truthout--2020-08-15--Community-Based Farms Rise to the Occasion as Big Food Supply Chains Stall

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed deep craters in the U.S. food supply chain .
Dairies that supply milk and food products to restaurants have had the heartbreaking task of dumping millions of gallons of milk .
Many giant meat processing plants had to close down because their workers were getting infected by the virus .
The shutting down of these plants resulted in millions of farm animals being “ culled ” by drowning , shooting and suffocating .
The meat processing plants were ordered to reopen when the administration declared that it is essential to maintain the meat supply in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toll and number of infections continue to swell .
Since April 22 , there have been more than 32,000 COVID-19 cases and 109 deaths among food-system workers , according to the Food & Environment Reporting Network .
During the crisis , however , family-scale farms that are deeply embedded in their communities have been able to pivot nimbly to provide high-quality , locally grown and processed foods while keeping everyone — farm family , workers and customers — safe .
Community-supported agriculture ( CSA ) farms are where customers become loyal supporters by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole season to share the risks and benefits with the farmers , and during this time , they have retained old members and attracted new ones .
By March 20 , within days of the lockdown due to COVID-19 , Massaro Community Farm , a nonprofit , certified-organic CSA farm in Woodbridge , Connecticut , was taking orders via email , and a week later , running a new online store — not only to sell winter greens from their own greenhouse , but also to offer products from neighboring farms that had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Farming through a pandemic has been an exhausting , but exciting , endeavor , ” said Alyssa DesRosier , assistant farm manager at Massaro Community Farm .
“ The hardest part has been the lack of social connection .
Our community is one of the biggest parts of our CSA ; it ’ s part of our mission statement : Keep farming , feed people , build community.
” Steve Munno has been the farm manager since the start of Massaro Community Farm 12 years ago when he answered the call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CSA farm combined with hunger relief and educational programs .
Having trained at the University of California , Santa Cruz , and worked with the Food Project , Munno was excited to shape a farm that would combine organic farming with food justice .
“ The injustices of our world , my own privileges and the need to actively work for change were evident early on , so these are the initial seeds , ” Munno said .
“ From there , over the years I got to study and work with people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pertinent part of the conversation or integral to the mission.
” The farm now has an executive director and a staff of eight , including an education director , a CSA with 250 shares , sales at local farmers ’ markets and area restaurants .
In addition to commercial sales , Massaro has made a commitment to donate 10 percent of all production to local hunger relief agencies .
The farm has given away over 65,000 pounds of food since 2010 and has raised funds to pay for the donations and educational @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an on-farm dinner and a bikeathon .
Munno lives in the farmhouse with his young family , which includes his wife and two children , so farm safety also means family safety during the pandemic .
The farm takes its name from the Italian family that ran a small dairy farm with a flock of chickens from 1916 until the death of the last farming member in 2007 , when the town of Woodbridge took ownership to protect the land .
Some local residents wanted a baseball field there .
But a larger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue , so they established a nonprofit that leased 57 acres from the town .
The active board shapes the farm ’ s policies , supports educational programs and helps raise funds .
Thousands of people have volunteered to participate in the farm ’ s many activities .
When Connecticut became a pandemic hotspot in early March , there were two other staff members who had been working with Munno through the winter .
Together , they had to figure out how to keep the farm open and keep themselves and their customers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the farm office , had experience with Square , a mobile point-of-sale system for businesses , which they used to set up a store with online ordering and pickups at the farm .
Since farmer friends had lost their sales outlets , Munno added their offerings to the list .
The farm has a mailing list of 3,000 , so it was not hard to attract customers .
Within a week , the farm was providing weekly pickups on Fridays that have continued ever since .
They schedule customer arrivals at half-hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time slots limit the number of deliveries to 150 .
It takes Munno and his staff all day to bundle the produce that , during the second week of June , included strawberries , lettuce and leeks along with products from other vendors .
Customers drive through the farm parking area , stopping at the barn where farm staff , who are gloved and masked , bring out the orders and place them on a table for no-touch retrieval or pop them into the car trunk .
Changing to meet this moment is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Everyone who works at Massaro Farm does so because we care about providing healthy food for our community , ” said DesRosier , who is also a quilter and made cloth masks for the crew .
“ When I made masks for the staff , I sewed hearts on them to remind everyone that even though they couldn ’ t see our smiling faces , we were here for them and cared about them , ” she added .
By mid-June , the farm had to spend over $ 1,000 on disposable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so far , no one on the farm or any of their immediate friends has gotten sick .
Customers are very appreciative of the service .
Munno talked about the other things that are different this year .
To meet the big surge in requests for CSA shares , they have expanded membership to 300 .
The Massaro CSA offers a 20-week farm pickup , and also a 10-week option , with the choice of any 10 weeks out of the 20 scheduled in advance so the farm knows what to expect .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ involved with the school system , either public schools or the university , and go away for a few weeks during summer vacation , so the 10-week option is convenient .
The CSA makes up the bulk of the farm ’ s sales , around 75 percent , with the rest split between farmers ’ markets and restaurants .
On weeks when produce was light , Munno explained , they would sell less at the markets .
In previous seasons , CSA pickup at the farm has been “ market style , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the crew sets out for them .
This year , the farm will be bagging or boxing the shares , which is about 250 per week .
There are 300 subscribers in total , with 170 of them picking up weekly and 130 picking up alternating weeks .
With COVID-19 , the farmers ’ markets have changed their rules to require that all sales are ordered and paid for in advance , a system that does not work well for Massaro .
It is a matter of logistics , Munno explains .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to five days a week , with what is extra going to sales for the farmers ’ markets .
In past years , Munno had a sense of what they would bring to market , but was able to make adjustments at the last minute to accommodate fluctuations in share numbers and production from week to week .
This year , he would have to put the information online early in the week , confirm what they have , and receive and pack orders before going to market .
He wants to support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ market is a big social benefit for the family , but he and his staff are evaluating whether they can do it safely .
Munno expects minimal sales to restaurants this year .
The basis for those sales is often relationships , but since Massaro has a higher price point than other providers , he thinks he will not get many orders .
By contrast , Munno hopes to be able to increase the amount of produce the farm donates for hunger relief .
Demand is up , and he has had requests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups in New Haven .
While the CSA does have a few shares that are purchased for donation , most of the shares go to people who can pay .
Farm income from those sales covers operating costs , including staff salaries .
The farm ’ s initial capitalization and money to buy new equipment and make major repairs depend on donations , grants from private foundations and state and federal programs .
Like many nonprofits , Massaro will have to get creative this year to find substitutes for on-farm fundraisers .
To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of illness , Munno plans to hire at least two extra staffers .
Munno ’ s policy is to avoid reliance on volunteers or apprenticeships .
He calls the employees staff and pays them hourly wages .
They are slowly figuring out how to work together safely .
Munno typically prefers working as a group to get things done , but this year they are breaking into smaller teams and making other accommodations by staggering lunchtimes , and using masks and gloves while harvesting as an extra precaution , not that different from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I am grateful and privileged to be here at this moment , ” Munno says .
“ I feel grateful that people are taking the safety protocols seriously .
I don ’ t want to get sick — my kids , hundreds of people rely on us for food , and our staff for work .
In farming , every year is different , but I am hoping for a particularly bountiful year .
And looking forward , I hope the renewed interest in local produce will not be short-lived , and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and [ we will ] not [ have to ] wait until May.
” Even before the pandemic , farm costs had been going up and all the new safety measures have added to the expenses .
The extra price point Massaro Farm is able to charge for high quality , certified organic produce is still not enough , Munno says , to pay his staff what they are worth .
“ I don ’ t think any of my team is compensated enough , ” he said .
“ We need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pay everyone better.
” While mainstream supply chains suffered major snags this spring , organic CSA farms like Massaro have been able to nimbly reorient marketing and production to serve the urgent needs of their communities .
But these adjustments come with a cost : the additional investments needed to buy protective equipment , packaging supplies and to pay the fees for online services ; and the emotional and physical wear and tear on the farmers and their crews .
The first rounds of federal stimulus money have followed the usual well-worn channels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industrial farms .
In addition to farming , Munno ( along with the author of this article ) serves on the Interstate Council of the Northeast Organic Farming Association ( NOFA ) , a 49 year-old grassroots organization with chapters in seven states that has been a pioneer in championing local organic food , and is attempting to divert the flow into investments that support farms like Massaro .
In a spring meeting with the New York congressional delegation , NOFA Policy Coordinator Steve Gilman urged Congress to provide federal hero hazard pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses deemed essential during the pandemic .
He also called for payments to organic producers to reimburse them for expenses such as personal protective equipment and pandemic-related facility , infrastructure , technology and staffing modifications , and to add flexibility to USDA nutrition programs to allow food banks to buy from local organic farms and food hubs and SNAP recipients to purchase online from farms .
Instead of returning to the discredited normal after the pandemic , Munno and his comrades in NOFA hope the new public awareness of food chain injustices and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been providing will build momentum for the localized , socially just , ecological and resilient farm and food system we want for our future .
