• Victims of Colombian Death Squads Can Move Forward With Case Against Former Chiquita Executives - By Valentina Stackl, EarthRights International, June 2, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Union demands SF make Uber, Lyft, pay for drivers’ business licenses - By Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, San Francisco Examiner, June 8, 2016
• Another coal miner killed on the job - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, June 7, 2016
• Minister blames Chinese cost cutting for Ramu death - By staff, The National aka The Loggers Times, June 6, 2016
• South Africa in crisis: splits at the top, stirrings from below - By Tom Bramble, Red Flag, June 3, 2016; [related]: South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters: Julius Malema and the Struggle to Continue the Revolution - By Dr. Marsha Cole, Black Agenda Report, May 31, 2016
• Needless radio communications are too distracting, union leader says - By staff, Progressive Railroading, June 1, 2016

Whistleblowers:

• New Nevada monument to be rutted by off-road desert race - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, June 13, 2016
• Whistleblower: EPA Official Covered Up Methane Leakage Problems Across US Natural Gas Industry - By staff, NC WARN, June 8, 2016; [related]: Key government reports were wrong about methane leaks' severity, environmental group alleges - By Ivan Penn, Los Angeles Times, June 8, 2016
• EPA pushing huge hike in drinking water radioactivity - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, June 7, 2016

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

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

Lead Stories:

• Climate Is Poised To Be A Divisive Issue For This Group Of Voters - By Samantha Page, Think Progress, June 3, 2016; [related]: Actually, the Labor-Green Alliance Has Never Been Stronger - By Zoë Carpenter, The Nation, May 24, 2016
• Media Blackout As France Witnesses Biggest Revolution In 200 Years - By Sean Adl-Tabatabai, YourNewsWire.Com, June 2, 2016; [related]: French workers answer back with strikes - By Elizabeth Schulte, Socialist Worker, June 1, 2016; [and]: Riots escalate across France as government refuses to reconsider labour law reform - By Alex Wheeler, International Business Times, May 27, 2016; [and finally]: Belgian Trade Unions Prepare for General Strike against “Labour Reforms” Proposed by the Federal Government - By guest, Revolution News, June 6, 2016 
• What I Learned From the Mining Community That Produced My Engagement Ring - By Nicki Lisa Cole, Truthout, June 1, 2016
• Why There Could Be More Blasts Like 2015 ExxonMobil Torrance Oil Refinery Explosion, Putting Millions At Risk - By Larry Buhl, DeSmog Blog, June 1, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11-13, 2016
• 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:

• Another Oil-By-Rail Fire Near Portland - By Roy L Hales, The ECOReport, June 3, 2016; [for more information] Join 1267 Watch! 
  

Just Transition:

• As Coal Fades, What’s Next for Thousands of Miners? - By Reid Frazier, The Allegheny Front, June 3, 2016
• U.S. Solar Jobs Exceed Oil And Gas For First Time In 2015 - By Thomas R. Burton and Mintz Levin, Breaking Energy, June 2, 2016; [related]: There are more jobs in renewable energy than in oil, gas, and coal combined - By Heather Smith, Grist, May 31, 2016; [and ]: Renewable Energy Jobs Keep Growing While Fossil Fuel Jobs Keep Shrinking - By Mike Gaworecki, DeSmog Blog, May 27, 2016
• Group Aims for NY to Be Climate Leader with Nation’s Strongest Clean, Renewable Energy Bill - By staff, Environmental Advocates of New York, June 1, 2016
• Led By Solar And Wind, Renewable Energy Grew Like Never Before Last Year - By Alejandro Davila Fragoso, Think Progress, June 1, 2016; [related]: A Record Year for Renewables - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, June 1, 2016; [and]: Wind and solar drive rise in renewable generation as costs fall - By Sophie Vorrath, REnew Economy, May 31, 2016
• New York Assembly Approves Climate Bill That Would Cut Emissions to Zero - By Zahra Hirji, InsideClimate News, June 1, 2016
• Organizing to put the Leap Manifesto to work - Bianca Mugyenyi and Martin Lukacs interviewed by Scott Neigh, Talking Radical Radio, June 1, 2016; [related]: Leap Manifesto [You Tube Video] - By Avi Lewis, The Murphy Institute, May 31, 2016
• TVUH talks our energy, environment and employment future with Iron & Earth - Lliam Hildebrand interviewed by Canadian Glen, Blog Talk Radio, May 31, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• UAWC Statement on World Environment Day - By Union of Agricultural Work Committees, La Via Campesina, June 6, 2016
• MST-Goiás statement on the policy of harassment against fighters for agrarian reform - By MST-Goiás, La Via Campesina, June 3, 2016
• Three Bible quotes later, no extra overtime pay for farmworkers - By Jeremy B. White, Sacramento Bee, June 2, 2016; [related]: Assembly kills bill to give California farmworkers overtime pay - By John Myers, Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2016
• BAFLF: Government must be prepared for the post subsidy era - By Abdul Mazid and Golam Sorowor, La Via Campesina, June 1, 2016
• CAP 2020: More deregulation will not solve the problems - By Geneviève Savigny, et. al., La Via Campesina, June 1, 2016
• Declaration against the criminalisation, persecution and judicialization of the struggle for the defence of life, rights, land, water, seeds and mother earth - By various, La Via Campesina, June 1, 2016
• Farmworkers March across New York State for the Right to Organize - By Sonia Singh, Labor Notes, June 1, 2016
• Dow-DuPont Merger Will Cripple Farmers and Food Sovereignty, Groups Warn - By Nika Knight, Common Dreams, May 31, 2016; [related]: Logan: Enough is Enough on Big Mergers - By Ron Sylvester, Ohio Farmers Union, May 31, 2016
• National boycott takes center stage at Wendy’s annual shareholder meeting! - By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, May 31, 2016 
• Boycott berries? A third generation Sakuma Brothers worker weighs in - By Elizabeth Alvarado, The Seattle Globalist, May 30, 2016; [related]: Renewed Concern Over Labor Dispute at Washington Farm - By Kerstin Lindgren and Anna Canning, Fair World Project, May 26, 2016
• From Albrecht to Monsanto: A System Not Run for the Public Good Can Never Serve the Public Good - By Colin Todhunter, Counterpunch, May 30, 2016
• Joint Statement: 3rd OEIWG session on UN declaration on rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas - By various, La Via Campesina, May 30, 2016   

By Emile A. Frison - International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems - June 2016

Today’s food and farming systems have succeeded in supplying large volumes of foods to global markets, but are generating negative outcomes on multiple fronts: widespread degradation of land, water and ecosystems; high GHG emissions; biodiversity losses; persistent hunger and micro-nutrient deficiencies alongside the rapid rise of obesity and diet-related diseases; and livelihood stresses for farmers around the world.

Many of these problems are linked specifically to ‘industrial agriculture’: the input-intensive crop monocultures and industrial-scale feedlots that now dominate farming landscapes. The uniformity at the heart of these systems, and their reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides and preventive use of antibiotics, leads systematically to negative outcomes and vulnerabilities.

Industrial agriculture and the ‘industrial food systems’ that have developed around it are locked in place by a series of vicious cycles. For example, the way food systems are currently structured allows value to accrue to a limited number of actors, reinforcing their economic and political power, and thus their ability to influence the governance of food systems.

Tweaking practices can improve some of the specific outcomes of industrial agriculture, but will not provide long-term solutions to the multiple problems it generates.

What is required is a fundamentally different model of agriculture based on diversifying farms and farming landscapes, replacing chemical inputs, optimizing biodiversity and stimulating interactions between different species, as part of holistic strategies to build long-term fertility, healthy agro-ecosystems and secure livelihoods, i.e. ‘diversified agroecological systems’.

There is growing evidence that these systems keep carbon in the ground, support biodiversity, rebuild soil fertility and sustain yields over time, providing a basis for secure farm livelihoods.

Data shows that these systems can compete with industrial agriculture in terms of total outputs, performing particularly strongly under environmental stress, and delivering production increases in the places where additional food is desperately needed. Diversified agroecological systems can also pave the way for diverse diets and improved health.

Change is already happening. Industrial food systems are being challenged on multiple fronts, from new forms of cooperation and knowledge-creation to the development of new market relationships that bypass conventional retail circuits.

Political incentives must be shifted in order for these alternatives to emerge beyond the margins. A series of modest steps can collectively shift the centre of gravity in food systems.

