Category Archives: Community

Community, Environment

Pittsburgh Rally Defends Clean Water, Opposes Natural Gas ‘Fracking’

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Photos by Bill Allen

Western PA Activists

Deliver ‘Street Heat’ vs.

Marcellus Shale ‘Frackers’

By Carl Davidson

Beaver County Blue

“No Fracking Way! No Fracking Way!” was the chant resounding off the steel, granite and glass walls in downtown Pittsburgh on the sunny afternoon on Nov. 3, as nearly 500 environmental activists headed for the David Lawrence Convention Center. Their target was a gathering of 2000 natural gas drillers being addressed by Karl Rove, advisor to former President George W Bush.

Inside, the industry executives were meeting to discuss the “future” of hydro-fracking gas drilling and planning to use heavy explosives to blast apart the 4000-foot-deep Marcellus Shale formation to get the natural gas beneath.

“Only a dying soul,” said Stephen Cleghorn, “can contemplate the destruction of life that they’re discussing in that building right now!” Cleghorn is Reynoldsville, PA farmer, and his views reflected those of many semi-rural residents of Pennsylvania and other nearby states, where water was polluted and cattle died.

“They promise people all sorts of money,” said Bob Schmetzer, “but what’s your home worth if you have bad water? Nothing!” Schmetzer, carrying a placard demanding ‘prosecute the polluters,’ is the council president of South Heights in Beaver County, and the vice president of the 4th CD Progressive Democrats of America.

Continue reading Pittsburgh Rally Defends Clean Water, Opposes Natural Gas ‘Fracking’ →

Community, health care, labor

Braddock: UPMC Wrecking Working-Class Health Care

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Braddock Fights for its Hospital

By Kay Tillow
Unions for Single Payer

Oct.17, 2010 – Braddock, the home of many a working class battle, now fights to save its hospital, the best building in town, from the wrecker’s ball. Braddock, Pennsylvania, the site of the US Steel’s Edgar Thompson Works, lies along the north bank of the Monongahela just up the river from Pittsburgh.

Braddock’s story is repeated across the country as mills close and once thriving working class communities are deserted by the hospitals they built. The people of Braddock are saying “no” to the gigantic University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) as it builds in wealthy areas while closing the hospitals where they are needed most–Braddock, Aliquippa, Southside.

The people of Braddock are fighting back. With the help of the Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Single-Payer Healthcare they organized “Save Our Community Hospitals” (SOCH). In an effort to stop the demolition they are maintaining a vigil at the hospital and seeking legal proceedings to block it. They won a victory when the demolition was halted by an invalid permit.

UPMC, an $8 billion corporation, now occupies the former US Steel building that dominates the Pittsburgh Skyline. In recent years UPMC has established itself as a global enterprise with overseas ventures in Sicily and Ireland. UPMC just announced a $16 million advertising and branding campaign with a new warm and fuzzy purple logo. It has plenty of money to keep the Braddock Hospital open.

SOCH urges supporters to call UPMC CEO, Jeffrey Romoff to demand that the hospital be saved and emergency service be restored to Braddock.

Romoff’s number is: 412-647-3555

The passage of HR 676, national single payer health care, would end the flight of hospitals and health care away from urban centers and hard hit areas that have lost manufacturing jobs. HR 676 would be publicly funded making everyone an “equally valuable” patient stopping the economic incentives that now close hospitals and physicians offices.

After you call Jeff Romoff, call your congressperson and urge co-sponsorship for HR 676.

Kay Tillow
All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care–HR 676
c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)
1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218
Louisville, KY 40217

Email: nursenpo@aol.com
http://unionsforsinglepayer.org/

Community, labor, unemployment

Marching for Jobs, Justice and Peace: A Bus Captain’s Story

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Randy and Tina Shanon, Oct 2 in DC

Photo: Randy & Tina Shannon, Oct 2 in DC

We’re One Nation Working Together

By Tina Shannon

President, PA 4th CD Chapter
Progressive Democrats of America

October 11, 2010 – It was a real pleasure to work with labor folks and other community leaders to organize four buses to leave Beaver County for the One Nation Rally that took place on Saturday Oct. 2nd. We started planning and soliciting donations in September.