This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life , a project of the Independent Media Institute .

Part of the Series Despair and Disparity: The Uneven Burdens of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed deep craters in the U.S. food supply chain. Dairies that supply milk and food products to restaurants have had the heartbreaking task of dumping millions of gallons of milk. Many giant meat processing plants had to close down because their workers were getting infected by the virus. The shutting down of these plants resulted in millions of farm animals being “culled” by drowning, shooting and suffocating. The meat processing plants were ordered to reopen when the administration declared that it is essential to maintain the meat supply in late April, even as the death toll and number of infections continue to swell. Since April 22, there have been more than 32,000 COVID-19 cases and 109 deaths among food-system workers, according to the Food & Environment Reporting Network.
During the crisis, however, family-scale farms that are deeply embedded in their communities have been able to pivot nimbly to provide high-quality, locally grown and processed foods while keeping everyone — farm family, workers and customers — safe. Community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms are where customers become loyal supporters by signing up for weekly shares for the whole season to share the risks and benefits with the farmers, and during this time, they have retained old members and attracted new ones. By March 20, within days of the lockdown due to COVID-19, Massaro Community Farm, a nonprofit, certified-organic CSA farm in Woodbridge, Connecticut, was taking orders via email, and a week later, running a new online store — not only to sell winter greens from their own greenhouse, but also to offer products from neighboring farms that had lost markets when restaurants and schools closed.
“Farming through a pandemic has been an exhausting, but exciting, endeavor,” said Alyssa DesRosier, assistant farm manager at Massaro Community Farm. “The hardest part has been the lack of social connection. Our community is one of the biggest parts of our CSA; it’s part of our mission statement: Keep farming, feed people, build community.”
Steve Munno has been the farm manager since the start of Massaro Community Farm 12 years ago when he answered the call for a farmer who could organize a CSA farm combined with hunger relief and educational programs. Having trained at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and worked with the Food Project, Munno was excited to shape a farm that would combine organic farming with food justice. “The injustices of our world, my own privileges and the need to actively work for change were evident early on, so these are the initial seeds,” Munno said. “From there, over the years I got to study and work with people and at organizations where social justice was a pertinent part of the conversation or integral to the mission.”
The farm now has an executive director and a staff of eight, including an education director, a CSA with 250 shares, sales at local farmers’ markets and area restaurants. In addition to commercial sales, Massaro has made a commitment to donate 10 percent of all production to local hunger relief agencies. The farm has given away over 65,000 pounds of food since 2010 and has raised funds to pay for the donations and educational programs by organizing annual community-building events like an on-farm dinner and a bikeathon. Munno lives in the farmhouse with his young family, which includes his wife and two children, so farm safety also means family safety during the pandemic.
Caty Poole
The farm takes its name from the Italian family that ran a small dairy farm with a flock of chickens from 1916 until the death of the last farming member in 2007, when the town of Woodbridge took ownership to protect the land. Some local residents wanted a baseball field there. But a larger and more persistent group wanted farming to continue, so they established a nonprofit that leased 57 acres from the town. The active board shapes the farm’s policies, supports educational programs and helps raise funds. Thousands of people have volunteered to participate in the farm’s many activities.
When Connecticut became a pandemic hotspot in early March, there were two other staff members who had been working with Munno through the winter. Together, they had to figure out how to keep the farm open and keep themselves and their customers safe. Lindsay Browning, who works in the farm office, had experience with Square, a mobile point-of-sale system for businesses, which they used to set up a store with online ordering and pickups at the farm.
Since farmer friends had lost their sales outlets, Munno added their offerings to the list. The farm has a mailing list of 3,000, so it was not hard to attract customers. Within a week, the farm was providing weekly pickups on Fridays that have continued ever since. They schedule customer arrivals at half-hour intervals — safe-spacing requirements — and the time slots limit the number of deliveries to 150. It takes Munno and his staff all day to bundle the produce that, during the second week of June, included strawberries, lettuce and leeks along with products from other vendors. Customers drive through the farm parking area, stopping at the barn where farm staff, who are gloved and masked, bring out the orders and place them on a table for no-touch retrieval or pop them into the car trunk.
Changing to meet this moment is a big effort, and expensive. “Everyone who works at Massaro Farm does so because we care about providing healthy food for our community,” said DesRosier, who is also a quilter and made cloth masks for the crew. “When I made masks for the staff, I sewed hearts on them to remind everyone that even though they couldn’t see our smiling faces, we were here for them and cared about them,” she added.
By mid-June, the farm had to spend over $1,000 on disposable gloves and extra packaging materials, but so far, no one on the farm or any of their immediate friends has gotten sick. Customers are very appreciative of the service.
Munno talked about the other things that are different this year. To meet the big surge in requests for CSA shares, they have expanded membership to 300. The Massaro CSA offers a 20-week farm pickup, and also a 10-week option, with the choice of any 10 weeks out of the 20 scheduled in advance so the farm knows what to expect. A lot of the CSA members are involved with the school system, either public schools or the university, and go away for a few weeks during summer vacation, so the 10-week option is convenient. The CSA makes up the bulk of the farm’s sales, around 75 percent, with the rest split between farmers’ markets and restaurants. On weeks when produce was light, Munno explained, they would sell less at the markets. In previous seasons, CSA pickup at the farm has been “market style,” where subscribers select their produce from bins that the crew sets out for them. This year, the farm will be bagging or boxing the shares, which is about 250 per week. There are 300 subscribers in total, with 170 of them picking up weekly and 130 picking up alternating weeks.
Alanna Gilbert
With COVID-19, the farmers’ markets have changed their rules to require that all sales are ordered and paid for in advance, a system that does not work well for Massaro. It is a matter of logistics, Munno explains. Harvest for the CSA takes place three to five days a week, with what is extra going to sales for the farmers’ markets. In past years, Munno had a sense of what they would bring to market, but was able to make adjustments at the last minute to accommodate fluctuations in share numbers and production from week to week. This year, he would have to put the information online early in the week, confirm what they have, and receive and pack orders before going to market. He wants to support the other vendors, and going to market is a big social benefit for the family, but he and his staff are evaluating whether they can do it safely.
Munno expects minimal sales to restaurants this year. The basis for those sales is often relationships, but since Massaro has a higher price point than other providers, he thinks he will not get many orders.
By contrast, Munno hopes to be able to increase the amount of produce the farm donates for hunger relief. Demand is up, and he has had requests from new organizations like the mutual aid groups in New Haven. While the CSA does have a few shares that are purchased for donation, most of the shares go to people who can pay. Farm income from those sales covers operating costs, including staff salaries. The farm’s initial capitalization and money to buy new equipment and make major repairs depend on donations, grants from private foundations and state and federal programs. Like many nonprofits, Massaro will have to get creative this year to find substitutes for on-farm fundraisers.
To be sure of enough labor in case of illness, Munno plans to hire at least two extra staffers. Munno’s policy is to avoid reliance on volunteers or apprenticeships. He calls the employees staff and pays them hourly wages. They are slowly figuring out how to work together safely. Munno typically prefers working as a group to get things done, but this year they are breaking into smaller teams and making other accommodations by staggering lunchtimes, and using masks and gloves while harvesting as an extra precaution, not that different from their usual food safety protocols.
“I am grateful and privileged to be here at this moment,” Munno says. “I feel grateful that people are taking the safety protocols seriously. I don’t want to get sick — my kids, hundreds of people rely on us for food, and our staff for work. In farming, every year is different, but I am hoping for a particularly bountiful year. And looking forward, I hope the renewed interest in local produce will not be short-lived, and that the CSA will be full by winter, and [we will] not [have to] wait until May.”
Even before the pandemic, farm costs had been going up and all the new safety measures have added to the expenses. The extra price point Massaro Farm is able to charge for high quality, certified organic produce is still not enough, Munno says, to pay his staff what they are worth. “I don’t think any of my team is compensated enough,” he said. “We need to make larger changes so we can pay everyone better.”
While mainstream supply chains suffered major snags this spring, organic CSA farms like Massaro have been able to nimbly reorient marketing and production to serve the urgent needs of their communities. But these adjustments come with a cost: the additional investments needed to buy protective equipment, packaging supplies and to pay the fees for online services; and the emotional and physical wear and tear on the farmers and their crews. The first rounds of federal stimulus money have followed the usual well-worn channels into the bank accounts of the biggest industrial farms. In addition to farming, Munno (along with the author of this article) serves on the Interstate Council of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), a 49 year-old grassroots organization with chapters in seven states that has been a pioneer in championing local organic food, and is attempting to divert the flow into investments that support farms like Massaro. In a spring meeting with the New York congressional delegation, NOFA Policy Coordinator Steve Gilman urged Congress to provide federal hero hazard pay directly to frontline food system workers and businesses deemed essential during the pandemic. He also called for payments to organic producers to reimburse them for expenses such as personal protective equipment and pandemic-related facility, infrastructure, technology and staffing modifications, and to add flexibility to USDA nutrition programs to allow food banks to buy from local organic farms and food hubs and SNAP recipients to purchase online from farms.
