just transition

By Yessenia Funes - Yes! Magazine, March 15, 2016

Our lifestyle is inextricably linked to fossil fuels. We pay the industry to heat our homes and power our cars. Though driving might be optional where public transit is available, heat is not during harsh winters. We know about the effects on the climate of burning oil, gas, and coal for energy, but we don’t know what turning our backs on them will do to our economy. Some worry that closing our oil refineries and shutting down our mines would throw the market into a dangerous vortex. That doesn’t need to be the case. A successful energy transition could actually benefit the economy and reduce inequality.

The economy relies on a number of things, including spending, manufacturing, trade, and personal income. The availability of fossil fuels has largely driven these for 150 years. “[Oil] is the world’s first trillion-dollar industry in terms of annual dollar sales,” environmental author Jack Doyle wrote in 1994. In North Dakota, a major oil- and gas-producing state, an oil boom created the $53.7 billion gross domestic product the state sees today.

But booms often have downsides. When the journal Energy Economics compared six states that produced the vast majority of the West’s crude oil and natural gas, it saw per capita income decrease by as much as $7,000 in counties whose incomes relied most on such development. Also, the crime rates and percentage of adults without a college education increased in those counties. The study offers possible explanations, including an increasing reliance on nonlocal workers and changing wage structures.

The oil and gas industries are the largest industrial sources of volatile organic compound emissions—2.2 million tons a year. These chemicals cause smog, which can increase the risks of asthma and premature death. The industry also produces cancer-causing pollutants: benzene, ethylbenzene, and n-hexane, which are emitted during the refinement process.

Low-income communities of color disproportionately bear this health burden and are also least likely to have access to health care, including preventive medicine, checkups, and prescription drugs. The inequality of care only widens the income gap by adding more financial pressures to an already stressed group.

What about jobs? Extractive industries currently employ nearly 200,000 Americans and pay some employees as much as $42.90 an hour. These jobs are a valid concern. The U.S. unemployment rate is finally down to about 5 percent. Surely we don’t want all those people put out of work.

That won’t happen if we launch the renewable energy sector in sync. Economists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) have studied this topic since the early 2000s. Their research shows how a transition to renewables can lead to a post-carbon world and a fairer economy.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, March 15, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Letter to U.S. Sec. of State Kerry Condemning the Honduran Assassination of Berta Caceras - By Various, Family Farm Defenders, March 12, 2016
• A Current Longshore Battle Shows that the NLRB Is Not a Friend of Organized Labor - By Joe Burns, In These Times, March 11, 2016
• Assassination of Berta Cáceres sparks outrage - By Raul Burbano, Rabble.Ca, March 7, 2016
• Poisoned, Marginalised, Bankrupt and Dead - By Colin Todhunter, CounterPunch, March 7, 2016
• Ten-second procedure might have averted Lac-Mégantic disaster - By Grant Robertson, Toronto Globe and Mail, March 7, 2016
• Today's Slaves Often Work For Enterprises That Destroy The Environment - By Kevin Bales, NPR, January 27, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Appalachia Resist: Regional Action Camp for Social & Environmental Justice - March 18-21
• Break Free 2016 - May 2016
• Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11-13, 2016
• Earth Day to May Day! - April 22-May 1, 2016
• Flush the TPP - Spring 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
• 2016 Labor Notes Conference - April 1-4, 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• The Vermont gas pipeline: where do we go from here? - By Staff, Rising Tide Vermont, February 1, 2016

Just Transition:

• Clocking off: Can Wales’ steel heartland survive in a greener world? - By Alex Pashley, Climate Change News, March 10, 2016
• How many jobs do wind farms create? - By Guest, Clean Energy Footprints, March 9, 2016
• Change is in the air - By David Suzuki, Rabble.Ca, March 8, 2016
• Just How Democratic Are Rural Electric Cooperatives? - By John Farrell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, March 7, 2016
• A Campaign to Demand Canada Post Deliver A New Green Economy - Katie McKenna and Mike Palecek interviewed by Nadia Kanji, The Real News Network, March 6, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Support the Berrypickers Union!: March 18th & 19th - By Maralena, Rising Tide Portland, March 13, 2016
• Familias Unidas por la Justicia Newsletter - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, March 12, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott wins key court battle for right to protest today in Palm Beach as Workers’ Voice Tour rolls into Florida with triumphant Day 9 action in Gainesville! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 12, 2016
• Day Six: The Mid- South stands up for Fair Food! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 10, 2016
• Review: Farmageddon, The True Cost of Cheap Meat - By Martin Empson, Climate and Capitalism, March 10, 2016
• The farm that grows climate solutions - By Eric Toensmeier, Ensia, March 9, 2016
• Union of Agricultural Work Committees' Statement on the occasion of March 8th; International Women's Day - By Staff, La Via Campesina, March 9, 2016
• Violence on the Factory Farm: How Not to Feed the World - By Colin Todhunter, Counterpunch, March 9, 2016
• “We are not tied down by slavery… we are embraced by freedom.” - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 9, 2016
• West African Caravan for Land, Water and peasant seeds - By Staff, La Via Campesina, March 9, 2016
• Internationally Recognized Rights Defender Berta Cáceres Murdered in Honduras - By Shannon Young, Truthout, March 7, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott takes Columbus by storm! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 7, 2016
• Food, hunger, health, and climate change - By Alistair Woodwardemail and John R Porter, The Lancet, March 2, 2016

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

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

Lead Stories:

• Remembering Berta Cáceres, Assassinated Honduras Indigenous & Environmental Leader - Silvio Carrillo and Beverly Bell interviewed by Juan González and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, March 4, 2016
• Assassination of our sister in struggle: Berta Cáceres - By Staff, La Via Campesina, March 3, 2016
• Poisoned City: Flint and the Specter of Domestic Terrorism - By Henry A. Giroux, Truthout, March 3, 2016
• David Suzuki and labour movement join forces - By Valentina Ruiz Leotaud, National Observer, March 2, 2016
• DuPont Rakes in Federal Dollars Despite History of Hazards - By Mary Bottari, PR Watch, February 29, 2016
• New York State Pension Funds Lost $5.3 Billion From Fossil Fuel Holdings Over 3 Years - By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, February 29, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Appalachia Resist: Regional Action Camp for Social & Environmental Justice - March 18-21
• Break Free 2016 - May 2016
• Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11-13, 2016
• Cove Point Spring Break - March 6-14
• Earth Day to May Day! - April 22-May 1, 2016
• Flush the TPP - Spring 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
• 2016 Labor Notes Conference - April 1-4, 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• City of Warrenton Denies Key Land Use Permits for Proposed Oregon LNG Terminal - By Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper, March 4, 2016
• Inside the Fight to Frack a Pennsylvania Township - By Natasha Khan, Truthout, March 4, 2016
• U.S. Marshals Enforce Eminent Domain for Constitution Pipeline - By John Zangas, DC Media Group, March 4, 2016 
• A Hollow Victory for Williams Partners - By Ted Glick, Ted Glick, March 1, 2016
• Oakland: Sen. Hancock introduces four bills to restrict coal exports - By David DeBolt, Contra Costa Times, February 19, 2016

Just Transition:

• From sit-ins to songs to socials, highlights from Leap Day 2016 - By Bianca Mugyenyi, Rabble.Ca, March 4, 2016
• How do we ditch dirty coal power without sending miners to the unemployment line? - By Times Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2016
• Big Solar Brightens Up South Carolina Economy - By Staff, Clean Energy Footprints, March 2, 2016
• Canadian Labour Congress proposes plan to create 1 million 'climate jobs' - By Staff, CBC News, March 2, 2016
• HS2 or HSUK - the quicker, cheaper, emissions-cutting, low impact high speed rail network? - By Colin Elliff, Andrew Coulson & Stephen Stretton, The Ecologist, March 1, 2016
• Mass demo says Trident has got to go - By Tomáš Tengely-Evans, Socialist Worker (UK), March 1, 2016
• A closer look at the Repower Our Schools report and transitioning CMS to solar - By Ryan Pitkin, Creative Loafing, February 17, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• The Wendy’s Boycott begins: Video, photo report from Day One of the Workers’ Voice Tour! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 5, 2016
• Incapable of responding to the dairy crisis, the European Commission faces international peasant farmer delegation - By Andoni Garcia, et. al., La Via Campesina, March 4, 2016
• 2016 Jose Gomez Farmworker Justice Day - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, March 4, 2016
• Farmworkers, Consumers Declare National Boycott of Wendy’s! - By Elena Stein, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 3, 2016
• Farmworkers Forced To Go Back To Work After Being Exposed To Pesticide - By Esther Yu-Hsi Lee, Think Progress, March 3, 2016
• Historic West Coast Tour with Familias Unidas por la Justicia - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, March 3, 2016
• CTA Review reflects previous government’s priorities, says NFU - By Jan Slomp, Ian Robson, and Terry Boehm, La Via Campesina, March 2, 2016
• Workers embark on Workers’ Voice Tour with wind in their sails thanks to National Council of Churches’ open letter to Wendy’s, Brolick, and Peltz! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 2, 2016
• EU: Roadmap to exit the milk crisis - By Marzia Rezzin, et. al., La Via Campesina, March 1, 2016
• Backpackers 'targeted by dodgy labour hire companies' in 'culture of impunity' - By Robert French, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, March 1, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Explosion rocks refinery in Pasadena, injuring one - By Deborah Wrigley, KTRK TV (ABC 13 Houston), March 5, 2016; [related]: One injured in Texas explosion at Petrobras refinery - By Erwin Seba, Reuters, March 5, 2016
• NJ Transit rail workers holding rally as contract talks continue - By Dan Alexander, New Jersey 101.5 FM, March 5, 2016 
• Scuba diver sucked in to nuclear plant water pipe files suit against Florida Power and Light - By Jared Werksma, WPTV (NBC 5 West Palm Beach), March 4, 2016
• Five reasons Canada must ban asbestos now - By Staff, Canadian Labour Congress, March 3, 2016
• 5 Years Later Fukushima Still Spilling Toxic Nuclear Waste Into Sea, Top Execs Face Criminal Charges - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, March 1, 2016
• Garment factory workers in Bangladesh need support, solidarity, not boycott - By Archana Rampure, Rabble.Ca, March 1, 2016
• Georgian Miners Dig In as Protest Enters Second Week - By Nicholas Waller, Georgia Today, March 1, 2016
• Union to Tesla: Gigafactory Worker Protest Is Just the Beginning - By Kirsten Korosec, Fortune, February 29, 2016; [related]: Hundreds walk off Tesla job in Nevada labor dispute - By Staff, KRNV (Western Nevada NBC 4), February 29, 2016
• Audit faults Federal Railroad Administration for lack of oversight on oil trains - By Susan Phillips, State Impact (NPR Pennsylvania), February 26, 2016
• Crane operator fired for refusing high wind working - By Richard Krabbendam, Heavy Lift News, February 22, 2016

By various - CUPW, Leap Manifesto, et. al., March 2016

Many think of Canada Post as a place to mail a care package, buy stamps or pick up the latest commemorative coin.

Some consider the post office past its prime: the last decade has seen efforts to cut, devalue and undermine this quintessentially public service. These moves have been fiercely resisted by people across the country.

What if our cherished national institution, with its vast physical infrastructure and millions of daily human interactions, could offer us something completely different? What if the post office could play a central role in building our next economy — an economy that is more stable, more equal, and less polluting?

Just Imagine...

• Charging stations for electric vehicles at post offices
• a renewable-powered postal fleet that connects farms to dinner tables
• Door-to-door mail carriers checking in on seniors and people with mobility issues as well as delivering locally-produced food and other services
• Post offices as community hubs for social innovation, connecting climate-friendly businesses to customers
• Postal banking services that provide small towns and Indigenous communities with inclusive financial services – like loans to families underserved by commercial banks
• Public-interest financial services that fuel the green energy transition in urban, rural and Indigenous communities We want a 100% renewable economy that addresses inequality, puts power in our hands and improves our lives.

