Fred Meyer union warehouse workers authorize strike

Posted Jul 19, 2021

The Burlingame Fred Meyer store shown on October 21, 2011.Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian

By The Associated Press

Fred Meyer warehouse workers have voted unanimously to authorize a strike, which could disrupt food distribution at 180 locations across the Pacific Northwest as early as Monday.

KOIN reports that contract negotiations between Teamsters Local 117 and Fred Meyer have been underway with little progress. Union officials say Fred Meyer rejected a proposal to allow workers to refuse a task that would put themselves or the public in danger. The strike authorization vote was on Saturday.

“With all the COVID outbreaks that wreaked havoc on the warehouse, you’d think they’d be a little more concerned about our safety and the safety of the public,” Matt Collins, a Shop Steward who believes he contracted COVID-19 in the workplace last year, said in the union’s press release. “But, sadly, that’s not the case.”

Teamsters Local 117 represents roughly 500 warehouse workers with Fred Meyer, servicing stores in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho. A work stoppage could go into effect as early as midnight on Monday.

Fred Meyer officials told KOIN they plan to continue negotiations.

“Our company will continue to pursue a fair and balanced contract that honors associates and keeps the company competitive,” a Fred Meyer spokesperson said. “Note that a strike authorization vote does not mean that there will be a strike. We do not anticipate any disruption in service and it is business as usual in our stores.”

The vote to authorize a strike, which passed 335-0, came a day after Teamsters Local 174 reached a tentative agreement with Safeway over a three-year contract — presenting a “stark contrast” between the two contract negotiations.

“In negotiations, we’ve seen a tale of two companies,” said John Scearcy, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local. “With Safeway, you’ve got an employer that praises their workers as essential, then treats them that way by putting forth an excellent contract proposal that members can ratify. Fred Meyer, on the other hand, has been slow to respond to our economic proposals, ignored our safety concerns, and dragged out negotiations beyond the expiration of our contract.”

North Carolina fast-food workers plan strike, protest Tuesday in fight for $15 wage

by Kristy Kepley-StewardTuesday, July 20th 2021

FILE - Hardee's fast-food restaurant. (Photo credit: WLOS Staff)

MARION, N.C. (WLOS) — Fast-food workers in Marion are planning a strike and protest on Tuesday amid ongoing calls for a nationwide pay hike.

Organizers with Fight for $15 and a Union shared details on the strike, which is slated for 11:30 a.m. outside the Hardee’s at 3240 Highway 226 S. in Marion. North Carolina workers will also hold strike rallies in Charlotte and Durham.

EAST FORK POTTERY ANNOUNCES PLANS TO EXPAND, HIRING ADDITIONAL 50 AT OVER $22/HOUR

For the past few years, demands have been growing among cooks, cashiers and other employees for an increase to the federal minimum wage, which was last bumped up to $7.25 per hour in 2009.

"I’m out here to demand $15 an hour for every worker in the country. After decades of low paying jobs, I am finally making a living wage. I have 2 kids, so making $15 an hour is an absolute necessity to support them," said Nathan Ruggles, an Amazon driver from Candler, NC. "But it was a fight to get Amazon to pay $15 in the first place. If we wait for all these companies to pay a living wage out of the goodness of their hearts, we will wait forever. Congress must pass a $15 federal minimum wage."

Recently, there has been a nationwide shortage of people willing to work in the fast-food industry. Fight for $15 and a Union said bringing hourly pay to $15 would help remedy this ongoing issue.

BILLS WOULD RAISE NORTH CAROLINA'S MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 AN HOUR

North Carolina’s legislature passed the state's minimum wage preemption law in 2016 as part of the controversial "bathroom bill." Though the portion of that law that enshrined discrimination against transgender people has been overturned, the minimum wage preemption provision is still in place today.

Nationally, workers in more than 15 cities will strike to demand Congress and restaurant companies like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s raise minimum pay to at least $15/hr.

"I stand with workers who are on strike for a $15 federal minimum wage, because they are fighting for all of America. Millions of workers have been stranded at $7.25/hour for twelve years, and we can't wait any longer," said Rev Barber II, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, who will join the Durham workers' strikeline today. "There’s no such thing as racial equity when you don’t address the issue of economic justice. We cannot address racial equity if we do not address the minimum wage of $15."

HOBBY LOBBY RAISES MINIMUM FULL-TIME WAGE TO $17 AN HOUR

Additionally, tipped restaurant workers, who are paid a subminimum wage of $2.13/hr, will also hold protests from coast to coast, including in New York, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Tipped workers have been excluded from increases in the federal minimum wage and the subminimum wage for tipped workers has been stuck at $2.13/hr since 1991.