Instead of returning to the discredited normal after the pandemic, Munno and his comrades in NOFA hope the new public awareness of food chain injustices and the extraordinary service that family-scale farms have been providing will build momentum for the localized, socially just, ecological and resilient farm and food system we want for our future.
This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life, a project of the Independent Media Institute.
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truthout--2020-08-15--Trump Didn’t Invent State Violence Against Protesters — But He’s Escalating It

Over the past month , a series of investigative reports have detailed the extraordinary way in which the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) has come to see journalists and political protesters as domestic enemies .
At least two journalists covering the Portland protests were , apparently , targeted by DHS officers , who wrote “ intelligence reports ” on their activities , and compiled on them the sorts of dossiers more frequently used against overseas terrorists .
Meanwhile , Customs and Border Protection-operated Predator drones , and helicopters and planes operated by an array of other agencies , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lives Matter protesters in Minneapolis and other cities in the wake of the police murders of George Floyd , Breonna Taylor , Tony McDade and others .
And , this past week , The Nation magazine reported that the Trump administration was using DHS ’ s Tactical Terrorism Response Teams to monitor anti-fascist activists , as well as a left-wing podcast host , for supposedly coordinating with foreign governments to attack the United States .
Once U.S. citizens are designated as agents of foreign powers , the legal doors are opened to warrantless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , many writers have expressed shock and horror at such “ un-American ” activities being unleashed by those in positions of power .
But , while they surely merit both shock and horror , they shouldn ’ t merit surprise .
Trump ’ s latest methods , while certainly crude and dangerous , are actually as American as apple pie .
We have a tendency to whitewash our own past , to assign , with hindsight , a nobility of intent that doesn ’ t truly reflect the goals and the practices of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there is a long and ugly history of U.S. government security agencies labeling any and all dissenters as terrorists .
To take just a few examples : In the fearful days following September 11 , the FBI and other law enforcement agencies monitored antiwar groups , human rights organizations and other progressive , nonviolent entities .
The ACLU reported on the “ Orwellian scope ” of the FBI ’ s domestic surveillance program in this post-9/11 environment .
And , of course , using legal memos written by Department of Justice attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration embraced a wholesale torture program against suspected terrorists that utilized waterboarding , attack dogs , sexual humiliation , beatings , mock executions and other methods banned by the Geneva Conventions .
( Yoo has , this summer , reentered the national conversation by providing Trump with legal advice on how he can use the Supreme Court ’ s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ruling as a rationale to craft a series of broad-brush executive orders that , in the areas of immigration , health care and even financial responses to the COVID @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rule by diktat ) .
In the 1990s , as the U.S. consolidated its post-Cold War dominance , groups protesting the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) were met with the full might of the state .
In 1999 , anti-WTO protesters were gassed , clubbed and arrested en masse in Seattle .
Afterward , the FBI and local law enforcement agencies set up Joint Terrorism Task Forces to monitor left-wing protesters .
But it ’ s not only in the recent past that the state has resorted to violence and high-tech monitoring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pick pretty much any time of social upheaval in the United States and one encounters a stunning , almost automatic , resort to state violence .
One need only think of COINTELPRO in the late 1960s , in which an array of state agencies were sicced on the anti-Vietnam War movement .
Or the way the FBI and local police departments in Chicago and elsewhere worked to sabotage the Black Panthers and to kill off its leaders .
Or , slightly earlier , the FBI efforts to slime Martin Luther King Jr. Or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s marshalling of the full might of the federal government and of Congress to attack communists , civil rights groups , and an array of political progressives .
I remember , as a child visiting my grandparents in Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s , talking with older men and women in their social circle who , a generation earlier , had had their careers as musicians and Hollywood artists destroyed by anti-communist witch-hunters .
Their fury , their sense of betrayal , remained incandescent .
I remember one man in particular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a Clark Gable mustache , who had been hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee to be interrogated about his political beliefs , and had then been drummed out of his job .
More than 30 years later , deep into his old age , he was still unable to talk about McCarthy without yelling in fury .
Going back further , during the heyday of trade union organizing , in the early decades of the 20th century , the police , squads of Pinkerton detectives , and even federal troops often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interests of big business .
On occasion , sheriffs ’ officers would beat and even kill farmworkers who tried to organize in California and elsewhere — including sharecroppers in the Deep South — during the 1930s .
On other occasions , police , sheriffs and National Guard forces were deployed to counter striking miners , railway workers and others , oftentimes with lethal consequences .
During the Red Scares that followed the Russian Revolution , Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer authorized raids that netted hundreds of so-called Reds , many of whom were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deported to the Soviet Union .
A little over a decade later , during the Great Depression , tens of thousands of starving World War I veterans and their families mobilized for a huge march on ( and occupation of parts of ) Washington , D.C. , to demand the federal government pay them promised bonuses for their military service in Europe .
At President Hoover ’ s behest , they were met by massive military force — battalions of soldiers , some of them in tanks , sweeping the streets and ultimately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bonus Army .
In the 19th century , the Texas Rangers served largely as a paramilitary force for unleashing racist violence in the contested borderlands between a newly enlarged U.S. and a newly shrunken Mexico .
And , of course , many police forces are the institutional descendants of posses formed to track down and kidnap people escaping slavery .
As Trump veers ever closer to authoritarian , dictatorial rule , it ’ s important not only to point to the uniquely demagogic and tyrannical qualities of Trumpism — of which there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ways in which there is continuity on display .
Condemning Trump ’ s hideous embrace of state-sanctioned violence , intimidation and spying techniques against protesters and journalists alike as somehow “ un-American ” obscures more than it reveals .
When , for example , the Trumpified DHS hacks into journalists ’ social media or ferrets around their private financial records , or looks for ways to label Black Lives Matter protesters as terrorists , it is following in the footsteps of Hoover ’ s FBI in the 1960s or Palmer ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years .
When the Trump era ends , as surely it one day will , there must be a national reckoning .
The scale of Trump ’ s malfeasance , and the ramping up of quasi-military law enforcement activities that are — and have always been — inimical to democracy will have to be publicly confronted .
Without such a reckoning , there will be no way to lance the political boil that Trump represents .
What these last months have laid bare isn ’ t that Trump ’ s national security agenda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the system of control embodied by DHS , by Customs and Border Protection , by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the various other agencies , has evolved to the point where it now primarily serves to aid and abet authoritarianism .
These ugly times have provided us a warning : that the military-industrial state , the national security infrastructure that Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about 60 years ago , is now in full bloom .
Trump didn ’ t cause that bloom to come out of nowhere ; rather , his presidency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end consequence , the coming to a head , of decades of fetishization of state-sanctioned violence and brutality .
Unless we now embark upon a fundamental reckoning with these forces that have been allowed to fester and then to grow largely unchecked within the U.S. body politic over the decades ( and , indeed , over the centuries ) , the very threads of democracy will , at ever-greater speed , come unraveled .

From Homeland Security to COINTELPRO and beyond, the U.S. has a very long history of meeting dissent with brutality.
Over the past month, a series of investigative reports have detailed the extraordinary way in which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has come to see journalists and political protesters as domestic enemies. At least two journalists covering the Portland protests were, apparently, targeted by DHS officers, who wrote “intelligence reports” on their activities, and compiled on them the sorts of dossiers more frequently used against overseas terrorists.
Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection-operated Predator drones, and helicopters and planes operated by an array of other agencies, have been used to spy on Black Lives Matter protesters in Minneapolis and other cities in the wake of the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and others. And, this past week, The Nation magazine reported that the Trump administration was using DHS’s Tactical Terrorism Response Teams to monitor anti-fascist activists, as well as a left-wing podcast host, for supposedly coordinating with foreign governments to attack the United States. Once U.S. citizens are designated as agents of foreign powers, the legal doors are opened to warrantless spying on their actions.
In response, many writers have expressed shock and horror at such “un-American” activities being unleashed by those in positions of power. But, while they surely merit both shock and horror, they shouldn’t merit surprise. Trump’s latest methods, while certainly crude and dangerous, are actually as American as apple pie.
We have a tendency to whitewash our own past, to assign, with hindsight, a nobility of intent that doesn’t truly reflect the goals and the practices of past holders of power. In fact, there is a long and ugly history of U.S. government security agencies labeling any and all dissenters as terrorists.
To take just a few examples: In the fearful days following September 11, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies monitored antiwar groups, human rights organizations and other progressive, nonviolent entities. The ACLU reported on the “Orwellian scope” of the FBI’s domestic surveillance program in this post-9/11 environment.
And, of course, using legal memos written by Department of Justice attorney John Yoo as cover, the Bush administration embraced a wholesale torture program against suspected terrorists that utilized waterboarding, attack dogs, sexual humiliation, beatings, mock executions and other methods banned by the Geneva Conventions. (Yoo has, this summer, reentered the national conversation by providing Trump with legal advice on how he can use the Supreme Court’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ruling as a rationale to craft a series of broad-brush executive orders that, in the areas of immigration, health care and even financial responses to the COVID crisis, would allow Trump to basically rule by diktat).