Our post office can deliver it.

Read the report (PDF).

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, March 1, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Newsletter: Climate Justice Essential For Economic & Racial Justice - By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance, February 27, 2016
• The Fossil Fuel Thunderdome - By Brett Fleishman, Fossil Free, February 22, 2016
• Fukushima: Deep Trouble - By Robert Hunziker, CounterPunch, February 22, 2016
• Federal Contractors With History of OSHA Violations Battle New Safety Rules - By Mary Bottari, PR Watch, February 16, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Appalachia Resist: Regional Action Camp for Social & Environmental Justice - March 18-21
• Break Free 2016 - May 2016
• Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11-13, 2016
• Cove Point Spring Break - March 6-14
• Earth Day to May Day! - April 22-May 1, 2016
• Flush the TPP - Spring 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• 2016 Labor Notes Conference - April 1-4, 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Heathrow 13: We’re no heroes; what we want most is for you to take action too - By Alistair Tamlit, Red Pepper, February 26, 2016
• Port Rejects Plans to Build Oil Refinery and Propane Export Terminal - By Brett VandenHeuvel, EcoWatch, February 25, 2016
• Proposed Marcellus Gas Pipeline Sparks Protest At Prized Maple Farm - By Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog, February 25, 2016
• Fracking Cases in Pennsylvania Expose the Human Cost of Drilling - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, February 24, 2016
• Longview Terminated Negotiations For Oil & Propane Facilities - By Roy L Hales, The Eco Report, February 23, 2016

Just Transition:

• Solar’s stunning rise is only just beginning - By Fereidoon Sioshansi, REnew Economy, February 29, 2016
• Across Canada and World, Climate Movement Prepares for Leap into 2016 - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, February 28, 2016
• Repetition - By Nick Mullins, The Thoughtful Coal Miner, February 27, 2016
• Trident rally is Britain's biggest anti-nuclear march in a generation - By Mark Townsend, The Guardian, February 27, 2016
• Unions and Cooperatives: How Workers Can Survive and Thrive - By Brian Van Slyke, Truthout, February 27, 2016
• Water Management Industry Eclipses Oil & Gas as Jobs Leader in SE Louisiana, 2nd Across Coastal Zone - By Elizabeth Van Cleve, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, February 24, 2016
• Critical Self-Reflection as a Path to Anti-Capitalism: The Degrowth-Movement - By Dennis Eversberg and Matthias Schmelzer, DeGrowth, February 23, 2016
• ‘Ende Gelände’: Stop Coal; Protect The Climate - By Staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, February 22, 2016
• 100% Renewable Energy: What We Can Do in 10 Years - By Richard Heinberg, Yes! Magazine, February 22, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Accountability comes calling for Wendy’s Board Chairman Nelson Peltz… - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, February 29, 2016
• Farmers to Gov. Dayton: More Living Cover on Farmland Will Clean Our Water - By Loretta Jaus, Darrel Mosel, and Terry VanDerPol, Land Stewardship Project, February 27, 2016
• NFWM Meets with Sakuma Bros. CEO & Driscoll’s VP - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, February 27, 2016
• Make Monsanto Pay - By Vandana Shiva, EcoWatch, February 26, 2016
• The surreptitious arrival of the new “Living Modified Organisms” at the FAO - By Staff, La Via Campesina, February 26, 2016
• 1,500 farmworkers and families swamp CIW headquarters for annual Year of the Worker Party; Workers’ Voice Tour art production in full swing! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, February 24, 2016
• Coalition of Immokalee Workers Targets Wendy's for Rejecting Fairer Standards for Farmworkers - By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, February 23, 2016
• Drought in Southern Africa threatens millions with famine - By various, Socialist Worker (UK), February 23, 2016
• A Town Demands Protection from Pesticides - By Elizabeth Grossman, National Geographic, February 23, 2016
• Understanding Tribal Agriculture - By Bharat Dogra and Baba Mayaram, Vikalp Sangam, February 23, 2016
• One week out! Workers’ Voice Tour just around the corner… - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, February 22, 2016
• Monsanto's Pesticide Is Top Suspect Behind Mysterious Kidney Disease - By Armin Rosencranz, Ashrutha Rai and Gaurav Bhawnani, Truthout, February 20, 2016
• Here’s how California could be missing pesticides’ cancer risk - By Andrew Donohue, Reveal, February 17, 2016
• Science Used to Regulate Monsanto's Roundup Is Outdated, Says New Study - By Elizabeth Grossman, Earth Island Journal, February 17, 2016
• From Farm To Table - By Kari Birdseye, EarthJustice, Winter 2016

