SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
");background-position:center;background-size:19px 19px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-color:var(--button-bg-color);padding:0;width:var(--form-elem-height);height:var(--form-elem-height);font-size:0;}:is(.js-newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter_bar.newsletter-wrapper) .widget__body:has(.response:not(:empty)) :is(.widget__headline, .widget__subheadline, #mc_embed_signup .mc-field-group, #mc_embed_signup input[type="submit"]){display:none;}:is(.grey_newsblock .newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter-wrapper) #mce-responses:has(.response:not(:empty)){grid-row:1 / -1;grid-column:1 / -1;}.newsletter-wrapper .widget__body > .snark-line:has(.response:not(:empty)){grid-column:1 / -1;}:is(.grey_newsblock .newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter-wrapper) :is(.newsletter-campaign:has(.response:not(:empty)), .newsletter-and-social:has(.response:not(:empty))){width:100%;}.newsletter-wrapper .newsletter_bar_col{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:center;align-items:center;gap:8px 20px;margin:0 auto;}.newsletter-wrapper .newsletter_bar_col .text-element{display:flex;color:var(--shares-color);margin:0 !important;font-weight:400 !important;font-size:16px !important;}.newsletter-wrapper .newsletter_bar_col .whitebar_social{display:flex;gap:12px;width:auto;}.newsletter-wrapper .newsletter_bar_col a{margin:0;background-color:#0000;padding:0;width:32px;height:32px;}.newsletter-wrapper .social_icon:after{display:none;}.newsletter-wrapper .widget article:before, .newsletter-wrapper .widget article:after{display:none;}#sFollow_Block_0_0_1_0_0_0_1{margin:0;}.donation_banner{position:relative;background:#000;}.donation_banner .posts-custom *, .donation_banner .posts-custom :after, .donation_banner .posts-custom :before{margin:0;}.donation_banner .posts-custom .widget{position:absolute;inset:0;}.donation_banner__wrapper{position:relative;z-index:2;pointer-events:none;}.donation_banner .donate_btn{position:relative;z-index:2;}#sSHARED_-_Support_Block_0_0_7_0_0_3_1_0{color:#fff;}#sSHARED_-_Support_Block_0_0_7_0_0_3_1_1{font-weight:normal;}.grey_newsblock .newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter-wrapper.sidebar{background:linear-gradient(91deg, #005dc7 28%, #1d63b2 65%, #0353ae 85%);}
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
After Apple employees in Maryland voted Saturday to form the tech giant's first retail store union in the United States, workers' rights advocates across the country celebrated the "pathbreaking win for labor."
"We love our jobs. We just want to see them do better."
Workers at the store in Towson recently organized into the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE) and have decided to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
"We did it!" IAM declared on Twitter, welcoming the Towson workers.
IAM international president Robert Martinez Jr. in a statement that "I applaud the courage displayed by CORE members at the Apple store in Towson for achieving this historic victory. They made a huge sacrifice for thousands of Apple employees across the nation who had all eyes on this election."
"I ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to respect the election results and fast-track a first contract for the dedicated IAM CORE Apple employees in Towson," Martinez added. "This victory shows the growing demand for unions at Apple stores and different industries across our nation."
\u201cThat feeling when \u2066you form the first union at Apple in America. Congrats, \u2066@acoreunion\u2069!\n\nWelcome to the Machinists Union! #1u\u201d— Machinists Union (@Machinists Union) 1655599462
The win in Maryland comes as Amazon and Starbucks workers across the nation are also pushing for unions--and the companies are fighting back.
Apple is no different, according to More Perfect Union and The Washington Post, which reported that "Saturday evening's initial tally was 65-33, and the official count was pending."
While an Apple representative declined to comment, Towson worker Billy Jarboe told the newspaper that the company's campaign to undermine the union drive "definitely shook people," but most supporters of the effort weren't swayed.
"It just feels good to go into a new era of this kind of work, hopefully it creates a spark [and] the other stores can use this momentum," Jarboe said.
\u201cThey did it! They won an historic victory\u201d— Faiz (@Faiz) 1655599212
Eric Brown, another employee in Towson, told the Post that organizers of an unsuccessful unionization campaign at an Atlanta store "let us know what some of the talking points and tactics were going to be, and we were able to let people know some of the things they may try."
Tyra Reeder similarly toldThe New York Times that "we kind of got some insight from the Atlanta store on things that were coming," pointing to the company's claims that a contract negitation process could lead to workers losing some benefits.