Pick pretty much any time of social upheaval in the United States and one encounters a stunning, almost automatic, resort to state violence.
In the 1990s, as the U.S. consolidated its post-Cold War dominance, groups protesting the World Trade Organization (WTO) were met with the full might of the state. In 1999, anti-WTO protesters were gassed, clubbed and arrested en masse in Seattle. Afterward, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies set up Joint Terrorism Task Forces to monitor left-wing protesters.
But it’s not only in the recent past that the state has resorted to violence and high-tech monitoring in its efforts to squash protest. Pick pretty much any time of social upheaval in the United States and one encounters a stunning, almost automatic, resort to state violence.
One need only think of COINTELPRO in the late 1960s, in which an array of state agencies were sicced on the anti-Vietnam War movement. Or the way the FBI and local police departments in Chicago and elsewhere worked to sabotage the Black Panthers and to kill off its leaders. Or, slightly earlier, the FBI efforts to slime Martin Luther King Jr. Or, in the 1950s, McCarthyism’s marshalling of the full might of the federal government and of Congress to attack communists, civil rights groups, and an array of political progressives.
I remember, as a child visiting my grandparents in Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s, talking with older men and women in their social circle who, a generation earlier, had had their careers as musicians and Hollywood artists destroyed by anti-communist witch-hunters. Their fury, their sense of betrayal, remained incandescent. I remember one man in particular, Sam Albert, a debonair musician with a Clark Gable mustache, who had been hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee to be interrogated about his political beliefs, and had then been drummed out of his job. More than 30 years later, deep into his old age, he was still unable to talk about McCarthy without yelling in fury.
Going back further, during the heyday of trade union organizing, in the early decades of the 20th century, the police, squads of Pinkerton detectives, and even federal troops often served as virtual private militias protecting the interests of big business. On occasion, sheriffs’ officers would beat and even kill farmworkers who tried to organize in California and elsewhere — including sharecroppers in the Deep South — during the 1930s. On other occasions, police, sheriffs and National Guard forces were deployed to counter striking miners, railway workers and others, oftentimes with lethal consequences.
Condemning Trump’s hideous embrace of state-sanctioned violence, intimidation and spying techniques against protesters and journalists alike as somehow “un-American” obscures more than it reveals.
During the Red Scares that followed the Russian Revolution, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer authorized raids that netted hundreds of so-called Reds, many of whom were, with no due process, unceremoniously deported to the Soviet Union. A little over a decade later, during the Great Depression, tens of thousands of starving World War I veterans and their families mobilized for a huge march on (and occupation of parts of) Washington, D.C., to demand the federal government pay them promised bonuses for their military service in Europe. At President Hoover’s behest, they were met by massive military force — battalions of soldiers, some of them in tanks, sweeping the streets and ultimately burning down the encampments of the so-called Bonus Army.
In the 19th century, the Texas Rangers served largely as a paramilitary force for unleashing racist violence in the contested borderlands between a newly enlarged U.S. and a newly shrunken Mexico. And, of course, many police forces are the institutional descendants of posses formed to track down and kidnap people escaping slavery.
As Trump veers ever closer to authoritarian, dictatorial rule, it’s important not only to point to the uniquely demagogic and tyrannical qualities of Trumpism — of which there are many — but also to look for the ways in which there is continuity on display. Condemning Trump’s hideous embrace of state-sanctioned violence, intimidation and spying techniques against protesters and journalists alike as somehow “un-American” obscures more than it reveals.
When, for example, the Trumpified DHS hacks into journalists’ social media or ferrets around their private financial records, or looks for ways to label Black Lives Matter protesters as terrorists, it is following in the footsteps of Hoover’s FBI in the 1960s or Palmer’s goon squads in the post-World War I years.
When the Trump era ends, as surely it one day will, there must be a national reckoning. The scale of Trump’s malfeasance, and the ramping up of quasi-military law enforcement activities that are — and have always been — inimical to democracy will have to be publicly confronted. Without such a reckoning, there will be no way to lance the political boil that Trump represents.
What these last months have laid bare isn’t that Trump’s national security agenda is anomalous; but, rather, that the system of control embodied by DHS, by Customs and Border Protection, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the various other agencies, has evolved to the point where it now primarily serves to aid and abet authoritarianism. These ugly times have provided us a warning: that the military-industrial state, the national security infrastructure that Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about 60 years ago, is now in full bloom. Trump didn’t cause that bloom to come out of nowhere; rather, his presidency is, at least in part, the end consequence, the coming to a head, of decades of fetishization of state-sanctioned violence and brutality.
Unless we now embark upon a fundamental reckoning with these forces that have been allowed to fester and then to grow largely unchecked within the U.S. body politic over the decades (and, indeed, over the centuries), the very threads of democracy will, at ever-greater speed, come unraveled.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-08-16--Military Recruiters Are Targeting High Schoolers Facing Financial Insecurity

For years , getting police officers out of schools has been a central goal of racial justice campaigns .
Recently , they ’ ve won victories in Denver , Minneapolis , Portland , Charlottesville , and even on many university campuses .
However , there ’ s another group of outsiders in schools we should be wary of : the U.S. military .
Since the end of the draft in 1973 , the U.S. has relied on an all-volunteer service to maintain its 1.3 million-member global police force .
Over the years the military has used a number of different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has always been the same : high schoolers .
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 significantly changed how military recruiters reach teenagers .
Section 9528 mandates public high schools give military recruiters the same access to students that college recruiters get , including their personal contact information .
Schools became gold mines for recruiting “ future soldiers.
” Recruiters at my high school in Fairfax County , Virginia always set up shop in the cafeteria .
For the next two hours , they would sit through the four different lunch periods @ @ @ @ @ @ @ curious enough to stop at their station .
Recruiters use their omnipresence on campus to build relationships and trust in all kinds of different ways .
They may offer to chaperone homecoming events , timekeep at football games , or even give lectures in history or government classrooms .
All the while , they paint a glamorous picture of life in the military .
Promises of scholarships and a chance to earn honor and respect serving around the world are very compelling to 17-year-olds , especially those without a lot of other options @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deliberately exploit the financial and social insecurities of teenagers to enlist more soldiers .
A RAND Corporation study , for example , found that nearly 57 percent of students at public high schools with JROTC programs relied on free or reduced-price lunch — about 10 percent more than schools without them .
Sometimes the disparity is even starker .
Education Week reporters in Connecticut found that recruiters made 10 times as many visits to one largely low-income school as they did to a nearby affluent school .
Finally , four years of studies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found that Black , Hispanic , Indigenous , and low-income students were overrepresented among the enlistees most often put in harm ’ s way .
Schools aren ’ t the only place the military targets young people .
As early as 2002 , recruiters had already begun using e-sports as a platform .
Today this effort has transformed into an official Army e-sports team and an Army video game streaming channel , all designed to reach vulnerable youth at an even younger age .
These practices are nothing less than predatory .
Research @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from joining the military at a young age — including higher rates of substance abuse , depression , PTSD , and suicide .
Students ’ rights to health care , education , housing , and citizenship , among other military “ perks , ” should not have to be earned by putting their life on the line .
Far more effective jobs guarantees could exist if we invested in them : Education , health care , and clean energy all create more jobs per dollar than Pentagon spending .
Yet the U.S. spends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 countries combined .
Pentagon recruiters don ’ t belong in schools — or anywhere vulnerable kids gather .
And getting them out should be part of a bigger effort to right-size our military and invest in the things that actually keep us secure .

Schools have become contested territory.
For years, getting police officers out of schools has been a central goal of racial justice campaigns. Recently, they’ve won victories in Denver, Minneapolis, Portland, Charlottesville, and even on many university campuses.
However, there’s another group of outsiders in schools we should be wary of: the U.S. military.
Since the end of the draft in 1973, the U.S. has relied on an all-volunteer service to maintain its 1.3 million-member global police force. Over the years the military has used a number of different recruitment methods, but the target audience has always been the same: high schoolers.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 significantly changed how military recruiters reach teenagers. Section 9528 mandates public high schools give military recruiters the same access to students that college recruiters get, including their personal contact information. Schools became gold mines for recruiting “future soldiers.”
Recruiters at my high school in Fairfax County, Virginia always set up shop in the cafeteria. For the next two hours, they would sit through the four different lunch periods and give their spiel to whoever was curious enough to stop at their station.
Recruiters use their omnipresence on campus to build relationships and trust in all kinds of different ways. They may offer to chaperone homecoming events, timekeep at football games, or even give lectures in history or government classrooms.
All the while, they paint a glamorous picture of life in the military. Promises of scholarships and a chance to earn honor and respect serving around the world are very compelling to 17-year-olds, especially those without a lot of other options.
That’s key. Recruiters deliberately exploit the financial and social insecurities of teenagers to enlist more soldiers.