The coalition quickly grew to include the local NAACP, members from many unions, who were present at various points in time, as well as the Minority Coalition. The religious community of Beaver County was also represented.

I was surprised how quickly donations rolled in from the various union locals. Our PDA chapter made our modest contribution right away. Several union organizations, namely SEIU, USW, and Beaver-Lawrence Labor Council were very supportive. The NAACP made a contribution. Individuals pitched in too.

Continue reading Marching for Jobs, Justice and Peace: A Bus Captain’s Story →

antiwar, Community, health care, unemployment

Beaver County’s Big Knob Fair Meets the Peace and Jobs Movement

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Lessons Learned at the

Big Knob Grange Fair

 

By Randy Shannon and Carl Davidson

Beaver County Blue

The Big Knob Grange Fair, held Aug. 30 through Sept. 4 up in the lovely rolling hills above Rochester, PA, a distressed mill town at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio rivers, is a “big doin’s’ in Beaver County, and has been for 70 years or so.

It features blue grass and country rock bands, tractor and truck ‘pulls,’ a demolition derby, dozens of rides for kids, booths for local politicians, hunting clubs, garden clubs, home improvement vendors, and local artisans. The Grange members serve delicious home-cooked food, display prize-winning livestock, fowl, and garden produce. The oldest and the latest in farm equipment are also on display. In recent years, the Fair draws from 30,000 to 40,000 semi-rural farmers and blue-collar workers with their families, and a horde of young people, and this year, with glorious weather, was no different.

This year the Fair had a new feature co-sponsored by Beaver County Peace Links and the 4th CD Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America. Near the middle of the big striped circus tent was a table with a large banner hanging behind it: ‘War Is Making You Poor!’ Many of the hundreds of passersby on any one of the five days stopped and did a double take. Some ambled on, but a good number stayed to chat and see what it was all about.

“We were there every day from 4pm until 10pm,” said Randy Shannon, treasurer of the 4th CD Progressive Democrats of America. “People start flowing in after work. In addition to our banner, there was a giant 4ft x 5ft poster showing that Beaver County taxpayers have shelled out $54 million per year for the last ten years for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is almost the same amount as the county’s annual general fund tax collections.”

Carl Davidson explained his contribution: “We set up an internet connection with a cell phone. With a monitor and a laptop I showed some antiwar videos picked by Beaver County Peace Links, including a looping video of an apple pie being divided like the US budget. The military got half the pie.”

Todd and Emily Davis made a unique contribution to the table. Todd, a Methodist pastor, is the chairperson of Peace Links. They labeled 10 jars with the main categories of the federal budget. They were arrayed in front of a small backdrop that read: ‘Take the penny poll: how would YOU spend your tax dollars.’

Continue reading Beaver County’s Big Knob Fair Meets the Peace and Jobs Movement →

Community, labor

History of Safety Issues Preceded Deadly Explosion: Beaver County Times, Post Gazette Coverage

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Two Workers Killed in Explosion

at Monaca’s Horsehead Zinc Plant

Photo: Bill Wade/Post-Gazette

Tina Smith, of Monaca, places a cross outside the Horsehead Corp. plant on Thursday evening.

By Moriah Balingit

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

July 23, 2010 – An industrial accident at the Horsehead Corp. zinc plant in Beaver County Thursday afternoon claimed the lives of two men and injured at least two other workers.

Neither the company nor the Beaver County coroner’s office would release the names of the two men who died. The coroner’s office said results from autopsies would be released today.

The workers were killed in the plant’s zinc oxide refinery, a part of the plant where molten zinc is turned into zinc oxide. The incident occurred in the zinc distillation columns, three-story-high smokestack-like structures constructed of brick.

One worker who would not give his name reported hearing a large boom followed by what sounded like several small explosions.

But company spokesman Ali Alavi refused to characterize the incident as an explosion, saying the company was still in the fact-finding mode.

Workers gather at Horsehead’s Fence on Route 18

Wesley Hill, director of Beaver County Emergency Services, said two of the workers suffered minor injuries.