Strikes are expected to also be held in areas such as Durham, N.C., Charlotte, N.C., Charleston S.C., Detroit, Mich., Flint, Mich., Houston, Texas, Milwaukee, Wisc., and St. Louis, Mo. Other protests are slated for various cities around the U.S.Companies in food service and in other sectors, such as Costco, Amazon, Starbucks and Target, have already raised starting pay to $15 an hour.

NORTH CAROLINA

Low-wage workers  strike, protest in Marion. The event is part of a national movement.
Jul 19, 2021



The strike and worker-led rally to demand Congress pass a $15 federal minimum wage will take place at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Hardee’s on 3240 N.C. 226 South in Marion.

This is the WNC chapter of NC Raise Up-Fight for $15 and a union.
SUBMITTED PHOTO


From Staff Reports

To protest 12 years without a penny increase in the $7.25 federal minimum wage, western North Carolina fast-food and other low wage workers will strike and protest in front of Hardee’s near I-40 in Marion on Tuesday.

North Carolina workers will also hold strike rallies in Charlotte and Durham. Nationally, workers in more than 15 cities will strike to demand Congress and restaurant companies like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s raise minimum pay to at least $15 an hour, according to a news release.

It is part of the national Fight for $15 movement.

The strike and worker-led rally to demand Congress pass a $15 federal minimum wage will take place at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Hardee’s on 3240 N.C. 226 South in Marion.

The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since July 24, 2009. “Even as cities, states and corporations across the country have raised wages to $15 an hour, millions of Black and brown workers, particularly in the South, have been left behind because of racist preemption laws that block local governments from boosting pay and the U.S. Senate’s failure to act on $15,” reads a statement from the news release sent by NC Raise Up, a branch of Fight for $15.

In addition, North Carolina’s General Assembly passed the state’s minimum wage preemption law in 2016 as part of the controversial HB2 or “bathroom bill.” Though the portion of that law that enshrined discrimination against transgender people has been overturned, the minimum wage preemption provision is still in place today, according to the news release.

“Making $9 an hour, it’s a pain in the butt because you don’t have enough to buy food sometimes,” said Scotty Manan, a McDonald’s worker from Marion. “Raising minimum wage would honestly help a lot of people. I see homeless people in my town who just can’t afford rent. I'm going on strike to demand a $15 minimum wage because it’s the right thing to do.”

“I’m out here to demand $15 an hour for every worker in the country,” said Nathan Ruggles, an Amazon driver from Candler. “After decades of low paying jobs, I am finally making a living wage. I have two kids, so making $15 an hour is an absolute necessity to support them. But it was a fight to get Amazon to pay $15 in the first place. If we wait for all these companies to pay a living wage out of the goodness of their hearts, we will wait forever. Congress must pass a $15 federal minimum wage.”

United in their demand for a $15 an hour minimum wage for all workers, tipped restaurant workers, who are paid a subminimum wage of $2.13 an hour, will also hold protests from coast to coast, including in New York, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Tipped workers have been excluded from increases in the federal minimum wage for over half a century, and the subminimum wage for tipped workers has been stuck at $2.13 an hour since 1991, according to the news release.

Now, companies like McDonald’s are sounding the alarm about a nationwide shortage of individuals willing to work in fast food amid the lingering pandemic and longstanding issues in the industry, from wage theft to sexual harassment to violence on the job. Employees at companies like Burger King are quitting en masse – changing the marquee outside the store to read “WE ALL QUIT” – to systemic issues such as poor management, understaffing and overheating kitchens.

“Striking workers will offer a simple solution to employers struggling to hire and retain workers: pay $15 an hour,” reads the news release. “A $15 an hour minimum wage is also one of the most powerful tools available for combating racial wealth and income inequality. Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour would boost the incomes of 32 million workers, including 59% of working families with incomes under the poverty line. Nearly one third of Black workers would receive a raise, and one out of four workers who would benefit is a Black or Latina woman. According to researchers from UC Berkeley, raising the minimum wage in the 1960s directly led to a 20 percent drop in income inequality for Black Americans.

North Carolina workers will also go on strike in Charlotte and Durham. Nationally, workers will strike in Charleston, S.C., Detroit, Flint, Mich., Houston, Milwaukee and St. Louis, with additional protest actions taking place across the country, including in Montgomery, Ala., Tulsa, Okla. and Norfolk, Va. Restaurant workers with One Fair Wage will protest in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Nashua, N.H.