A RAND Corporation study, for example, found that nearly 57 percent of students at public high schools with JROTC programs relied on free or reduced-price lunch — about 10 percent more than schools without them.
Sometimes the disparity is even starker. Education Week reporters in Connecticut found that recruiters made 10 times as many visits to one largely low-income school as they did to a nearby affluent school.
Finally, four years of studies by the Resistance Center in western Massachusetts found that Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and low-income students were overrepresented among the enlistees most often put in harm’s way.
Schools aren’t the only place the military targets young people. As early as 2002, recruiters had already begun using e-sports as a platform. Today this effort has transformed into an official Army e-sports team and an Army video game streaming channel, all designed to reach vulnerable youth at an even younger age.
These practices are nothing less than predatory. Research reveals numerous physical and mental health risks from joining the military at a young age — including higher rates of substance abuse, depression, PTSD, and suicide.
Students’ rights to health care, education, housing, and citizenship, among other military “perks,” should not have to be earned by putting their life on the line.
Far more effective jobs guarantees could exist if we invested in them: Education, health care, and clean energy all create more jobs per dollar than Pentagon spending. Yet the U.S. spends more on its military than the next 10 countries combined.
Pentagon recruiters don’t belong in schools — or anywhere vulnerable kids gather. And getting them out should be part of a bigger effort to right-size our military and invest in the things that actually keep us secure.


truthout--2020-08-16--Cops Have Repeatedly Attacked and Obstructed Street Medics During BLM Rebellion

“ Move !
Move !
Move to the west , you are subject to arrest .
Move to the west now , this is a riot !
” a dystopian voice blared over a police loudspeaker in Portland on the night of August 12 , after over 70 continuous days of revolt in solidarity with Black lives in the Oregon city .
Moments later , without warning , police slashed the tires of a soccer club ’ s van which had been repurposed as a medic hub for treating demonstrators .
The same night , in Tampa , Florida , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and tackled a well-known Black community organizer , Jae Passmore , to the ground while bystanders repeatedly screamed “ get your knee off her neck !
” One demonstrator , who prefers the pseudonym Sammy Amote , told Truthout that the officers yelled “ orange shirt , ” which matched Passmore ’ s attire .
Amote said , “ It seemed clearly targeted because she wasn ’ t doing anything.
” ( Less than two months prior , a man in a pickup truck hit Passmore while she was demonstrating , giving her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right leg . )
Once it was clear Passmore was injured , police prevented medics from treating her .
“ There ’ s a f*cking medic right here !
Let her in !
” one protester yelled , exasperated .
“ The cops said they called the EMTs , but we had a medical professional — as a protest medic , as most protests have — on site who offered to help her in the meantime , ” Amote explained .
The officers said no and threatened arrest if she tried to help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a medic .
About 20 minutes later the EMTs came and she was taken to the hospital.
” Several days before , at a demonstration countering a “ pro-police ” rally , Austin , Texas , police arrested at least two medics , punching one several times .
The individual who filmed the scene told Truthout that the violence didn ’ t seem targeted in that particular instance .
“ However , APD has targeted many medics before , ” he said .
“ On the first day of protests a medic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , was shot in the shin with a less lethal.
” In June , Austin police shot Justin Howell , a young Black man , with munitions that fractured his skull and potentially gave him brain damage .
A viral video showed police shooting munitions at medics and protesters while they attempted to treat Howell .
Dozens of reports of police arresting medics and destroying their property have arisen since the revolt began in late May .
In Minneapolis , Minnesota , police assaulted medics at their tent in a Kmart parking lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ourselves as medics , ” one medic told Unicorn Riot .
“ They began to launch rubber bullets and tear gas into our facility where there were no other protesters in that area , exclusively medics and those who had been wounded… ” Police forced them out , occupied the space and slashed all tires in the parking lot .
In Asheville , North Carolina , police destroyed a medic station by stabbing and stomping on water bottles and dismantling a table with snacks and supplies .
In Denver , Colorado , demonstrators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presenting videos of police firing projectiles at a medic who was helping an unconscious person .
In Columbus , Ohio , videos show police choking a medic , ostensibly because they were filming an arrest .
Still , Portland-based Rosehip Medic Collective told Truthout , “ Police attack white medics a lot less than they attack other protesters or Black people in general.
” Medics are no different than others taking to the streets , they said : “ We are protesting because Black Lives Matter and we need to defund , disarm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Although mainstream media ’ s coverage of the demonstrations has decreased , people are still in the streets .
Many are demanding police abolition , with defunding as a first step .
Some progress has been made in Portland , Seattle , San Francisco , Los Angeles , Austin and Philadelphia as city councils move toward partially defunding the police , and Minneapolis may abolish its force entirely .
The budget decreases , however fall far short of activists ’ demands and most U.S. cities have refused to defund police .
While the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conduct seemingly hasn ’ t improved .
Since January 1 , 2015 , police have shot and killed at least 5,517 nationally and are on track to kill as many people as previous years at 586 people as of August 14 .
Countless beatings , injuries , and violent arrests have been reported since police took Floyd ’ s last breath , making medics essential for the safety of protesters at increasingly risky demonstrations .
When police target medics and mutual aid centers , they take the legs out from underneath the rebellion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacks should not be targeted against “ hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected , provided they are not military objectives ” or against “ medical units and transport ” during armed conflicts .
However , there appear to be no such accountability structures guiding domestic police against grassroots care-providers .
( Notably , chemical weapons such as tear gas and pepper spray are frequently used domestically against protesters despite being considered illegal in war zones per the Chemical Weapons Convention . )
By Saturday in Portland , the medic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ streets , while street medics supplied helmets , flashlights and water to demonstrators on Friday .
With no end in sight for demonstrations in Portland and elsewhere , alongside an increasingly emboldened right-wing presence , medics will , unfortunately , be stocking up – and facing police violence – for the foreseeable future .

Dozens of reports of police arresting medics and destroying their property have emerged since the revolt began in May.
“Move! Move! Move to the west, you are subject to arrest. Move to the west now, this is a riot!” a dystopian voice blared over a police loudspeaker in Portland on the night of August 12, after over 70 continuous days of revolt in solidarity with Black lives in the Oregon city.
Moments later, without warning, police slashed the tires of a soccer club’s van which had been repurposed as a medic hub for treating demonstrators.
The same night, in Tampa, Florida, police jumped out of an unmarked car and tackled a well-known Black community organizer, Jae Passmore, to the ground while bystanders repeatedly screamed “get your knee off her neck!”
One demonstrator, who prefers the pseudonym Sammy Amote, told Truthout that the officers yelled “orange shirt,” which matched Passmore’s attire. Amote said, “It seemed clearly targeted because she wasn’t doing anything.” (Less than two months prior, a man in a pickup truck hit Passmore while she was demonstrating, giving her a concussion and wounding her hip and right leg.)
Once it was clear Passmore was injured, police prevented medics from treating her. “There’s a f*cking medic right here! Let her in!” one protester yelled, exasperated.
“The cops said they called the EMTs, but we had a medical professional — as a protest medic, as most protests have — on site who offered to help her in the meantime,” Amote explained. The officers said no and threatened arrest if she tried to help, even after she identified herself as a medic. About 20 minutes later the EMTs came and she was taken to the hospital.”
Several days before, at a demonstration countering a “pro-police” rally, Austin, Texas, police arrested at least two medics, punching one several times. The individual who filmed the scene told Truthout that the violence didn’t seem targeted in that particular instance. “However, APD has targeted many medics before,” he said. “On the first day of protests a medic, who was very clearly identified as so, was shot in the shin with a less lethal.” In June, Austin police shot Justin Howell, a young Black man, with munitions that fractured his skull and potentially gave him brain damage. A viral video showed police shooting munitions at medics and protesters while they attempted to treat Howell.
Dozens of reports of police arresting medics and destroying their property have arisen since the revolt began in late May. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, police assaulted medics at their tent in a Kmart parking lot on May 31.
“We announced ourselves as medics,” one medic told Unicorn Riot. “They began to launch rubber bullets and tear gas into our facility where there were no other protesters in that area, exclusively medics and those who had been wounded…” Police forced them out, occupied the space and slashed all tires in the parking lot.
In Asheville, North Carolina, police destroyed a medic station by stabbing and stomping on water bottles and dismantling a table with snacks and supplies. In Denver, Colorado, demonstrators filed a class-action lawsuit against police, presenting videos of police firing projectiles at a medic who was helping an unconscious person. In Columbus, Ohio, videos show police choking a medic, ostensibly because they were filming an arrest.
Still, Portland-based Rosehip Medic Collective told Truthout, “Police attack white medics a lot less than they attack other protesters or Black people in general.”
Medics are no different than others taking to the streets, they said: “We are protesting because Black Lives Matter and we need to defund, disarm and disband the Portland Police Bureau.”