Continue reading History of Safety Issues Preceded Deadly Explosion: Beaver County Times, Post Gazette Coverage →

Community, Economy

Message to Altmire: Stop the Wars, Tax Wall St and Hands Off Our Safety Nets!

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Beaver County Times photo by LUCY SCHALY

Photo by NOLEARY:  Sending Our Messages!

BCT  Caption: Members of the group Progressive Democrats of America (4th Congressional District PA chapter) stand in front of Jason Altmire’s office in Aliquippa and let their feelings be known about Social Security during a luncheon “vigil” Wednesday afternoon.  Janet Sabat, left, from Raccoon Township, and Randy Shannon from New Brighton hold their protest cards along the side of the road for drivers to see.

Community, labor

Pittsburgh Rallies for Jobs, and Against Corbett ‘States Rights’ Law Suit

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Rallies Feature

Fight for Jobs,

Defense of Health Care


By Carl Davidson

Beaver County Blue

“Soooouuuuweee! Yipyipyip!” is not a usual sound you’d expect to hear bouncing of the granite walls of downtown Pittsburgh’s financial district. Farm folks, however, would recognize it immediately as a way to get the hogs scrambling over to the trough to feed.

But that was the point of the April 1 rally called by the area’s AFL-CIO leaders demanding a massive jobs program. They were trying to focus the attention of political leaders on Wall Street and the need to tax its billions, especially given the huge public bailout, to finance a new green manufacturing and clean energy industrial expansion.

“Labor creates all their wealth to begin with,” declared Rev. Ken Love, a Presbyterian minister, to the crowd of about 50 at the City-County Building. He pointed to a large chart showing the billions in profits and bonuses, along with the billions in bailout money, gathered by the largest Wall St investment banks over the past year. “All that wealth came from us, but it’s not being used it our interest. Now’s the time to use it to create new jobs.”

Continue reading Pittsburgh Rallies for Jobs, and Against Corbett ‘States Rights’ Law Suit →

Community, Economy, labor

Mass Protest at American Bankers Association Festivities in Chicago – Sen. Dick Durbin Addresses Union Protesters

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SEIU: “Our demand is simple: stop taking our tax dollars and squandering them away on billion dollar bonuses and massive lobbying campaigns against financial reform.”
http://www.seiu.org/2009/10/you-werent-on-the-guest-list.php

Continue reading Mass Protest at American Bankers Association Festivities in Chicago – Sen. Dick Durbin Addresses Union Protesters →

Community

R-E-S-P-E-C-T the Constitution: Cong. Alan Grayson to House Republicans

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by Randy Shannon

A five minute lesson on an important clause of the U.S. Constitution was delivered yesterday by Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida to House Republicans who introduced a bill to forever exclude ACORN from receiving future  U.S. Government contracts. The nation was watching on C-Span as the extremist Republicans attempted a new line of attack on our democracy.

Grayson’s tone was appropiately direct and no-nonsense. I nomitate Congressman Alan Grayson of Orlando, Florida 8th District for the PDA’s October 2009 “Just Say No to Extremism” monthly award.

For more on this challenge to the Constitution go to the next page.

Continue reading R-E-S-P-E-C-T the Constitution: Cong. Alan Grayson to House Republicans →

Community, health care

South Heights Borough Council Resolves to Support HR 676 Medicare for All

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by Randy Shannon
Sept. 28, 2009

The Borough of South Heights, PA recently passed a resolution calling on Congress and PA 4th CD Congressman Jason Altmire to support HR 676 – the National Health Care Act.

The resolution was introduced by Borough Council President Robert Schmetzer. It was signed by Mayor Richard Tranter. Mr. Schmetzer said: “There are numerous residents of South Heights who have cancer and other serious illnesses and cannot afford to pay for medicine.

Other residents have pre-existing conditions that make it difficult to buy a decent insurance policy. Those who are not rejected outright will be rated which will raise the cost of a policy up to $2,100.00 per month.”

“The insurance companies have everything set up in their favor. The people have to win one. We need national healthcare now.”

Continue reading South Heights Borough Council Resolves to Support HR 676 Medicare for All →