"For that to happen, a majority of us have to agree," Reeder said. "I don't think any of us would agree to lose something we love dearly, that benefits us."
As for being an Apple employee, Reeder said: "We love our jobs. We just want to see them do better."
Related Content
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was among the political figures who welcomed the development in Maryland.
"Congratulations to Apple workers in Towson, Maryland on becoming the first Apple store in the United States to form a union!" Sanders tweeted. "What we are seeing right now is a historic uprising of working-class Americans telling the corporate elite that they have to end their greed."
\u201cThis is what\u2019s possible when workers organize to make their voices heard. We must continue fighting to\u00a0secure this right\u00a0for\u00a0all workers\u00a0and to ensure their ability to collectively bargain for better pay, benefits, and working standards.\u201d— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@Senator Chris Van Hollen) 1655608712
Tom Perez, a Democratic candidate for Maryland governor, also congratulated the Towson workers while tying their win to the broader movement currently sweeing the country.
"This is a big deal," he said. "All across our country we're seeing workers demanding fairness and dignity. So proud that the nation's first Apple store to form a union is right here in Baltimore County."
As climate experts and advocates on Thursday continued to criticize Democratic Party officials' draft 2020 platform, the Democratic National Committee's Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis delivered petitions with over 25,000 signatures urging the DNC to incorporate the panel's bold policy recommendations.
"The climate crisis is not down the road. It is here and now. And we need bold and ambitious policies to tackle it."
--Michelle Deatrick, DNC climate councilThe council, which launched in February after months of DNC Chair Tom Perez refusing to hold a climate-focused presidential primary debate, published 14 pages of recommendations in early June. Since then, the panel's proposals have been endorsed by over 150 advocacy groups including 350.org Action, Greenpeace USA, Sierra Club, and the Sunrise Movement.
"The council's platform, centered in equity and environmental justice, is critical to developing comprehensive policies that complete the long overdue transition to clean, renewable energy and will continue to energize voters across the country," Sierra Club national political director Ariel Hayes said in a statement Thursday.
Sierra Club collected 15,000 of the petition signatures delivered to the DNC on Thursday, according to the panel. Over 5,000 more were collected by Food & Water Action, another supporter of the panel's recommendations, which include spending $10-$16 trillion on fighting the climate emergency over a decade and various emissions and renewable energy targets.
"The outpouring of support for our recommendations has been remarkable," said Michelle Deatrick, who chairs the council. "The climate crisis is not down the road. It is here and now. And we need bold and ambitious policies to tackle it. We know Republicans won't act. That is why we need Democrats to lead."
"What's more, this is how Democrats win--the polling and other data are clear. This is not only good policy, it is good politics," added Deatrick. Polling released in mid-July by Data for Progress showed that U.S. voters, particularly Democrats, want to see candidates who are committed to achieving 100% clean energy by 2035 and creating millions of jobs as part of that transition.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden last week unveiled a $2 trillion plan that aims to achieve a carbon pollution-free energy sector by 2035. Climate activists welcomed the plan as a "major step forward" compared with the candidate's previous proposals but also emphasized that more work needs to be done.
Earlier this week, the DNC's 2020 platform drafting subcommittee--which some critics said snubbed progressive climate activists, given the backgrounds of its 15 members--sent party delegates an 80-page draft (pdf) that the whole platform committee is set to consider on Monday and finalize before the party's August convention.
Earther's Dharna Noor, reporting on the draft Wednesday, pointed out that the climate section is longer than the party's 2012 or 2016 platforms and includes "some notable bright spots" but "still falls far short of the recommendations of leading climate scientists because it doesn't have a plan to phase out U.S. fossil fuel production or use."
"Pandemic, money, war, racism. Do Democrats realize climate change is making all those things worse?"
--Emily Atkin, climate reporter"Unlike the 2016 platform, the new draft is silent on phasing out extraction of fossil fuels... on public lands and doesn't include language to halt fracking in localities that oppose it," Noor noted. "That represents a step backward for the climate."
Johanna Bozuwa, co-manager of the climate and energy program at the Democracy Collaborative, told Noor "it is good to see commitments from the DNC platform to unionized jobs, investment in public and affordable housing, and commitments to renewable energy." However, she also offered a broad critique of the draft.