Although mainstream media’s coverage of the demonstrations has decreased, people are still in the streets. Many are demanding police abolition, with defunding as a first step. Some progress has been made in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin and Philadelphia as city councils move toward partially defunding the police, and Minneapolis may abolish its force entirely. The budget decreases, however fall far short of activists’ demands and most U.S. cities have refused to defund police.
While the demonstrations have forced some concessions, police conduct seemingly hasn’t improved. Since January 1, 2015, police have shot and killed at least 5,517 nationally and are on track to kill as many people as previous years at 586 people as of August 14.
Countless beatings, injuries, and violent arrests have been reported since police took Floyd’s last breath, making medics essential for the safety of protesters at increasingly risky demonstrations. When police target medics and mutual aid centers, they take the legs out from underneath the rebellion.
The Geneva Conventions specify that military attacks should not be targeted against “hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives” or against “medical units and transport” during armed conflicts. However, there appear to be no such accountability structures guiding domestic police against grassroots care-providers. (Notably, chemical weapons such as tear gas and pepper spray are frequently used domestically against protesters despite being considered illegal in war zones per the Chemical Weapons Convention.)
By Saturday in Portland, the medic van was repaired and back on the streets, while street medics supplied helmets, flashlights and water to demonstrators on Friday.
With no end in sight for demonstrations in Portland and elsewhere, alongside an increasingly emboldened right-wing presence, medics will, unfortunately, be stocking up – and facing police violence – for the foreseeable future.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-08-16--The AFT Has Endorsed the Green New Deal. What’s Stopping the AFL-CIO?

The American Federation of Teachers ( AFT ) , the second largest teachers ’ union in the country , passed a resolution in support of the Green New Deal at its biennial convention at the end of July .
The Green New Deal , federal legislation introduced in early 2019 , would create a living-wage job for anyone who wants one and implement 100 % clean and renewable energy by 2030 .
The endorsement is huge news for both Green New Deal advocates and the AFL-CIO , the largest federation of unions in the United States .
The AFT ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmental activists ’ growing power , and it sends a message to the AFL-CIO that it , too , has an opportunity to get on board with the Green New Deal .
But working people ’ s conditions are changing rapidly , and with nearly half of all workers in the country without a job , the leaders of the AFL-CIO and its member unions may choose to knuckle down on what they perceive to be bread-and-butter issues , instead of fighting more broadly and boldly beyond immediate workplace concerns .
The AFT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Flight Attendants-CWA ( AFA-CWA ) , Service Employees International Union ( SEIU ) , National Nurses United ( NNU ) and the Maine AFL-CIO — all of which declared their support for the Green New Deal in 2019 .
And while local unions have passed resolutions in support of the Green New Deal , the AFT , NNU and AFA-CWA are the only national unions in the AFL-CIO to endorse the Green New Deal .
( SEIU is affiliated with another labor federation , Change to Win . )
Yet the AFL-CIO has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( D‑Mass . )
and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D‑N.Y . )
introduced the Green New Deal legislation in February 2019 , AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters ,  “ We need to address the environment .
We need to do it quickly.
” But he also noted that ,  “ We need to do it in a way that doesn ’ t put these communities behind , and leave segments of the economy behind .
So we ’ ll be working to make sure that we do two things : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t create a problem somewhere else.
” Where Trumka has been skeptical and resistant , some union leaders in the federation have been more forceful in their opposition ; many unions with members who work in extractive industries , including the building trades , slammed the legislation .
Cecil Roberts , president of the United Mine Workers of America ( UMWA ) , and Lonnie Stephenson , president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers , wrote a letter to both Markey and Ocasio-Cortez on behalf of the AFL-CIO Energy Committee that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accept proposals that could cause immediate harm to millions of our members and their families .
We will not stand by and allow threats to our members ’ jobs and their families ’ standard of living go unanswered.
” But with 80,000 members today , UMWA is more of a retirees ’ organization than a fighting union — and at roughly 1.6 million members , the AFT is one of the largest unions in the country .
Its endorsement is  “ the most high-profile labor endorsement of the Green New Deal since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Will Lawrence , director of strategic partnerships at the Sunrise Movement .
The AFT ’ s support for the Green New Deal , coupled with the writing on the wall for the fossil fuel industry , could mean a crisis for the AFL-CIO .
Trumka has so far straddled the line between the federation ’ s conservative and progressive members , giving a nod to the importance of climate change while also affirming the importance of fossil fuel jobs .
But Trumka plans to step down at the AFL ’ s convention in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be his successor will determine whether the largest federation in the labor movement goes all-in on the fight against climate change , or maintains one foot in the door and one foot out , balancing between the new world and the old .
This fork in the road is complicated by the fact that both the labor movement and the entire country are in crisis , with millions unemployed and all eyes on the presidential election in November .
Trumka favors Liz Shuler , Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL ( and his second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But Sara Nelson , president of AFA-CWA and one of the early endorsers of the Green New Deal , also has her eyes on the leadership position .
Although neither have officially announced their candidacy , it ’ s been reported that both have been privately vying for support .
Nelson ’ s support for the Green New Deal may hurt her if she decides to run .
Sean McGarvey , the president of the North America ’ s Building Trades Unions , the labor federation of the building trades unions and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @  “ She ’ s aligned herself with a plan that would eliminate half of the AFL-CIO ’ s jobs .
That ’ s not going to work real well.
” But Nelson told In These Times ,  “ Climate change is directly in our workplace .
Turbulence is on the rise .
Our schedules , our work , our lives are totally disrupted every time there ’ s a major weather event .
Some have tried to have us believe that this is an attack on jobs and on our way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if we don ’ t get out in front of something , the crisis will become so great and people will be desperate for a resolution , and that resolution won ’ t be one that works for working people.
” Nelson believes deeply in a just transition for workers whose industries would be shuttered in an attempt to bring carbon emissions down .
The term  “ just transition ” is often used in conversations about climate change as a way to secure workers ’ livelihoods if and when their industry is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is more often heard in the environmental movement now , the idea was developed in the labor movement by Tony Mazzocchi , a lifelong trade unionist and an elected leader in the Oil , Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union ( OCAW ) .
In Mazzocchi ’ s words , a true just transition would give workers in extractive industries  “ a new start in life ” by providing financial support and opportunities for education and re-training .
Many environmental groups like Sunrise Movement and Climate Justice Alliance have used the term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but union workers have often expressed concern that their job security and livelihoods are not a true priority .
After all , environmental groups often wage campaigns against pipelines or refineries without consulting the unions or their members first .
While to environmentalists , union work has sometimes meant environmental destruction , to union members , environmentalism has meant financial destruction .
But according to David Hughes , treasurer of Rutgers AAUP-AFT and professor of Anthropology at Rutgers-New Brunswick , extractive industry workers ’ standard of living is already threatened regardless of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hughes told In These Times that the country is already on the cusp of an energy transition away from fossil fuels .
 “ We have an economic disaster and a complete collapse of the price of oil , coal has been collapsing , gas is not in good shape .
So now solar and wind are competitive , even without subsidies .
The economic case for fossil fuels has evaporated — those jobs are not going to be here for much longer.
” Although most union members have no interest in being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers and their unions are particularly protective of their jobs .
Refinery workers can make up to six figures without a college degree , and there are very few jobs with comparable wages in non-extractive industries that these same workers could easily be hired for .
Further , these workers have a right to be suspicious : Barack Obama campaigned on creating 5 million green jobs , but it ’ s unclear how many new green jobs were actually produced .
There are some new green jobs , of course , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wages reflect that : Solar panel installers make between $ 30,000 and $ 50,000 per year .
Yet , numerous union members — workers in non-extractive industries — are serious about the Green New Deal , and AFT members who worked to pass the resolution are calling for more than tacit support : They intend for the endorsement to be a tool with which to organize their fellow members and to guide their work moving forward .
This is precisely what the members of Rutgers AAUP-AFT have been trying to make happen .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Rutgers ’ Climate Crisis Committee , raised the issue of supporting the Green New Deal at an AFT Executive Council meeting in 2019 , before SEIU endorsed .
No endorsement came out of it , but a committee , the Climate Task Force , was formed with the backing of the Executive Council .
The task force has three main priorities : Form a relationship with Sunrise Movement and other environmental groups , create green schools campaigns , and organize with other unions to encourage them to support the Green New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ,  “ What you do when you ’ re working in a sector that ’ s collapsing is you figure , what ’ s the strategic moment for my union to try to jump onto a ship that ’ s not sinking ?
If we get Biden elected , and we pass Green New Deal legislation , it will be the moment to jump .
If we miss that moment , we ’ ve got nothing.
” But faculty like Hughes , along with teachers and nurses , already have green jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New Deal or not .
While there have been hiring freezes at major universities , AFT members have been mostly unaffected by all of the job losses created by Covid-19 .
Construction workers , many of whom have just experienced a difficult few months without work , are understandably wary about potentially gambling with their jobs .
But Keon Liberato , President of Local 3012 of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters , is looking forward to the passage of the Green New Deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ works on railroads in the Philadelphia area , and he told In These Times that  “ even if you don ’ t care about climate change , even if you have a more narrow interest , there ’ s a ton of money in the Green New Deal for the building trades , for infrastructure.
