Tag Archives: Green Jobs

elections

PennDOT Considering Plans To Overhaul Busy Interchange In Aliquippa

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Truck moves through old J&L Tunnel at the intersection

By Rachel Pierce

WPXI Pittsburgh

Changes may be on the horizon for Route 51 (Constitution Boulevard) and the Route 3016 Franklin Avenue interchange in Aliquippa.

PennDOT says the potential changes will allow for safer access to downtown Aliquippa and the Aliquippa Industrial Park.

Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker says he would like to see the Route 51 land bridge demolished, and then the creation of an intersection with traffic lights.

“I’m born and raised here, 50 years of my life. I’ve been here and this has been a headache for the city as a whole and it’s residents,” Walker said. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck callout to get this done.”

Walker says this redesign could help open up Aliquippa and spur economic growth.

“Instead of just passing Aliquippa, you can actually take a visit to us,” Walker said.

Walker says the busy intersection gives drivers little space to accelerate and decelerate, including trucks from the industrial park. Walker says the intersection is also a prime spot for speeding.

Walter says these changes are a matter of life and death.

“We’ve had countless accidents, a loss of life, NyKasia Johnson. She lost her life and the goal is to name this street after her, to honor her,” said Walker.

PennDOT says the project could cost up to $19 million, with a projected start date in the spring of 2027.

PennDOT and Walker encourage the public to voice their opinions on the proposed changes here.

elections

New Poll of Older Voters in Six Battleground States Shows Tight Race Between Harris and Trump

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Photo: Walz and Harris talking with Aliquppa’s football team, as part of several stops in Western PA three days ago.

However Democrats Must Communicate Their Positions on Medicare and Social Security with this Critical Voting Bloc 

From Retired Americans PAC

Aug 20, 2024

Chicago – A new survey of likely voters ages 65 and up in six key swing states shows Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are in an extremely close race to win the pivotal senior vote in the most contested battleground states. Harris holds 47% of the total senior vote in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while Donald Trump is supported by 49%. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has just 3 percent of the senior vote in those states.

Four years ago, national exit polls found that voters over 65 voted for Trump over Biden by 5%. In each of these states, voters over the age of 65 comprise at least 23% of the electorate.

When asked which party would be best at handling key issues, the poll found that Democrats held a slim 2% advantage on Social Security and Medicare, issues Democrats have led on. On prescription drug costs, Democrats held an 8% advantage over Republicans. However, Republicans held an advantage over Democrats on the issues of inflation, at 9%, and immigration, 18%.

“Harris’ strong showing in the survey with a group that went for Trump four years ago is encouraging,” said Richard Fiesta, an expert on retirement security issues and Treasurer of Retired Americans PAC. “However candidates who want to win must engage older voters directly on the issues that matter most to them now.

“There are stark differences between the two parties on the future of Social Security, Medicare, and prescription drugs – it’s incumbent on Democrats to communicate that they will strengthen and protect these programs, not privatize or cut them,” Fiesta continued.

The poll of 1,200 likely voters ages 65 and up in the November general election was conducted by GBAO between July 23-30, 2024, in AZ, GA, MI, NV, PA and WI on behalf of Retired Americans PAC.*

Harris led Trump among seniors by 3 percentage points in Arizona (49%-46%) and Michigan (50%-47%) and by 4 in Wisconsin (49%-45%). Trump led by 3 in Nevada (48%-45%), by 6 in Pennsylvania (51%-45%) and by 12 in Georgia (55%-43%).

Complete results and charts are available here.

*Two hundred respondents were reached in each state and the results were weighted proportionally. Respondents were reached by live dialers and through text-to-web interviews and the results carry a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence interval.

Economy, Environment, Infrastructure, labor

Green Jobs 2009: Steelworkers Meet Hip-Hoppers and Tree-Huggers

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trumka


Photo: AFLCIO’s Richard Trumka at Green Jobs 2009

Blue-Green Insurgency
Gets Fired Up at the
DC Green Jobs Conference

By Carl Davidson
Beaver County Blue

When you walk into a large and stately Washington, DC hotel lobby and find it teeming with thousands of smiling, buzzing people-half in labor union jackets and ball caps, the other half dressed in 30-something hip-hop causal-you know some special is happening.

This was the lively, energized scene for three cold wintry days this Feb 4-6 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, as nearly 3000 activists and organizers gathered for the “Good Jobs, Green Jobs” National Conference. The gathering was convened by more than 100 organizations, representing every major trade union and every major environmental group in the country, among others. Continue reading Green Jobs 2009: Steelworkers Meet Hip-Hoppers and Tree-Huggers →

Economy, Infrastructure

Pittsburgh Infrastructure Emergency

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Lock and Dam #6
Lock and Dam #6

Allegheny Lock and
Dam #6 on the Verge
of Catastrophic Failure

By Randy Shannon
Progressive Democrats of America

The Ohio River and its tributaries, the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River are the artery of commerce to the Port of Pittsburgh, the second largest inland port of the United States. Due to years of negligence and underfunding of our infrastructure this navigation system is on the verge of catastrophic failure. The Army Corps of Engineers press release linked here

nr08_302ally6

states in the calmest language possible that we face a potential social, economic, and ecological disaster due to the critical disrepair of the locks and dams that make the rivers navigable. A dam failure would flood thousands of acres, starve water and sanitation facilities, and halt navigation. Most economic activity in the region will shut down, including the Pittsburgh International Airport and steel and cement production. The region would experience shortages of gasoline and basic foodstuff. Twelve coal fired electric power plants would face shutdown due to the halt of coal shipments on the rivers.
Continue reading Pittsburgh Infrastructure Emergency →

elections, labor

What Makes Pennsylvania Blue: Labor and Hard Struggles for Justice

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raccoon-polls-eve

Photo: Overflow Voters at Raccoon VFD

Making History
at the Raccoon
VFD Polling Place

By Carl Davidson
Beaver County Blue

There was a lot more to working the polls in this historic election than checking signatures and passing out palm cards.

It was glorious Fall day at the semi-rural fire-hall-turned-voting-center in Raccoon Township, Beaver County, Western PA. I arrived early, but the hall was packed. Most people were in good spirits. Long-time neighbors chatted, older folks marveled at the uncommon turnout among younger voters, and parents worried about fretful children. The main buzz was about one thing: whether they were for Obama or against him, everyone knew they were about to make history.

“I’ve never seen such a turnout,” said Marion Prasjner, president of the local Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees Chapter 2020. Prasjner is eighty years old and very savvy. He’s with PDA and an Obama supporter. Continue reading What Makes Pennsylvania Blue: Labor and Hard Struggles for Justice →

Economy, elections, labor

OBama: Use Old Mills for 21st Century Energy

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Photo: Obama talks with USWA workers at former closed mill in Bucks County now making wind turbines

Steel Workers, Allies
Launch Campaign
For ‘Green Jobs’

By Press Associates

Sept. 12, 2008-Pittsburgh – Add “green jobs” to all the other campaigns traversing the country this fall, thanks to the Steel Workers, plus environmental groups.

The campaign, in six states – Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, Missouri, Tennessee, and Minnesota – is based on a Sept. 9 report showing $100 billion invested in green technology has the potential to create 2 million new jobs in the next two years, advocates said. That’s four times as many jobs as the same dollars would create in the oil industry, it adds.

Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy, by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, says that of the new jobs, 800,000 would be in construction and the rest would be in the to-be-built factories turning out “green” goods, such as hybrid auto motors, wind turbines and solar paneling that converts sunlight into electricity.
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Continue reading OBama: Use Old Mills for 21st Century Energy →