Fast-food workers will also call on McDonald’s, one of the largest and most powerful employers in the world, to immediately raise starting pay to at least $15 an hour. The burger giant recently announced that it netted nearly $5 billion in profits in 2020 and paid out nearly $4 billion in dividends to its shareholders.

In one viral TikTok, a McDonald’s customer rolled up to a drive-thru lane only to find a sign reading, “We are short-staffed. Please be patient with the staff that did show up. No one wants to work anymore.” Other McDonald’s stores are offering $1,000 signing bonuses or even new iPhones to try to attract new workers while ignoring the obvious solution: pay workers $15 an hour, according to the news release.

Already, companies including Costco, Amazon, Starbucks and Target have raised pay to $15 an hour, understanding that higher wages are good for workers and good for business. Meanwhile, McDonald’s has only extended promises of minimal pay raises to workers at corporate-owned and operated stores, which make up a mere 5% of McDonald’s locations nationwide.

Workers with the Fight for $15 and a Union have been demanding a raise since long before the pandemic as part of a movement of fast-food cooks and cashiers led largely by Black and brown workers. Since 200 fast-food workers walked off the job in New York City in 2012, the movement has won tens of billions in raises for tens of millions of workers, passing $15 minimum wage laws in 10 states and putting more than 43% of the country on the path to $15. In April, President Biden signed an executive order raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors and subcontractors, putting an additional 390,000 workers on the path to $15 an hour, according to the news release.

GMB calls off British Gas strike after 44 days

Edward Thicknesse

Tuesday 20 July 2021 

(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Union GMB has today brought an end to 44 days of strike action after its members backed a new pay deal from British Gas.

Around 7,000 of the company’s engineers carried out the industrial action in protest at the firm’s so-called “fire and rehire” tactics.

Also Read:
Mass sacking at British Gas as 500 engineers lose job amid contract row

GMB said that 500 workers lost their jobs as a result of refusing to sign up for the previous deal that British Gas was offering.

According to the union, under the new deal workers will be offered improvements to overtime rates and unsocial hours payments and see limits placed on the amount of unsocial working undertaken.

The deal also allows those who have left British Gas to return.

The union said that its members accepted the deal by 75.5 per cent to 24.5 per cent.

Andy Prendergast, GMB National Secretary, said: “GMB Union will never forget British Gas’s unnecessary and cavalier actions over the past six months.

“But this new agreement does provide a way forward.

“We have listened to what our members wanted and have been able to deliver the improvements necessary to bring this dispute to an end.”

Also Read:
British Gas engineers face mass firings after rejecting contract offer

A Centrica spokesperson said: “We’re pleased that today’s agreement with our trade unions effectively brings the dispute with GMB to an end.

“Our customers and our people are our priority and our unions are a critical partner to ensuring our business is sustainable, competitive, and set up for growth. Creating a flexible model for our colleagues and ensuring our people have the skills needed for the future is the common ground that unites us.”

West Virginia Union Coca Cola workers preparing to go on strike

by: Zach Gilleland

Posted: Jul 19, 2021 

BLUEFIELD, WV (WOWK) — Friday Teamsters Local 175 union members in Bluefield unanimously voted to reject Coca-Cola Consolidated’s final contract offer.

Ken Hall, president of the union says the contract offered Bluefield workers 20 percent less money per hour than workers in Charleston and higher pay for health care.

“They do the same thing in Bluefield as they do in Charleston, there’s no difference,” Hall said. “To think that they would make such a radical change in positions is just mind-boggling.”

Ron Johnson, a union worker in Bluefield isn’t happy with the company’s offer. He says other union workers from West Virginia support their efforts for a better contract.

“They will honor our picket lines so distribution of Coca-Cola will not only be affected in Bluefield, it would be affected throughout the state,” he said.

Johnson says the union and the company haven’t talked since the last offer and is waiting to see if they’ll make another proposal soon.

“Someone’s already making more than us and they get a higher percentage of that raise than we do,” he said. “Then the gap of pay at one facility to another is just growing larger.”

Hall says this can happen to any of their union members from across the state.

“There may be some differential in wages and that might be justified because of the market size,” he said. “This is straight-up ‘what do we get in this year in the contract’ and it’s 31 cents per hour less than they gave Charleston.”

Hall’s concern is that union workers around the state won’t get the raises they deserve.

