Progressive Democrats Protest ALEC in Chicago
Why We Are Marching on Washington August 24th
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National Action Network
August 8, 2013 The name of the march on August 24th is the “National Action to Realize the Dream March”.For more information for Beaver County buses contact Tina Shannon, MLK 50th Anniversary Committee 724-683-1925.It is important that you use the name when speaking about the march so that people understand that this march is not just a commemoration, but a continuation of the efforts 50 years ago.
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The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place 50 years ago on August 28th at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. It was during this march that Dr. King gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech that has reverberated for decades. While we celebrate all that was achieved in the 50 years since that march, we recognize that the “Dream” has not been fulfilled and the battle for justice is ongoing.
The name of the march on August 24th is the //”National Action to Realize the Dream March”.// It is important that you use the name when speaking about the march so that people understand that this march is not just a commemoration, but a continuation of the efforts 50 years ago.
The talking points for the march are below:
Jobs & the Economy – Jobs are still a major focus of the march 50 years later. Unemployment is still plaguing many communities. The black community still sees double the unemployment rates of the rest of the country. Youth unemployment is nearly six times higher.
Voting Rights – Voting Rights have been thrust to the forefront of the agenda after the Supreme Court dismantled a crucial section of the Voting Rights Act. Now, without protections to keep states with a history of disenfranchising voters, those states are left susceptible to new laws that threaten to keep them from the polls. This after winning crucial battles in 2012 against misleading claims of voter fraud.
Workers’ Rights – Workers’ Rights have been under attack in states across this country. Low wage earners in certain industries have been banned the right to unionize and collectively bargain for fair pay, benefits and other protections. Others who have been protected have had their rights attacked or taken away through the introduction and passage of bills that threaten workers’ protections.
Stand Your Ground Laws & Gun Violence – The Trayvon Martin and Marissa Alexander cases put Stand Your Ground laws under the microscope. The cases brought to light the inequalities that lie within its interpretation and the fact that it is in place in a majority of states underscores that we must fight to repeal the laws. Gun violence has been an issue in low income communities for years, but the Sandy Hook tragedy created an urgency to address gun laws. While Congress failed to act on sensible gun legislation, we must continue to demand action.
Women’s Rights – Women continue to have to fight laws that limit their ability to make decisions about their own health. Many states have legislation that has either recently passed or that has been introduced that eliminates a woman’s right to choose even in instances of incest, rape or health. Women are also still making less than male counterparts but living longer. The implications of this are numerous but keep women in vulnerable positions.
Immigration – Immigration reform has been discussed for many years, but gained traction in the recent months with the introduction and passage of a bill in Senate. While it has stalled in the House, this legislation will have a huge, positive impact on the economy and create civil rights for the millions of immigrants living in this country. Despite the fact that many immigrants are Latino, this is not just a Latino issue – it is an American issue. We need to grant amnesty to the many illegal immigrants who are here and allow them to achieve the American Dream.
LGBT Equality – This year the LGBT community made progress in their work to achieve equality. With 13 states now allowing gays to marry and the Supreme Court overturning DOMA and Prop 8, the crucial victories set up a forward march. However, the gay community still faces employment discrimination and other challenges that block their ability to achieve full rights.
Environmental Justice – Many low income people and minorities face environmental challenges that threaten their health and their lifestyle. In Los Angeles, African Americans are twice as likely to die in a heat wave. 68% of African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal plant and this creates more incidences of asthma. Latino children are twice as likely to die from an asthma attack as non-Latino children. There are many more issues related to the environment that impact outcomes for these communities.
Youth – Many of the aforementioned issues affect youth, but in addition to those challenges, youth often deal with college loans. In recent years the college loan interest rate has been at risk for doubling multiple times.
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Food and Commercial Workers Union Joins AFL-CIO
For Immediate Release: August 8, 2013
Contact: press@ufcw.org
UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS UNION JOINS AFL-CIO
(Chicago, Illinois) – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW)<http://www.ufcw.org/> affiliated with the AFL-CIO in a bold move toward a stronger, more unified labor movement. UFCW President Joe Hansen, supported by a vote of the UFCW Executive Board, decided to add the 1.3 million private sector members to the AFL-CIO federation in order to build a stronger, more unified voice for the rights of workers.
UFCW International President Joe Hansen today released the following statement:
“We join the AFL-CIO because it is the right thing to do for UFCW members, giving them more power and influence. This is not about which building in Washington D.C. we call home — it is about fostering more opportunities for workers to have a true voice on the job. It is about joining forces to build a more united labor movement that can fight back against the corporate and political onslaught facing our members each and every day.