Read the report (PDF).

By Rory Smith - Truthout, May 7, 2016 ©Truthout; may not be reused without permission.

The food justice movement -- a loose but expansive conglomeration of organizations working to create a more just food system in the United States -- has accomplished a great deal over the last 30 years. But can it manage to converge in its diversity and create a countermovement potent enough to transform the current food regime? Or is it too shallow and too spread, destined to disappear in its disjointedness.

Things may seem a little out of sorts when one in six Americans -- residents of the most affluent country on the planet -- don't have enough to eat, and when the percentage of hungry people in the United States has gone up 57 percent since the late 1990s. Sprinkle in that little detail about how Black and Latino neighborhoods are often left practically devoid of fresh produce but flooded with fast food restaurants (something that contributes to high rates of obesity, diabetes and thyroid disease), and you might start to question one or two things.

Toss in the fact that many of the 2 million farm laborers who produce US consumers' fruits and vegetables are not only subjected to brutal labor conditions but also can't afford to consume the very same food they pick, and you might really start to wonder. And when you top off this gallimaufry with one more slight detail -- that there are 1 billion people around the world suffering from malnourishment, a number that hasn't changed significantly since the 1970s -- the inequity of the current food regime becomes pretty clear. It was the food justice movement that first recognized this reality, and it has spent the last 30 years challenging and redressing these inequalities.

The Black Panthers' Free Breakfast for School Children Program, Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, and the family farming caucuses that swept the United States during the 1980s were early proponents of food justice. And while these original players have been all but subsumed by the passage of time, they have been replaced by hundreds of thousands of farmworkers, urban and rural farmers, activists, consumers and academics who are all working to institute a fairer and more just food system. This effort is what Eric Holt-Giménez, the executive director of Food First, calls "converging in our diversity," and it is the linchpin of creating a just food system: a system that stresses the right of communities everywhere to produce, distribute and have equal access to healthy food, irrespective of class, gender or ethnicity.

Just when that Rust Cohle-like pessimism seems to have obtruded on our collective consciousness -- foregrounded by our failure to engineer any overhaul of the US financial system and scientists' incredulous predictions on global warming -- the food justice movement could be that slow-cooked countermovement that we have all been waiting for. Everyone has some kind of a relationship with food. It is the cornerstone of culture and life, as well as of the capitalist system. If any revolution is going to be successful, this seems like a good place for it to start.

By Edgar Franks - Front and Centered, April 21, 2016

We at Community to Community (C2C) have been in solidarity with the Boycott Driscoll’s campaign led by Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) since 2013. We believe that movements are most successful when led by the most affected. It’s not often, if at all, we see a union that is led by indigenous people, FUJ union members are Mixteco and Triqui people and they are dramatically shifting the ways in which we think about farm worker organizing. We have learned from Cesar Chavez and the California farm workers’ strategies on winning contracts using the boycott and in WA State we are continuing that legacy.

FUJ is making history not only in taking on a corporate giant but in the ways they have been able to educate people on the complexities of the food system. Through the boycott of Driscoll’s we are now able to see the dramatic shift that agriculture has been going through. Driscoll’s is an example of why we need a new food system. Apart from the tremendous amount of labor exploitation the fight against Driscoll’s is also about climate and environmental justice.

We can’t call corporate businesses farms or say that they are practicing agriculture. Our campesino way of food production and feeding our people is at odds with the profit/commodity market. Through the industrial agriculture model we see an intensifying use of pesticides and fertilizers, most of which are petroleum based and contribute to ozone depletion. The water that is extracted is drying up our rivers and reservoirs. For example, California is currently going through a historic water shortage mostly due to the amount of water that is used in industrial agriculture.

So when farm workers are calling for a boycott of Driscoll’s berries, it is a much deeper call to action. It is a challenge to all of us to fight for a better way of living and build the food system and economy that we need to thrive in harmony with Mother Earth. We at C2C are working to create a local solidarity economy where profit is not the motive, but living well is the driving factor of our labor. We want food sovereignty for all communities, where communities can decide how to feed their people in an equitable, participatory manner. We want agroecology as the way to build the new food system and to end the corporate industrial model of food production. By doing this we can raise the political consciousness of our people and build solidarity across movements.