“They’re trying to take advantage of Bluefield in my opinion because there are less employees in Bluefield,” Hall said.

Bluefield’s current contract expires on July 28.

‘I gave these people 110%’: Fort Lee barber strike continues, no word from contractor

BY SEAN JONES• THE PROGRESS-INDEX

 • JULY 19, 2021   VIRGINIA

Barbers from Fort Lee shops picket in front of the Sisisky Gate at Fort Lee, Va., on June 16, 2021. They say they are being underpaid by the contractor that manages their operation. (Sean Jones, The Progress-Index/TNS)

FORT LEE, Va. (Tribune News Service) — Fifteen barbers got together to picket outside of the Sisisky Gate on Friday. It had been 12 days since they started an unfair labor practices strike against Sheffield Barbers, and they were yet to hear anything from the contractor about meeting their demands.

They stood outside the gate with signs that read “on U.L.P strike,” “File I.C.E Complaint Ft Lee Barbers” and urging people to honk in support.

Seemingly every minute, a large truck driving past would take them up on the offer and lay on its horn for several seconds as it rolled past.

About 20 barbers organized under LiUNA Local Union 572 are striking against Sheffield Barbers for allegedly underpaying them. The barbers have historically made 55% of the sticker price for a haircut at the base’s three barber shops — plus one at Fort Pickett.

Barbers say that once Sheffield was awarded the contract for those facilities, it started giving barbers 55% of $11.25, the price from 2017, while at the same time increasing the actual cost for a haircut to $13.

One picketer, Matt Macklin, retired from the barber shop on base after working there for 48 years. He said he heard about the wage fiasco when he was at a funeral. One of the other attendees say they would be picketing and asked if he wanted to join.

“I said, ’That’s it, I’m going to be there,’ ” Macklin said.

Throughout his decades of cutting hair, Macklin came to know his fellow barbers as family. Often times you would stand next to the same barber for 16 years. It’s a barber shop that is known for its longevity. Once a barber is there, they usually work there for life. He wanted to show support for the institution he came to love.

“I don’t like the way they’re treating these guys,” Macklin said.

Many of the barbers at the base’s shops have been civilians their entire lives, but Eugene Harris served for 21 years before becoming a barber. He was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait before ending his military career.

“I understand the importance of appearance,” Harris said. “When soldiers come in, they want to look presentable because their jobs depend on that. I know what a soldier is supposed to look like, I know what a soldier isn’t supposed to look like.”

Army Regulation 670-1 sets the standard for Army uniform and appearance, including grooming policies.

Ar670-1 says that soldiers should take pride in their appearance. While many hairstyles are allowed, they must be “neat and conservative,” per the regulation. Male haircuts cannot drop below the eyebrows or touch the collar. Longer female hairstyles must be fastened above the lower edge of the collar and also avoid dropping below the eyebrows.

One specific line addresses hair that doesn’t part naturally. The regulation says that soldier with this type of hair can style their hair with only one part and that it has to be a completely straight line.

These are standards that Harris says he is intimately familiar with, and can ensure that soldiers at the base are adhered to.

Since Sheffield Barbers first got their contract just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down shops across the country, Harris said that many of their customers have been aware that their barbers’ pay situation, which puts them in an awkward position.

“It’s kind of hard because it makes customers want to tip more, and they shouldn’t have to make up for what the contractor isn’t doing,” Harris said. “They try to compensate for that. It’s not fair to put that on soldiers, they don’t make much money in the first place.”

The barbers are arguing that the increased haircut prices, mixed with their decrease in pay means the contractor is pocketing a sum of extra cash rather than focusing the revenue on its people. One customer says that is a huge mistake.

Kevin Philips is retired Army veteran who has been working and getting his hair cut at Fort Lee for the past six years. He says he won’t go back to the shop at Fort Lee until the dispute is settled in favor of the barbers.

“I even called the contractor to express the relationship that we have,” Philips said. “I’m just not willing to go back there and start all over with someone else at this particular point.”

That relationship is what he says he will miss most of the base’s barbers don’t have their demands met, and decide to leave.

“A barber is a stylist; they know what you want. You don’t have to explain how you want your cut. But you also establish a personal relationship with them as well. I know about his family, he knows about mine,” Philips said.

Now in management for an agency at the base, Philips added that losing these barbers would be a terrible mistak because they’ve become an institution, with a number of barbers that are longtime employees.