“Our affiliation with the Change to Win Federation (CTW) has been a rewarding one. The CTW’s Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) is leading some of the best campaigns to give workers rights and dignity. While no longer an affiliate of CTW, we continue our strong relationships with the Teamsters, SEIU and the Farmworkers. We will remain active in the SOC and bring our AFL-CIO partners into collaboration with private-sector unions in an effort to build more power for workers.
“The need for unity became paramount after the 2010 elections. The attacks on workers brought the UFCW into direct strategic partnership with the AFL-CIO and the entire labor movement. Our shared campaign revealed a dynamic and revitalized AFL-CIO and made it clear that it was time for the UFCW to redouble our efforts to build a more robust and unified labor movement.
Continue reading Food and Commercial Workers Union Joins AFL-CIO
PA DEP shuts down wastewater facility
Pa. shuts down wastewater facility
Written by Don Hopey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Tuesday, 06 August 2013 9:45 am. Posted in Archives
After several spills and at least four violation orders, state environmental regulators have shut down a gas drilling wastewater treatment facility built at a former rodeo arena in Indiana County.
The state Department of Environmental Protection announced Monday that it has revoked the permit issued to Aquatic Synthesis Unlimited and will use the company’s $1 million bond to begin cleaning up the site, which holds 1 million gallons of shale gas drilling wastewater and at least 5 tons of contaminated soil.
John Poister, a DEP spokesman, said URS Energy and Construction, a Pittsburgh firm, has been hired to do the soil remediation and wastewater disposal work. URS will submit a work plan in the next few weeks.
On the site now are several wastewater holding impoundments and at least 54 mobile tanker trailers, each with a capacity of 21,000 gallons, used to haul used wastewater from Marcellus Shale gas well hydraulic fracturing operations. Mr. Poister said it’s not clear how full they are.
“We don’t know yet if the bond will be enough to do the work,” Mr. Poister said. “The cleanup plan will be submitted soon and if the bond isn’t enough, DEP will go after the responsible parties to pay the difference.”
Range Resources Pays Damages when Plaintiffs Gagged
Confidential agreement should have been part of Washington County Marcellus Shale case record
Newly released transcript also reveals details of lifetime gag order on Hallowich family
July 31, 2013 10:02 am
Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette
The Hallowich family on a hillside on their property in 2010.
By Don Hopey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A just-released Washington County Court transcript of an August 2011 settlement hearing in a high-profile Marcellus Shale damage case shows the case records should have included a missing confidential settlement agreement, and reveals details of an unusual lifetime “gag order” that covers two minor children involved in the case.
According to the 16-page transcript, then-Washington County Court Judge Paul Pozonsky approved sealing the court records with the settlement agreement “attached thereto” in the private hearing held to settle the claims of Chris and Stephanie Hallowich against Range Resources, Williams Gas/Laurel Mountain Midstream and Markwest Energy.
The Hallowiches, who had been long-time critics of shale gas drilling, claimed that Marcellus Shale gas development — including four wells, gas compressor stations and a 3-acre wastewater impoundment — adjacent to their 10-acre farm in Mount Pleasant, Washington County, damaged the family’s health and the value of their property.
The Hallowiches signed an affidavit as a condition of the settlement that stated their family’s health was not damaged by the gas operations.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Washington Observer-Reporter successfully petitioned the court to unseal all of the Hallowich case records, but when more than 900 pages of records were released in March, the confidential settlement agreement was missing from the file.
Aug 24 March Gathering New Energy: Help Us With The Buses!
by Tina Shannon, President
PA 12th CD Chapter, Progressive Democrats of America
July 24, 2013
Friends, You’ve probably all heard about the 50th Anniversary March on Washington by now. At first it seemed the March might be a well-deserved but merely historic commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr’s magnificent I Have a Dream speech.
As time passed though, it became clear that many folks were quite aware of how relevant Dr. King’s words were to our present time. We are having our voting rights curtailed. We need jobs. The important institutions of civil society, such as schools and social services are being cut and even eliminated.
Then the incident in Florida made painfully clear to our entire nation how strongly racism still exists. Trayvon Martin is a black teen-ager cut down before his life was even launched, and he is only one of many with more to come. The whole country now must confront the truth about ALEC, the right wing think tank creating harmful & divisive legislation for corporations to foist upon Republican State lawmakers. We must also face the fact that Stand Your Ground laws are in place throughout the country allowing scared racists to confront those they perceive as different and dangerous and kill them if they feel threatened.