” The Green New Deal ’ s focus on investing in high-speed rail could mean significant potential work for electricians and rail workers like Liberato .
The legislation also calls for  “ repairing and upgrading the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which means fixing bridges and roads , retrofitting buildings , and updating sewage and water systems .
And the AFT ’ s green school buildings campaign will need the support of building trades unions , like electricians , plumbers , roofers , and boilermakers .
All of this infrastructure work means more union jobs — but only if the labor movement acknowledges the true magnitude of climate change and decides to play a leadership role in fighting it .
John Braxton , Co-President Emeritus of AFT Local 2026 , who contributed to AFT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These Times that  “ unions don ’ t want to be told what to do , and they ’ d also like to believe it ’ s not going to be as big of a problem as it is .
But we ’ ve got to make contingency plans that provide protections for every worker , and we need to do it now .
Why would labor argue with that ?
” Labor ’ s current focus is getting Joe Biden elected , who , according to his ads , has the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of any major party ’ s presidential nominee ever .
His platform includes achieving net zero emissions no later than 2050 , conserving 30 % of the country ’ s lands and waters by 2030 , and making a federal investment of $ 1.7 trillion in the fight against climate change .
He promises to  “ fulfill our obligation to workers… who powered our industrial revolution and decades of economic growth ” by securing coal miners ’ pensions and benefits .
And he also promises to  “ put people to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic , including through a Public Health Jobs Corps.
” But unlike the Green New Deal legislation , his platform has no explicit promise of a job for all who want one .
It also makes no mention of fracking or a drastic reduction in fossil fuels , perhaps because his climate advisors may support fracking .
Braxton says ,  “ What we need to do is pressure Biden into a Jobs for All program , and the green is not in the headline , but it ’ s incorporated into it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ print , and maybe labor can look at it and say , this is what we need.
” Because of our current political climate — a pandemic that has already killed over 160,000 people in the United States , millions out of work , and a president and Senate that seem to despise working people —unions may be less willing to lead in the fight against climate change .
After all , the climate crisis may feel less urgent than the unemployment crisis , or even contract negotiations over wages and benefits .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ paraprofessionals who make up the AFT , leading in the fight against climate change is paramount .
And to get the rest of the labor movement on board , Nelson has some advice :  “ If you believe in something , you gotta be willing to fight for it .
”

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second largest teachers’ union in the country, passed a resolution in support of the Green New Deal at its biennial convention at the end of July. The Green New Deal, federal legislation introduced in early 2019, would create a living-wage job for anyone who wants one and implement 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030. The endorsement is huge news for both Green New Deal advocates and the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States. The AFT’s endorsement could be a sign of environmental activists’ growing power, and it sends a message to the AFL-CIO that it, too, has an opportunity to get on board with the Green New Deal. But working people’s conditions are changing rapidly, and with nearly half of all workers in the country without a job, the leaders of the AFL-CIO and its member unions may choose to knuckle down on what they perceive to be bread-and-butter issues, instead of fighting more broadly and boldly beyond immediate workplace concerns.
The AFT endorsement follows that of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), National Nurses United (NNU) and the Maine AFL-CIO — all of which declared their support for the Green New Deal in 2019. And while local unions have passed resolutions in support of the Green New Deal, the AFT, NNU and AFA-CWA are the only national unions in the AFL-CIO to endorse the Green New Deal. (SEIU is affiliated with another labor federation, Change to Win.)
Yet the AFL-CIO has remained resistant. When Sen. Ed Markey (D‑Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D‑N.Y.) introduced the Green New Deal legislation in February 2019, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters, “We need to address the environment. We need to do it quickly.” But he also noted that, “We need to do it in a way that doesn’t put these communities behind, and leave segments of the economy behind. So we’ll be working to make sure that we do two things: That by fixing one thing we don’t create a problem somewhere else.”
Where Trumka has been skeptical and resistant, some union leaders in the federation have been more forceful in their opposition; many unions with members who work in extractive industries, including the building trades, slammed the legislation. Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), and Lonnie Stephenson, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, wrote a letter to both Markey and Ocasio-Cortez on behalf of the AFL-CIO Energy Committee that said, “We will not accept proposals that could cause immediate harm to millions of our members and their families. We will not stand by and allow threats to our members’ jobs and their families’ standard of living go unanswered.”
But with 80,000 members today, UMWA is more of a retirees’ organization than a fighting union — and at roughly 1.6 million members, the AFT is one of the largest unions in the country. Its endorsement is “the most high-profile labor endorsement of the Green New Deal since SEIU last summer,” according to Will Lawrence, director of strategic partnerships at the Sunrise Movement. The AFT’s support for the Green New Deal, coupled with the writing on the wall for the fossil fuel industry, could mean a crisis for the AFL-CIO. Trumka has so far straddled the line between the federation’s conservative and progressive members, giving a nod to the importance of climate change while also affirming the importance of fossil fuel jobs. But Trumka plans to step down at the AFL’s convention in 2021, and whoever wins the election to be his successor will determine whether the largest federation in the labor movement goes all-in on the fight against climate change, or maintains one foot in the door and one foot out, balancing between the new world and the old.
This fork in the road is complicated by the fact that both the labor movement and the entire country are in crisis, with millions unemployed and all eyes on the presidential election in November. Trumka favors Liz Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL (and his second in command) as his successor. But Sara Nelson, president of AFA-CWA and one of the early endorsers of the Green New Deal, also has her eyes on the leadership position. Although neither have officially announced their candidacy, it’s been reported that both have been privately vying for support.
Nelson’s support for the Green New Deal may hurt her if she decides to run. Sean McGarvey, the president of the North America’s Building Trades Unions, the labor federation of the building trades unions and a member of the AFL, said, “She’s aligned herself with a plan that would eliminate half of the AFL-CIO’s jobs. That’s not going to work real well.” But Nelson told In These Times, “Climate change is directly in our workplace. Turbulence is on the rise. Our schedules, our work, our lives are totally disrupted every time there’s a major weather event. Some have tried to have us believe that this is an attack on jobs and on our way of life, but we know that if we don’t get out in front of something, the crisis will become so great and people will be desperate for a resolution, and that resolution won’t be one that works for working people.”
Nelson believes deeply in a just transition for workers whose industries would be shuttered in an attempt to bring carbon emissions down. The term “just transition” is often used in conversations about climate change as a way to secure workers’ livelihoods if and when their industry is phased out. And while this term is more often heard in the environmental movement now, the idea was developed in the labor movement by Tony Mazzocchi, a lifelong trade unionist and an elected leader in the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW). In Mazzocchi’s words, a true just transition would give workers in extractive industries “a new start in life” by providing financial support and opportunities for education and re-training.
Many environmental groups like Sunrise Movement and Climate Justice Alliance have used the term in their literature and their campaign planning, but union workers have often expressed concern that their job security and livelihoods are not a true priority. After all, environmental groups often wage campaigns against pipelines or refineries without consulting the unions or their members first. While to environmentalists, union work has sometimes meant environmental destruction, to union members, environmentalism has meant financial destruction.
But according to David Hughes, treasurer of Rutgers AAUP-AFT and professor of Anthropology at Rutgers-New Brunswick, extractive industry workers’ standard of living is already threatened regardless of the proposed Green New Deal legislation. Hughes told In These Times that the country is already on the cusp of an energy transition away from fossil fuels. “We have an economic disaster and a complete collapse of the price of oil, coal has been collapsing, gas is not in good shape. So now solar and wind are competitive, even without subsidies. The economic case for fossil fuels has evaporated — those jobs are not going to be here for much longer.”
Although most union members have no interest in being re-trained for another career, fossil fuel workers and their unions are particularly protective of their jobs. Refinery workers can make up to six figures without a college degree, and there are very few jobs with comparable wages in non-extractive industries that these same workers could easily be hired for. Further, these workers have a right to be suspicious: Barack Obama campaigned on creating 5 million green jobs, but it’s unclear how many new green jobs were actually produced. There are some new green jobs, of course, but the vast majority are non-union, and the wages reflect that: Solar panel installers make between $30,000 and $50,000 per year.
Yet, numerous union members — workers in non-extractive industries — are serious about the Green New Deal, and AFT members who worked to pass the resolution are calling for more than tacit support: They intend for the endorsement to be a tool with which to organize their fellow members and to guide their work moving forward. This is precisely what the members of Rutgers AAUP-AFT have been trying to make happen. Hughes, who is also the chair of the Rutgers’ Climate Crisis Committee, raised the issue of supporting the Green New Deal at an AFT Executive Council meeting in 2019, before SEIU endorsed. No endorsement came out of it, but a committee, the Climate Task Force, was formed with the backing of the Executive Council. The task force has three main priorities: Form a relationship with Sunrise Movement and other environmental groups, create green schools campaigns, and organize with other unions to encourage them to support the Green New Deal. Hughes told In These Times, “What you do when you’re working in a sector that’s collapsing is you figure, what’s the strategic moment for my union to try to jump onto a ship that’s not sinking? If we get Biden elected, and we pass Green New Deal legislation, it will be the moment to jump. If we miss that moment, we’ve got nothing.”