“People think you can just slide one thing in and slide it out. It takes a whole rebuilding process. In my mind, [Sheffield] is doing [itself] a disservice because the barbers have a known product that has been producing for years,” Philips said. “I don’t think they see that loss, it’s going to be a loss.”

Currently, temporary barbers have been hired in the place of those that are going on strike. Sheffield Barbers is also advertising for barbers on Indeed.com. The listing says it is seeking 8-10 people and offering a pay rate of “up to” $70 and hour. The barbers say that is well above the compensation they are asking for.

While striking, many barbers have been going completely without a paycheck. One barber, Mike Kates, has been cutting hair for many of his former clients while also advertising for more customers on social media to help make ends meet. Kates said it feels like a waiting game, with Sheffield just waiting to see how long the strike is going to last.

One of the base’s newer barbers, Delvon Jackon, is one of the barbers going without a paycheck. He said unless the pay is reinstated to 55% of the sticker price, he won’t go back to work at Fort Lee.

“I gave these people 110% and it only makes sense that you would treat your employees right,” Jackson said.

sjones@progress-index.com.

©2021 www.progress-index.com.

Visit progress-index.com.

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Over 300 flights cancelled due to strike at airports in Portugal
IANS / Jul 19, 2021,

LISBON: The strike of employees of Groundforce, a ground-handling company, caused the cancellation of 327 flights on Sunday in Portugal, according to the official source from ANA, a company which manages the Portugal Airports.

Of the 511 arrivals and departures scheduled for Sunday, 301 were cancelled at Lisbon airport and 26 other flights were cancelled at the Porto airport, the Xinhua news agency reported.

"Due to the strike of the handling service," said ANA in a statement, "We appeal to passengers with cancelled flights not to go to Lisbon airport and seek information through other channels, digital and telephone."

Only low-cost airlines that use Terminal 2 at Lisbon airport maintained their regular operation because they are served by other handling companies.

Groundforce's strike began on Saturday with the cancellation of 260 flights at the two main Portuguese airports on the day. Another stoppage was scheduled between July 29 and August 2.

The strike was called by the Union of Airport Handling Technicians (STHA) as a protest against the "unsustainable instability, regarding the timely payment of wages and other pecuniary components" that Groundforce workers have faced since Feburary 2021.

Groundforce is 50.1 per cent owned by the Pasogal Group and 49.9 per cent by the TAP group, which in 2020 became controlled by the Portuguese state.

Groundforce accused TAP of a debt of 12 million euros ($14.17 million) for services already provided to the latter, but TAP said that it has no arrears to Groundforce.

• ENERGY + ENVIRONMENT

THE BULLETIN

Dominion’s new offshore wind vessel will be named after an ancient Greek sea monster 

BY: SARAH VOGELSONG - JUNE 1, 2021 2:12 PM

     

 Odysseus runs into trouble as he navigates between Scylla and Charybdis (right) in an Italian fresco by Alessandro Allori. (Public Domain)

Offshore wind energy is headed to the East Coast on the back of a monster famed for creating giant whirlpools to overturn ships.

Charybdis will be the name given to the offshore wind installation vessel Dominion Energy is building in Texas, which will be used to construct not only Virginia’s proposed 2.6 gigawatt wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach but also the Revolution and Sunrise Wind projects off the coast of New England and New York. The latter two projects are being developed by offshore wind companies Ørsted and Eversource. 

Most well-known for the havoc she wreaked on Odysseus’s fleet in Homer’s Odyssey, Charybdis was originally a nymph who was transformed into a monster either for flooding too much land or stealing sheep. Another monster, Scylla, also attacked ships across the Strait of Messina between Sicily and Calabria on the Italian mainland. 

 A rendering of Dominion Energy’s planned offshore wind installation vessel, expected to be finished in 2023. (Dominion Energy)

Dominion spokesperson Rayhan Daudani said in an email that the name for the company’s new vessel had been chosen by ship designer Seajacks. 

The United Kingdom-based Seajacks has shown a decided preference for the monstrous in its christening of five other jack-up vessels used to install offshore wind turbines. Charybdis will join not only Scylla but Kraken, Leviathan, Hydra and Zaratan, the latter referring to a giant sea turtle that also appears in the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. 

Seajacks sales and marketing coordinator Robyn Youngs said in an email that company CEO Blair Ainslie “decided not to go down the traditional route of simply numbering the vessels Seajacks 1, 2, 3 etc as he thought mythical sea monsters were much more interesting! It was an idea to give the vessels more character.”

Dominion’s Charybdis will eventually be stationed in Hampton Roads and is expected to be the first Jones Act-compliant offshore wind vessel in the U.S. 