So, on top of all the economic and political problems we face, laws like this are being implemented that destroy the very fabric of our society.
It’s time to say, enough.
Folks all over the country are reserving buses and getting their friends & family to go to Washington to deliver this message.
We have reserved & filled 4 buses in Beaver County already. Enough people are expressing interest that we have reserved a 5th bus. We are currently raising funds to pay for it.
The cost of the 5th bus is $2400. One of you has already very generously donated $500. Only $1900 more to go. Please donate whatever you can. If everyone gives $10 or $20, we’ve got this.
Please sign up to go on the bus also. I think this March shaping up to be a historic event all on it’s own.
I often hear people ask, “When are we in this country going to get fed up & take to the streets?” Good question. It might be August 24th.
Let me know.
Tina Shannon
(724)-683-1925
The Jobs Project: Unemployed Coal Miners Install Solar Panels In West Virginia
By VICKI SMITH
Beaver County Blue via AP
July 23, 2013 – MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A group devoted to creating alternative energy jobs in Central Appalachia is building a first for West Virginia’s southern coalfields region this week – a set of rooftop solar panels, assembled by unemployed and underemployed coal miners and contractors.
The 40- by 15-foot solar array going up on a doctor’s office in Williamson is significant not for its size but for its location: It signals to an area long reliant on mining that there can be life beyond coal.
People were skeptical when the idea was first floated about a year ago, says Nick Getzen, spokesman for The Jobs Project, which is trying to create renewable energy job opportunities in West Virginia and Kentucky. In the southern coalfields, he says, people have only ever gotten electricity one way – from coal-fired power plants.
"This is the first sign for a lot of folks that this is real, and that it’s real technology, and they can have it in their communities," Getzen says. "In no way are we against coal or trying to replace coal. There’s still going to be coal mining here. This is just something else to help the economy."
The Jobs Project teamed up about a year ago with a solar energy company from the Eastern Panhandle, Mountain View Solar & Wind of Berkeley Springs, to develop a privately funded job-training program. The 12 trainees are earning $45 an hour for three days of work, while some local laborers are earning $10 an hour helping out.
Continue reading The Jobs Project: Unemployed Coal Miners Install Solar Panels In West Virginia
New York City Labor Council Endorses Medicare for All
New York City Labor Council Endorses HR 676,
National Single Payer Health Care, aka Medicare for All
The Executive Board of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO,
unanimously approved a resolution supporting HR 676, national single payer
health care legislation, sponsored by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).
NYC CLC President Vincent Alvarez calls this resolution “Labor’s way of
standing up for the health and well-being of working men and women and
their families,” noting “The national legislation is a true means of
controlling ever-increasing healthcare costs, while ensuring that
Americans get the medical care they so desperately need.”
In the resolution, the Council notes that almost every union is forced to
battle and sacrifice to sustain healthcare benefits for members. The
Council also notes that while the United States spends twice as much of
our GDP on healthcare as other developed nations, we remain the only
industrialized country without universal healthcare coverage.
Robert Score, Recording-Corresponding Secretary of IATSE (Theatrical &
Stage Employees) Local One, said “As we all know, nobody in the United
States should have to choose between healthcare and keeping a roof over
their heads, food on their table or clothing on their children. HR 676
will prevent such calamities. I am thankful to President Alvarez for
guiding the NYC CLC to endorse HR 676.” IATSE Local One submitted the
resolution that was passed.
Continue reading New York City Labor Council Endorses Medicare for All
Unions Demand Democrats Fix Affordable Care Act
Three Union Presidents write to Senator Reid and Representative Pelosi
demanding an “equitable fix” for Obamacare
The presidents of three international unions, IBT, UFCW and UNITE-HERE,
have sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi expressing deep concern over the impact Obamacare will
have on workers.
The full text of their letter follows.
Dear Leader Reid and Leader Pelosi:
When you and the President sought our support for the Affordable Care Act
(ACA), you pledged that if we liked the health plans we have now, we could
keep them. Sadly, that promise is under threat. Right now, unless you and
the Obama Administration enact an equitable fix, the ACA will shatter not
only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40
hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class.
Like millions of other Americans, our members are front-line workers in
the American economy. We have been strong supporters of the notion that
all Americans should have access to quality, affordable health care. We
have also been strong supporters of you. In campaign after campaign we
have put boots on the ground, gone door-to-door to get out the vote, run
phone banks and raised money to secure this vision.
Now this vision has come back to haunt us.
Continue reading Unions Demand Democrats Fix Affordable Care Act
Beaver County Blue: Voice of the 17th CD of Progressive Democrats of America 