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Hi John,
This month, I’ve been thinking about the Inflation Reduction Act — what we can learn from how it passed, and what it means for our climate justice organizing.
While the bill doesn’t do nearly enough to meet the needs of frontline communities, it is the most significant piece of federal climate legislation in years. It passed in large part because organizers built the momentum and urgency needed to ensure that policymakers felt compelled to act, and to fight for the major climate provisions in the bill.
The IRA is far from a climate justice bill, but in many ways its real impact on our communities will depend on what we all do now. The bill directs billions towards state and local governments — which means making sure that communities are shaping equitable public investments is critical.
We’ve seen what happens when cities receive federal dollars, for better and for worse. Early in the pandemic, the city of Chicago prioritized corporate interests over community demands by directing more than $280 million in federal relief funds to the police department. Contrast that with Boston, where elected leaders have listened to communities and directed American Rescue Plan dollars to help build clean energy microgrids ( read more in our spotlight below [[link removed]] ).
I am encouraged by stories like this one [[link removed]] , where community members are wielding power in their cities. It takes a tremendous amount of effort, but this is how we achieve energy democracy and true climate justice.
Lauren Jacobs [[link removed]] In solidarity,
Lauren Jacobs
Executive Director
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Spotlight On: Microgrids in Massachusetts! [[link removed]]
A conversation about building climate resilience and energy democracy
In Massachusetts, our affiliate Community Labor United [[link removed]] (CLU) is co-leading efforts to democratize energy and build climate resilience through the development of microgrid projects in Boston’s Chinatown and Chelsea neighborhoods. Our Climate Justice Lead, Dieynabou Diallo , sat down with Lee Matsueda (Executive Director of Community Labor United), Sari Kayyali (Microgrid Manager at Resilient Urban Neighborhoods-Green Justice Coalition [[link removed]] ), Lydia Lowe (Executive Director of Chinatown Community Land Trust [[link removed]] ), Maria Belen Power (Associate Director of GreenRoots [[link removed]] ), and Jen Stevenson Zepeda (Associate Executive Director at Climable [[link removed]] ).
Dieynabou: How does a microgrid work, and how does this microgrid project differ from others?
Sari: In a traditional electric grid, there is a power plant some distance away from where people live that generates all of a community's electricity. That electricity is distributed over long distances and then delivered to homes, businesses, and other buildings within a local area. The way a microgrid differs is it generates the electricity onsite. A traditional microgrid will be the size of a college campus or a hospital, and that brings a number of advantages — you lose less energy in transmission, and can save money by generating your own power when electricity rates are highest.
Jen: One of the unique features of our microgrids is that they use as many clean and emissions-free technologies as possible. They both create clean power, and make communities more climate resilient.
Read the full conversation [[link removed]]
Our Network in Action [[link removed]]
[[link removed]] Ensuring that all frontline workers receive “Hero Pay”
As the Frontline Worker Pay program was being rolled out in Minnesota, some politicians were pushing to exclude certain workers and industries that are staffed predominantly by women and people of color. ISAIAH fought against these efforts and won Frontline Worker Pay for all people working on the frontlines during the pandemic. To date, over 1 million Minnesotans have applied for the benefit.
Organizing Anaheim residents to get involved in local government [[link removed]]
OCCORD has been organizing with community members to ensure that transparency and democracy can thrive in Anaheim. Last month, OCCORD, its allies, and Anaheim residents submitted 100+ signatures to a city council meeting urging members to place agenda Item 12, the Admissions Tax, on the November ballot. This would allow residents to vote on whether to apply a 2% gate tax for large venues with a capacity of 15,000+ people, including Disney, the Honda Center, and Angels Stadium.
[[link removed]] Winning education funding for schools across Pennsylvania
The 2022-2023 Enacted Budget for Pennsylvania includes $7.6 billion in basic education funding. The budget will also provide $225 million in funding to the LEVEL UP program, which aims to close the state school funding gap. Thanks to POWER’s organizing for implementation and use of PA’s Fair Funding Formula, that money will go to 100 of the most shortchanged school districts.
Building equitable transportation that helps, not harms, communities [[link removed]]
In Seattle, Puget Sound Sage joined the Seattle’s Chinatown International District community in calling on Sound Transit (the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority) to reconsider plans to construct another Light Rail station in the neighborhood. Rather than pursue a project that would displace local business and residents, Sage and community members are urging the transit authority to work with them to develop equitable transportation options that benefit BIPOC communities.
In Case You Missed It [[link removed]]
[[link removed]] Supporting Inland Empire Amazon Workers United as they organize for change
Earlier this month, over 150 Amazon workers walked off the job at a warehouse in San Bernardino, CA. With support from the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, hundreds of workers at the company’s San Bernardino Air Hub (KSBD) are organizing for better wages and safe conditions — and winning. Read about them in The Washington Post [[link removed]] , add your name to their pledge [[link removed]] , and check them out on Twitter [[link removed]] .
Protecting our communities and our environment from harm [[link removed]]
On July 19th, Pittsburgh United and local organizers celebrated a climate and environmental justice win [[link removed]] ! Their efforts resulted in the Allegheny County Council voting 12-3 to uphold a ban on new fracking in county parks. The legislation went into effect immediately.
[[link removed]] Supporting service workers at Facebook HQ
Last week, over 150 workers and labor advocates marched to the Facebook HQ [[link removed]] to call on the corporation to protect service workers’ livelihoods and support workers' right to have a voice on the job. Working Partnerships USA is supporting the workers as they demand that Facebook address unfair labor practices within the company [[link removed]] and put forward a responsible contractor policy so that the corporation only works with companies that respect the rights of workers to join together in union.
Protecting car owners from predatory towing [[link removed]]
A new law in Colorado [[link removed]] prevents towing companies from taking people’s cars without 24-hours notice. United for a New Economy (UNE) and other bill co-sponsors have been pushing to protect residents from the financial fallout of an unexpected tow due to minor parking offenses. HB22-1314: Towing Carrier Nonconsensual Tows was signed into law in June and went into effect on August 9, 2022.
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