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Climate Change

The Climate Crisis Is Coming for Undocumented Farmworkers First

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Facing deadly heat waves and few protections, undocumented agricultural workers are being pushed to their limit. In July 2020, Claudia Durán felt compelled to complete her shift harvesting blueberries in the fields of Allegan County, Mich., before driving to the local hospital’s emergency room to be treated for dehydration, where she arrived dizzy, with an acute …

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Billionaires Can Have the Cosmos—We Only Want the Earth

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Fleeing is what the rich do best. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz fled Texas last winter, abandoning millions to freezing temperatures. But some have tired of the Earth altogether. Billionaires Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson are fleeing to space on rockets with stratospheric price tags. Branson was the first to venture forth July 11, in a gambit to launch a commercial space …

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Historic heat wave highlights the need for farmworker protections

Leave a Comment / Agriculture, Climate Change, Farm Workers, workplace safety / By

Summer heat is a danger for farmworkers every year, with heat deaths happening steadily. But with climate change and heat waves like the one that hit the Pacific Northwest in recent weeks becoming more frequent, the need for legal protections for farmworkers is becoming more urgent. At least one worker died during that heat wave. California farmworkers have a right to shade when …

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The Heat Wave Shows Climate Change Is a Workers’ Rights Issue

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The workers laboring outside in this extraordinary heat are on the front lines of the climate crisis. The end of June saw temperatures soar all around the United States, with historic heatwaves in the Pacific Northwest and excessive heat advisories, watches and warnings elsewhere. The heat is not just uncomfortable, it’s deadly, buckling roads and …

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Why Climate Plans Must Include Farmers of Color

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Proposed legislation would give farms resources to fight climate change. Will farmers of color get equal access? Marvin Frink looks out at his Black Angus cattle farm as the sun is coming up and ponders what’s on the horizon. He and his wife Tanisha started Briarwood Cattle Farm in Raeford, N.C. 10 years ago after Marvin was …

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A Debate Over Carbon Capture in the Infrastructure Bill Could Test the Labor-Climate Alliance

Leave a Comment / Climate Change, unions / By

In late March, President Joe Biden unveiled a $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, the American Jobs Plan, that his administration hopes to move forward this year. The plan would make major investments in improving physical infrastructure such as roads, schools and bridges while also creating good-paying jobs, expanding collective bargaining rights and funding long-term care services under Medicaid.  …

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How Unions Can Bridge the Gap Between Climate and Labor Movements

Leave a Comment / Climate Change, labor, Labor Movement, union mobilizing, unions, Workers / By

While U.S. union den­si­ty hit an all-time low in 2019, the non­prof­it sec­tor appears to be one area where work­ers are union­iz­ing. The Non­prof­it Pro­fes­sion­al Employ­ees Union (NPEU) brought sev­en new work­places into their union dur­ing a 16-day peri­od in April, includ­ing the envi­ron­men­tal orga­ni­za­tion Friends of the Earth. And while there is no offi­cial data on …

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Why Every Job in the Renewable Energy Industry Must Be a Union Job

Leave a Comment / Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Union Membership, unions / By

We need millions of union jobs that are good for both workers and the climate. The renew­able ener­gy indus­try in the Unit­ed States is boom­ing. Pri­or to the start of the Covid-19 pan­dem­ic, which has put mil­lions out of work, over 3 mil­lion peo­ple worked in clean ener­gy?—?far more than those who worked in the fos­sil fuel indus­try. …

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Climate Activists Can’t Afford to Ignore Labor. A Shuttered Refinery in Philly Shows Why.

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In the early morning hours of June 21, 2019, a catastrophic explosion tore through the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) oil refinery in the southwest section of Philadelphia. The training and quick thinking of refinery workers, members of United Steelworkers Local 10-1, averted certain disaster and saved millions of lives. One month later, on July 21, …

Climate Activists Can’t Afford to Ignore Labor. A Shuttered Refinery in Philly Shows Why. Read More »

Cities Aren’t Waiting for a Federal Green New Deal

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In 1992, recognizing that not all countries had contributed equally to the climate crisis, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change codified the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” This framework insists that developed countries “take the lead in combating climate change” by transitioning to clean energy more rapidly, in order to …

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Madeline Messa

Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.

  • “New York, NY”