Offshore wind turbine components must be transported by ship miles off the coast to be constructed in place, but the federal Jones Act requires that all vessels carrying goods between two points in the U.S. must be built and registered in the U.S. Because the American offshore wind industry is so young, however, no such vessels currently exist. 

Dominion expects Charybdis to be complete by late 2023. In a news release, the company said its “regulated customers, including in Virginia, will not experience any bill impact associated with use of the vessel in support of the Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects.” 

This story has been updated with comments from Seajacks.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.

SARAH VOGELSONG

Sarah is the Mercury's environment and energy reporter, covering everything from utility regulation to sea level rise. Originally from McLean, she has spent over a decade in journalism and academic publishing. She previously worked as a staff reporter for Chesapeake Bay Journal, the Progress-Index and the Caroline Progress, and her work has been twice honored by the Virginia Press Association as "Best in Show" for online writing. She was chosen for the 2020 cohort of the Columbia Energy Journalism Institute and is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. Contact her at svogelsong@virginiamercury.com

Could Building-Integrated Photovoltaics Solve "Energy Poverty" While Greening Cities?

In Toronto, mass power outages like the 2003 blackout and the 2013 ice storm have exposed our reliance on energy to maintain our ways of life. Electricity drives the developed world, but not all have reliable access. Despite an abundant supply of energy in many parts of the globe, "energy poverty" can be found not just in developing nations but also close to home. In fact, nearly 800 million people (roughly 9.6% of the global population) live without any access to electricity, though untapped renewable energy sources are offering solutions to energy poverty as well as benefiting developed urban centres.

Despite a United Nations-led effort towards universal energy access by 2030, targets are not being met, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis and changing priorities. With less than a decade to meet the UN's goals, creative solutions will be necessary to close the gap. One solution we've covered in previous months is building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technology, which incorporates solar cells into exterior building materials like cladding, windows, balcony railing glass, roofs, and siding. This technological advancement—and an unprecedented drop in cost—is combining to make renewable energy much more accessible.

Solar railings, image courtesy of Mitrex

Canadian manufacturer Mitrex is one company with products that make use of every imaginable building surface for power generation, replicating almost any building finish with a solar energy-producing match. This has tremendous applications in urban centres, in many cases reliant on a mix of fossil fuels and power generated far from its end users. This is the case with Toronto drawing hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls and nuclear power from Pickering and Darlington.

Solar cladding, image courtesy of Mitrex

In addition to the company's lofty pursuit of creating green cities by converting buildings into renewable energy collection, Mitrex is working towards the elimination of energy poverty and inequity. With the cost of energy-producing materials now on par with the natural finishes they replicate, Mitrex is campaigning for the mass adoption of this low-cost BIPV technology, aiming to give affordable access to electricity for all and make energy poverty obsolete.

Solar cladding and railings, image courtesy of Mitrex

Applications in developed urban centres like Toronto are limitless, home to the third-most skyscrapers on the continent and many more on the way with the most active cranes in all of North America. Much more than just buildings, BIPV materials could be used on every urban surface imaginable, from highway noise barriers to sidewalks.

Compounding the environmental and equity advantages offered by this technology, the economic benefits are just as promising for urban areas, having the potential to use surplus energy production for the grid as a revenue stream. Along with property owners, this could be especially beneficial for governments and municipalities that have suffered from the financial setbacks of COVID-19.

Recognizing this potential for expansion in a booming region and other nearby US markets, Mitrex opened a new factory in Toronto earlier this month. This over 100,000 ft² facility will allow Mitrex to locally manufacture solar cladding, windows, producing 25,000 ft² of solar integrated building materials per day. In addition to just producing BIPV, Mitrex offers property owners turnkey solutions for the manufacture and installation of solar energy-generating, and non-solar energy-generating portions of the building. For instance, a portion of an existing or new building could be upgraded for solar energy production very easily, with Mitrex producing and installing BIPV, and the rest of the structure's facade can be manufactured and installed by Mitrex with regular building materials. This allows for simple adoption of solar generation, reducing our reliance on the high-carbon grid.

CANADA WANTS NUCLEAR TO POWER THE FUTURE. BUT HOW?

SIERRA BEIN

GLOBE & MAIL

 JULY 19, 2021

A deeper dive

Matthew McClearn is an investigative reporter and data journalist with The Globe. For this week’s deeper dive, he talks about Canada’s nuclear ambitions.