But faculty like Hughes, along with teachers and nurses, already have green jobs — and will keep them, Green New Deal or not. While there have been hiring freezes at major universities, AFT members have been mostly unaffected by all of the job losses created by Covid-19. Construction workers, many of whom have just experienced a difficult few months without work, are understandably wary about potentially gambling with their jobs. But Keon Liberato, President of Local 3012 of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters, is looking forward to the passage of the Green New Deal. He’s a trackman who works on railroads in the Philadelphia area, and he told In These Times that “even if you don’t care about climate change, even if you have a more narrow interest, there’s a ton of money in the Green New Deal for the building trades, for infrastructure.”
The Green New Deal’s focus on investing in high-speed rail could mean significant potential work for electricians and rail workers like Liberato. The legislation also calls for “repairing and upgrading the infrastructure in the United States,” which means fixing bridges and roads, retrofitting buildings, and updating sewage and water systems. And the AFT’s green school buildings campaign will need the support of building trades unions, like electricians, plumbers, roofers, and boilermakers. All of this infrastructure work means more union jobs — but only if the labor movement acknowledges the true magnitude of climate change and decides to play a leadership role in fighting it. John Braxton, Co-President Emeritus of AFT Local 2026, who contributed to AFT’s recent resolution, told In These Times that “unions don’t want to be told what to do, and they’d also like to believe it’s not going to be as big of a problem as it is. But we’ve got to make contingency plans that provide protections for every worker, and we need to do it now. Why would labor argue with that?”
Labor’s current focus is getting Joe Biden elected, who, according to his ads, has the “most ambitious” climate plan of any major party’s presidential nominee ever. His platform includes achieving net zero emissions no later than 2050, conserving 30% of the country’s lands and waters by 2030, and making a federal investment of $1.7 trillion in the fight against climate change. He promises to “fulfill our obligation to workers… who powered our industrial revolution and decades of economic growth” by securing coal miners’ pensions and benefits. And he also promises to “put people to work by enlisting them to help fight the pandemic, including through a Public Health Jobs Corps.” But unlike the Green New Deal legislation, his platform has no explicit promise of a job for all who want one. It also makes no mention of fracking or a drastic reduction in fossil fuels, perhaps because his climate advisors may support fracking. Braxton says, “What we need to do is pressure Biden into a Jobs for All program, and the green is not in the headline, but it’s incorporated into it. The environmentalists will read the fine print, and maybe labor can look at it and say, this is what we need.”
Because of our current political climate — a pandemic that has already killed over 160,000 people in the United States, millions out of work, and a president and Senate that seem to despise working people —unions may be less willing to lead in the fight against climate change. After all, the climate crisis may feel less urgent than the unemployment crisis, or even contract negotiations over wages and benefits. But for the faculty, teachers and paraprofessionals who make up the AFT, leading in the fight against climate change is paramount. And to get the rest of the labor movement on board, Nelson has some advice: “If you believe in something, you gotta be willing to fight for it.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Originally published at In These Times.


truthout--2020-08-16--Trump Pulls Nomination of “Unapologetic Racist” to Oversee Nation’s Public Lands

Environmental campaigners on Saturday welcomed news that President Donald Trump withdrew his nomination of “ pro-polluter ” and “ unapologetic racist ” William Perry Pendley for director of the Bureau of Land Management , with groups saying he should no longer be allowed to continue in his role as unofficial head of the agency .
Pendley , who ’ s called fracking an “ environmental miracle , ” was panned by civil rights , environmental , tribal , and immigrant advocacy groups as “ the worst possible person you could conjure to be a leading steward of our shared public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ includes a history of racist and sexist comments , “ overt racism ” toward Native people , dismissal of the climate crisis , suggestion that “ the Founding Fathers intended all lands owned by the federal government to be sold , ” and a 17-page list of 57 potential conflicts of interest .
“ Pendley never should have been nominated , and the fact that he was shows you what you need to know about this administration ’ s conservation priorities , ” Sen. Tom Udall ( D-N.M. ) said in a statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ June to lead BLM , an agency within the Interior Department ( DOI ) .
However , he has been overseeing—to the outrage of progressive groups—BLM for over a year , with the agency ’ s website describing him as “ exercising authority of the director.
” Outdoor Life first reported on the news of the withdrawal .
Interior spokesperson Nicholas Goodwin confirmed the nomination withdrawal to The Hill but provided no explanation for the decision .
“ The president makes staffing decisions .
Mr. Pendley continues to lead the Bureau of Land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Policy , ” Goodwin said .
Critics of Pendley responded to the news with fresh attacks on his record .
According to Lena Moffitt , director of the Sierra Club ’ s Our Wild America campaign , “ Pendley ’ s tenure as head of the Bureau of Land Management , like the entire Trump administration , has been a disaster for our public lands .
At best , he ’ s demonstrated a total disregard for the health of our communities and our wild places , prioritizing giveaways to polluting fossil fuel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked against marginalized communities.
” Collin O ’ Mara , president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation , suggested the withdrawal simply represents the administration seeing Pendley as unlikely to be confirmed by the Senate .
“ Unfortunately , the ignominious end of Pendley ’ s nomination is more of a cynical nod to political realities than a retreat from the nihilist ideology he championed—and provides small solace for the communities and wildlife affected by the unbridled leasing of wildlife habitat and recreation lands across the West to energy development , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any reason for progressive applause is that Pendley is not yet ousted from his current role at BLM .
“ This is a sham , ” tweeted climate scientist Peter Gleick .
“ Trump is withdrawing the nomination but leaving Pendley in charge anyway.
” Udall , in his statement , demanded that Pendley “ not be allowed to continue in this role in an acting , unconfirmed capacity.
” “ It ’ s time for DOI stand up for our public lands and our trust and treaty obligations to tribes , ” @ @ @

Observers warned the withdrawn nominee will still continue acting as unofficial head of the Bureau of Land Management.
Environmental campaigners on Saturday welcomed news that President Donald Trump withdrew his nomination of “pro-polluter” and “unapologetic racist” William Perry Pendley for director of the Bureau of Land Management, with groups saying he should no longer be allowed to continue in his role as unofficial head of the agency.
We are hearing the Trump administration is pulling down their nomination of William Perry Pendley for BLM director. It’s about damn time. — Martin Heinrich (@MartinHeinrich) August 15, 2020
Pendley, who’s called fracking an “environmental miracle,” was panned by civil rights, environmental, tribal, and immigrant advocacy groups as “the worst possible person you could conjure to be a leading steward of our shared public lands” given his public record that includes a history of racist and sexist comments, “overt racism” toward Native people, dismissal of the climate crisis, suggestion that “the Founding Fathers intended all lands owned by the federal government to be sold,” and a 17-page list of 57 potential conflicts of interest.
“Pendley never should have been nominated, and the fact that he was shows you what you need to know about this administration’s conservation priorities,” Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) said in a statement Saturday.
Trump formally nominated Pendley in June to lead BLM, an agency within the Interior Department (DOI). However, he has been overseeing—to the outrage of progressive groups—BLM for over a year, with the agency’s website describing him as “exercising authority of the director.”
Outdoor Life first reported on the news of the withdrawal.
Interior spokesperson Nicholas Goodwin confirmed the nomination withdrawal to The Hill but provided no explanation for the decision. “The president makes staffing decisions. Mr. Pendley continues to lead the Bureau of Land Management as Deputy Director for Programs and Policy,” Goodwin said.
Critics of Pendley responded to the news with fresh attacks on his record.
According to Lena Moffitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America campaign, “Pendley’s tenure as head of the Bureau of Land Management, like the entire Trump administration, has been a disaster for our public lands. At best, he’s demonstrated a total disregard for the health of our communities and our wild places, prioritizing giveaways to polluting fossil fuel corporations. At worst, he actively worked against marginalized communities.”
Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, suggested the withdrawal simply represents the administration seeing Pendley as unlikely to be confirmed by the Senate.
“Unfortunately, the ignominious end of Pendley’s nomination is more of a cynical nod to political realities than a retreat from the nihilist ideology he championed—and provides small solace for the communities and wildlife affected by the unbridled leasing of wildlife habitat and recreation lands across the West to energy development,” said O’Mara.
Further dampening any reason for progressive applause is that Pendley is not yet ousted from his current role at BLM.
“This is a sham,” tweeted climate scientist Peter Gleick. “Trump is withdrawing the nomination but leaving Pendley in charge anyway.”
“Another unconfirmed, illegal appointment,” he added.
Udall, in his statement, demanded that Pendley “not be allowed to continue in this role in an acting, unconfirmed capacity.”
“It’s time for DOI stand up for our public lands and our trust and treaty obligations to tribes,” he said.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
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