By Chelsea Carrick - Socialist Worker, February 24, 2016

The transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources is discussed primarily through an environmental lens--and for good reason. With the rapid depletion of planetary resources and the growing frequency of extreme weather events, it has become increasingly clear that capitalist forms of fossil-fuel extraction will continue to ignore the world's natural limits--even to the point of obliterating the possibility of life on earth.

But in addition to drawing awareness to environmental devastation and organizing resistance to it, it's also critical to organize in defense of the interests of the people who actually work in the fossil-fuel industry. The recent and dramatic collapse in oil prices illustrates why this is essential.

In circumstances like now, workers are more likely to harbor grievances against their employers as it becomes apparent just how precarious their seemingly stable jobs actually are. In recent months, workers are being laid off every day, and those once able to rely on overtime pay are seeing their hours cut. In communities where fossil fuels are the primary engine of economic growth, the entire local economy slumps.

In these communities, layoffs and spending cuts at energy firms mean increasingly unsafe working conditions for the workers who remain. Entire communities are facing a painful and rapid transition from boomtowns into economic wastelands.

CASPER, WYOMING, is one of these places. Nicknamed "Oil City" because of its long history as an oil-producing town, the oil industry is touted as the ultimate job creator. But the problem is that the industry that created this community is the same industry that's destroying it. And workers are noticing.

Workers in oil extraction facilities are six times more likely to die on the job than the average worker. Major oil companies can avoid responsibility for on-the-job deaths because federal regulators do not have a systematic way to record deaths in this field, and certain fatalities do not need to be included in OSHA reports. Additionally, diseases with a long latency are rarely reported.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, February 22, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Mountaintop removal country’s mental health crisis - By Clayton Aldern, Grist, February 17, 2016
• In Exchange For Cutting Benefits, This Bankrupt Coal Company Agreed To Pay Executives Millions - By Nicole Gentile, Think Progress, February 16, 2016
• The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa is appalled by the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Zuma on 11 February 2016 - By Irvin Jim, NUMSA, February 15, 2016
• Healthy Ground, Healthy Atmosphere: Recarbonizing the Earth's Soils - By Nancy Averett, Truthout, February 14, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Appalachia Resist: Regional Action Camp for Social & Environmental Justice - March 18-21
• Break Free 2016 - May 2016 |
• Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11 – 13, 2016
• Cove Point Spring Break - March 6-14
• Flush the TPP - Spring 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• 2016 Labor Notes Conference - April 1-4, 2016
• Railcon15 - Next Conference TBA | #Railcon15

The Thin Green Line:

• Derailing Big Oil’s Plans for San Luis Obispo and Benicia - By Ethan Buckner, ForestEthics, February 18, 2016
• Coal Opponents Claim Small Victory at Oakland City Council  - By Darwin BondGraham, East Bay Express, February 17, 2016; [related] New poll reveals that over 75 percent of Oakland voters oppose coal-export proposal - By Staff, Sierra Club Yodeler, February 17, 2016
• As Fossil Fuel Industry Staggers, a Massive Gas Pipeline Project Endures in Texas - By Dahr Jamail, Truthout, February 15, 2016
• Air pollution emergency announced, but these people fighting for solution face jail time - By Chris Court-Dobson, The Canary, February 13, 2016

Just Transition:

• Winter Newsletter - By Staff, Alliance for Appalachia, February 17, 2016
• Why 2016 will be the best year yet for climate justice - By Kari Malkki, Reuters, February 15, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Climate Justice and Palestine: the New Intersectionality - By Alice Rothchild, CounterPunch, February 19, 2016
• Land and Ocean Grabs Not the Solution to Climate Change - By Salena Tramel, The World Post, February 19, 2016
• Monsant o's pride, Monsanto's fall: playing God with the Indian farmer - By Colin Todhunter, The Ecologist, February 19, 2016
• Familias Unidas takes Boycott to Washington, DC - By admin, Boycott Sakuma Berries, February 18, 2016
• Familias Unidas Attends PCC Board of Trustees Meeting in Seattle - By admin, Boycott Sakuma Berries, February 17, 2016
• US Farmers Allege Deception by Agrochemical Giant: The Case Against Syngenta - By Clara Herzberg, Truthout, February 17, 2016
• FAO should support seed selection by peasants and small scale farmers - By Guy Kastler, La Via Campesina, February 16, 2016
• Arms, agribusiness, finance and fossil fuels: the four horsemen of the neoliberal Apocalypse - By Colin Todhunter, The Ecologist, February 15, 2016
• Corporate vision of the future of food promoted at the UN - By Guy Kastler, et.al., La Via Campesina, February 15, 2016
• European dairy farmers facing an untenable situation since 2014 - By Jose–Miguel Pacheco and Genevieve Savigny, La Via Campesina, February 15, 2016
• FAO Symposium on Biotechnology: The biotechnology industry runs the show - By Various, La Via Campesina, February 15, 2016
• Opinion: Women farmers in Europe - By Hanny van Geel, Agricultures, December 2015
• Peasant women power in Mozambique - By Boaventura Monjane, Agricultures, December 2015

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Battle Lines Are Drawn as Congress Reforms the 40-Year-Old Toxic Substances Control Act - By Reynard Loki, Alternet, February 18, 2016
• CP Rail acted in bad faith when firing this conductor after Banff derailment: arbitrator - By Reid Southwick, Calgary Herald, February 18, 2016
• So, is Don Blankenship ‘hardly a criminal’? - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette, February 18, 2016
• USW, Mexican Miners’ Union Accuse Asarco, Parent Firm of Rights Violations - By Ben Davis, United Steelworkers, February 18, 2016
• Global Union Coalition Expresses Solidarity, Support for Local 235A - By Staff, United Steelworkers, February 17, 2016
• Plant Shutdown Threatens Pennsylvania Town's Water Supply - By Arthur Delaney, Huffington Post, February 17, 2016
• Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Local 241, Executive Board Member and Union Steward Fired by CTA for Enforcing Union Contract - By ATU Local 241, Transport Workers Solidarity Committee, February 16, 2016
• NUMSA message on the Lily mine disaster - By Irvin Jim, NUMSA, February 16, 2016
• Dozens of Australian building sites contaminated by illegal Chinese asbestos imports, authorities say - By Angelique Donnellan, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, February 15, 2016

Greenwashers:

• Groups Say Secretary Moniz Won't Protect Porter Ranch - By Dan Bacher, Daily Kos, February 17, 2016
• Carbonballs: How Carbon Neutral Investments made Newcastle United “carbon positive” - By Chris Lang, REDD-Monitor, February 16, 2016

Whistleblowers:

• New federal artificial turf study will lead to more questions - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, February 16, 2016

Disaster Capitalism:

• "Thirsty for Democracy: The Poisoning of an American City": Complete Democracy Now! Special on Flint - By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, February 17, 2016; [related] As They Drank Contaminated Water, Flint Residents Were Charged The Highest Water Rates In The Country - By Bryce Covert, Think Progress, February 17, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, February 15, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• What the media hides about China’s economic slowdown: Greed has corporate elites turning blind eye to nation’s environmental destruction - By Bob Hennelly, Salon, February 10, 2016
• How Industry and Regulators Kept Public in the Dark After 2014 LNG Explosion in Washington - By Tarika Powell, Sightline Daily, February 8, 2016
• Organic Agriculture, Capitalism and the Parallel World of the Pro-GMO Evangelist - By Colin Todhunter, CounterPunch, February 8, 2016
• Newsletter: Global Solidarity Is Rising - By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance, February 7, 2016
• Why the oil industry could be a stain on economic recovery in US - By Jana Kasperkevic, The Guardian, February 7, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Appalachia Resist: Regional Action Camp for Social & Environmental Justice - March 18-21
• Break Free 2016 - May 2016 |
• Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11 – 13, 2016
• Cove Point Spring Break - March 6-14
• Flush the TPP - Spring 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• 2016 Labor Notes Conference - April 1-4, 2016
• Railcon15 - Next Conference TBA | #Railcon15

The Thin Green Line:

• Coal Money Divides Oakland's Churches - By Darwin BondGraham, East Bay Express, February 10, 2016
• Hundreds urge Planning Commission to deny Phillips 66′s dangerous oil train proposal - By Elly Benson, Sierra Club Yodeler, February 8, 2016
• Broad Coalition in San Luis Obispo Blasts Tar Sands Invasion - By Paul W. Rea, Sunflower Alliance, February 7, 2016
• Here are all the Northwest cities, governments and organizations that oppose oil trains - By Nick Abraham, Oil Check, January 28, 2016

Just Transition:

• Solar Net Metering Challenge In Maine - By Glenn Meyers, Clean Technica, February 12, 2016
• Good Policy Gone Bad: How Nevada Killed Jobs And Clean Energy Competition - By Jim Marston, Environmental Defense Fund, February 11, 2016
• 75,000 Solar Jobs In California, Says New Report - By Jake Richardson, Clean Technica, February 11, 2016
• California And Massachusetts Lead U.S. Solar Boom - By Alejandro Davila Fragoso, Think Progress, February 10, 2016
• States See Robust Solar Job Growth, But Are Those Jobs Secure? - By Julia Pyper, Green Tech Media, February 10, 2016
• Farmers, community and enviro groups rally at Vic Parliament: Call for gasfield ban & renewables ambition - By Leigh Ewbank, Yes2Renewables, February 9, 2016
• Residents fight for economic and environmental justice in one Illinois town - By Raven Rakia, Grist, February 9, 2016
• Social partners and the collaborative approach are key to the green transition of the Ruhr region - By Béla Galgóczi, European Trade Union Institute, February 9, 2016
• Switching on to energy democracy - By Claire Fauset, New Internationalist, February 9, 2016
• Brooklyn Youth Create Jobs (and Community Roots) Through Local Compost Program - By Rebecca Nathanson, Yes! Magazine, February 5, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• MST: We are entering a new period of class struggle - By MST National Coordination, La Via Campesina, February 12, 2016
• California Farmers Irrigate Crops With Chevron’s Oil Wastewater in Drought-Stricken Central Valley - By Cole Mellino, EcoWatch, February 10, 2016
• Jail term for villagers opposing Bolloré/Socfin’s palm oil plantations in Sierra Leone as trial of French journalists starts in Paris - By  Joseph Rahall, et. al., World Rainforest Movement, February 10, 2016
• Coffee Farmers Sue Monsanto for Hiding Cancer-Causing Impact of Glyphosate - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, February 9, 2016
• A real system change has to come from below, says Paula Gioia, the European Youth ICC member of La Via Campesina - By Den Haag, La Via Campesina, February 9, 2016
• Breaking the system designed to keep tea workers poor - By Sabita Banerji, New Internationalist, February 8, 2016
• Farm defenders halt construction at the Gill Tract a second time - By Occupy the Farm, IndyBay, February 8, 2016
• Hot off the press!… - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, February 8, 2016
• Local Farmworkers Disrupt Costco Shareholders Meeting - By Káráni, Káráni, February 8, 2016
• Weekend of Farmworker Solidarity in California and Washington - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, February 8, 2016
• Environmental racism in the “leftmost city” - By esewra, Santa Cruz Ecological Justice, January 27, 2016