Senior government officials, notably federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan, say small modular reactors (SMRs) will help Canada achieve net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century. There’s just one problem: it’s not clear yet whether any will be built.

To be sure, many promises made by SMR vendors seem compelling. By taking advantage of factory-style mass production, they’re supposed to be far cheaper than previous generations of reactors, which tended to be massive and prone to cost overruns. They’d also be easier to deploy. Yet they’d retain the best feature of traditional reactors: negligible greenhouse gas emissions.

A mad scramble to deliver on these promises is now underway. Ontario Power Generation—by far Canada’s most experienced nuclear station operator—plans to select a vendor to build a SMR at its Darlington Station by 2028. Further out, Saskatchewan is considering whether to order its own SMRs to replace coal-fired plants.

Accomplishing all that would silence numerous critics and naysayers. But as I explain in my most recent story, history is littered with reactors that failed to live up to their promises. Many SMR vendors are very early-stage companies which face years of grueling, expensive R&D work to advance their designs to the point they could actually be built. And they’re competing against renewable technologies including wind and solar, which utilities can purchase and deploy today. It may be premature to count on SMRs to help meet Canada’s emissions targets.

Jane Fonda, Mark Ruffalo among hundreds urging Ireland to call for global fracking ban

Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo are among more than 700 signatories calling upon Ireland to introduce a UN proposal to end global fracking.

Shane O'Brien
@shamob96
Jul 20, 2021

Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo has been part of the anti-fracking movement in the US for more than a decade. GETTY IMAGES

Hollywood stars Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo have joined an international coalition of scientists and activists calling on Ireland to endorse a UN resolution that would ban fracking around the world.

Ruffalo and Fonda joined more than 730 international environmental campaign groups, frontline community organizations, and climate activists who signed a letter urging the Irish Government to propose a United Nations resolution
calling for a global ban on fracking.

More than 100 Irish groups are among the signatories of the letter which calls for "a global ban on fracking being proposed by Ireland at the United Nations General Assembly on climate-mitigation, public-health, environmental-protection, and human-rights grounds."

READ MORE
Cher tells fan Leo Varadkar to dump fracking after Dublin concert

Edward Ketyer, a US pediatrician who signed the letter, said that an international ban on fracking would improve public health around the world.

"A global ban on fracking will improve public health and safety everywhere, not just in communities that have been damaged and scarred by unconventional oil and gas operations," said Ketyer, who is president-elect of Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania.

Sandra Steingraber, of the Science and Environmental Health Network, said that fracking leads to several health problems, including complications of pregnancy, cancer, mental health impacts, and damage to the heart and lungs.

Meanwhile, the Irish Centre for Human Rights said that the practice was "incompatible with human rights". The group additionally said that "the dangers posed by fracking cannot be mitigated through regulation".

Irish magician Keith Barry also signed the letter and said that this was an "incredible opportunity" to ban fracking around the world.

"I was proud when Ireland took its part and banned fracking. This is an incredible opportunity, and I want us to lead again. Poorer countries depend on us. We've been there. This would be an incredible achievement if Ireland were to lead the way on a global ban. Let's do this," Barry said.

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WATCH: Mark Ruffalo urges Ireland to “do the right thing” in Green Party webinar

The campaign comes one month after US company New Fortress Energy confirmed that it would reapply for planning permission to develop the Shannon Liquefied National Gas (LNG) terminal in Tarbert, County Kerry.

However, the Irish Government has taken steps to ban the import of fracked gas and Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan said that "it would not be appropriate to permit or proceed with development of any LNG terminals in Ireland, including the Shannon LNG project".

Ryan said that the government's position was pending a review of the security of energy supply for Ireland’s electricity and natural gas systems.

The €650 million plans call for a 600 megawatt (MW) power plant with an integrated 120 MW battery storage facility at a 600-acre site in Tarbert. The project also includes plans for an offshore LNG terminal capable of receiving and storing natural gas that would be moored at a jetty in the Shannon Estuary.

Previous plans for the site were shelved in 2019 following widespread criticism from international activists and celebrities over the import of fracked gas from the US to Ireland.

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Mark Ruffalo implores Ireland to oppose fracked gas terminal

Mark Ruffalo, who has been involved in the US anti-fracking movement for more than a decade, spoke out about plans to build the terminal in 2019.

The actor said that the import of fracked gas to Ireland from America would have a devastating impact on American communities.

"You are creating what the oil and gas industry themselves call sacrificial zones where there are sacrificial human beings to bring you the gas that you believe you need for a quick fix that isn’t going to fix the long-term problems of energy," Ruffalo told the Irish Independent in October 2019.

"I implore you to think for the future, think for the children, think for the people who are immediately being harmed here in the United States and do the right thing here."

Eamon Ryan said recently that he sees no realistic prospect of an LNG terminal being built in Kerry because it is contrary to government policy.

Ireland became the fourth EU member state to ban fracking when it outlawed the practice in 2017, while the government announced a ban on the import of fracked gas into Ireland for use on the national grid in May 2021.

700+ Global Groups Urge Ireland to Introduce UN Resolution for Fracking Ban

"No amount of regulation can adequately address all the problems that flow from fracked drilling operations and our continued reliance on fossil fuels."


Thousands of youth strikers take part in a protest march against the governments' lack of action on the climate emergency and destruction of the environment on April 12, 2019 in London. (Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)


JESSICA CORBETT

COMMON DREANS

July 15, 2021

Hundreds of global groups on Thursday urged Ireland to introduce a United Nations resolution for a ban on hydraulic fracturing, arguing that the country is particularly well-positioned for the move, given its previous efforts to outlaw fracking and divest from fossil fuels.

"We, the undersigned, support a call for a global ban on fracking being proposed by Ireland at the United Nations General Assembly on climate-mitigation, public-health, environmental-protection, and human-rights grounds," says a statement now signed by more than 700 organizations, including over 100 from Ireland, and two dozen individuals.

As a press release about the call for a resolution explained:

Once the resolution is introduced to the U.N. General Assembly, it would need a simple majority vote to pass. The coalition believes there will be support for the resolution given the large number of U.N. member states that are highly vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise, as well as recent calls by the U.N. to address climate change and implement the Sustainable Development Goals, the spirit of which runs contrary to fracking. A U.N. resolution in favor of a global ban on fracking would set a high bar for ambitious existential results at the COP26 in Glasgow.

The new call echoes an April letter (pdf) that Irish activists, groups, and legal experts sent to key government leaders.

"We are asking you to urgently direct the Department of Foreign Affairs to initiate the process which would see Ireland, as a Global North country, jointly introduce and lead co-sponsorship of this proposed resolution with another Global South U.N. member state partner," the letter says, noting a confirmed commitment from the Maldives.

"Ireland's tireless efforts to ban fracking and stop the importation of fracked gas from other countries," the letter adds, "was done in recognition of the very principles which underpin the draft resolution; that is, that fracking is an inherently harmful extraction process that has global impacts no matter where it is conducted and that no amount of regulation can adequately address all the problems that flow from fracked drilling operations and our continued reliance on fossil fuels."

Signatories of Thursday's call reiterated the letter's warning about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, a process that involves injecting water, sand, and secret chemicals into a rock formation to extract oil or gas

"Negative health effects from fracking—complications of pregnancy and poor birth outcomes, damage to the heart and lungs, mental health impacts, cancer—will all be reduced as a result of a global fracking ban," said Sandra Steingraber, an initiator of the new call for a resolution.

Co-founder of Concerned Health Professionals of New York and senior scientist at the Science and Environmental Health Network, Steingraber also co-authored the most recent edition of The Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking.

Fellow initiator Dr. Edward Ketyer, a pediatrician and president-elect of Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, said that "a global ban on fracking will improve public health and safety everywhere, not just in communities that have been damaged and scarred by unconventional oil and gas operations."

Other initiators of the call for a resolution include Sister Majella McCarron OLA; Michele Fetting of the Breathe Project; Andy Gheorghiu of Climate Protection and Energy Policy; New York-based environmental attorney Scott Edwards; Mexican environmental justice activist Claudia Campero; Lois Bower-Bjornson, a Pennsylvania resident impacted by fracking; and Eddie Mitchell of Love Leitrim.

A statement announcing the call highlighted that in addition to other concerns about fracking, researchers from the Irish Center for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland Galway School of Law have also found the practice "to be incompatible with human rights."

"The process of fracking involves widespread human rights violations, a point repeatedly highlighted by U.N. legal experts," said Maeve O'Rourke, director of the center's Human Rights Law Clinic, which was a signatory to the April letter.

"Ireland made the right decision to ban fracking in 2017," O'Rourke said, "and now we have the opportunity to lead the world in ensuring that all communities and our global ecosystem are protected from this toxic and dangerous process."

High-profile supporters of climate action and environmental justice have also signed on to the resolution demand, including 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben, magician Keith Barry, and actors Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo.


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