"This proposal fails to dismantle the political and economic powers in place that allow the current extractive system to perpetuate," she said, "meaning it will not go nearly far enough to secure a just and equitable transition."
Bozuwa was far from alone in criticizing the platform and calling on party officials to be bolder in confronting the climate emergency.
\u201cIt's really not super hard to understand: Fossil fuel use needs to end as quickly as possible. Full stop.\n\nIt's shameful the Democrats know this (the science is super clear: cut emissions in half by 2030 at the latest, globally) and choose not to say it.\nhttps://t.co/3VibWDWna3\u201d— Eric Holthaus (@Eric Holthaus) 1595459238
"The DNC platform is a thermometer for the Dems," Demos senior campaign strategist Adrien Salazar tweeted Thursday with a link to Noor's report. "The climate movement's pressure got in an aggressive clean electricity timeline and green investments--this is good. But the DNC is shying away from confronting and breaking the power of fossil fuel industry."
Salazar, in a series of tweets, welcomed some other elements of the draft and also highlighted a Thursday report about it from Emily Atkin, who runs the climate-focused newsletter HEATED.
\u201cHeated newsletter by @emorwee today tackles the question of the DNC draft platform's tepidness towards confronting fossil fuels and other mixed messages here. Dems may be hedging against FF industry pre-election attacks. Probably negotiating w/labor too. https://t.co/2KVYpOFJFn\u201d— Adrien Salazar (@Adrien Salazar) 1595515035
In a list of observations about how the draft platform treats the climate crisis, Atkin detailed that the preamble doesn't even mention climate until the 15th paragraph, the draft only mentions "fossil fuels" once, and--despite mentioning the 2015 Paris climate agreement--it does not contain the phrase "1.5 degrees," the accord's more ambitious warming limit.
Atkin added:
The paragraph summarizing the "challenges before us" also does not mention the climate crisis. The third paragraph of the preamble says that Americans are facing "the worst public health crisis in a century, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the worst period of global upheaval in a generation, the intolerable racial injustice that still stains the fabric of our nation." Pandemic, money, war, racism. Do Democrats realize climate change is making all those things worse?
The platform, she reported, "does not say Democrats will hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change," whereas "the 2016 platform did mention accountability. In fact, it mentioned 'fossil fuels' four times, and acknowledged the need to ramp down production."
Atkin also noted that the advocacy group Climate Hawks Vote--founded by DNC delegate RL Miller, who has proposed amendments to the platform--has circulated a petition in response to the draft.
The DNC's draft "needs work on science, clean energy jobs, fossil fuel finance, and cars," the petition says. "Let's tell them to make the platform stronger on climate."
This post has been updated to reflect that 350.org Action endorsed the DNC climate panel's recommendations.
Despite mounting pressure on the party to craft a 2020 platform that includes ambitious climate policies, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez on Monday announced a drafting committee that, in the words of journalist Emily Atkin, "snubs progressive climate activists again."
"As we confront the interwoven crises of climate change, white supremacy, and Covid-19, we must demand nothing short of a visionary, transformative agenda from Democratic leadership."
--Charlie Jiang, Greenpeace USA
Perez's announcement followed reporting that Democratic Party leadership was "irked" when the DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis released policy recommendations for the platform on June 4 that are bolder than the proposals in presidential candidate Joe Biden's climate plan. Party insiders told Reuters the panel is an "insurgent" group that is not "taken seriously."
Several climate advocacy groups have endorsed the panel's recommendations, including Greenpeace USA on Tuesday. Charlie Jiang, a campaigner for the group, declared that "as we confront the interwoven crises of climate change, white supremacy, and Covid-19, we must demand nothing short of a visionary, transformative agenda from Democratic leadership."
Perez, for his part, said in a statement that "crafting our party platform is important work, and I'm confident that the members of this committee will engage Americans in a substantive dialogue of ideas and solutions that will articulate our party's vision for the country and mobilize voters in every community to elect Joe Biden."
However, the positions and backgrounds of those charged with drafting that Democratic Party's platform suggest the final version could fall far short of climate activists' demands. As Atkin detailed in her HEATED newsletter Tuesday:
[The] majority of people on the drafting committee are Gen Xers and Baby Boomers (average age: 55) who have either have no history of prioritizing climate; aren't on record as supporting the Green New Deal; and/or haven't signed the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge. There's only one person on the drafting committee who could credibly considered a climate-focused Democrat. There are more big bank executives on the Democratic platform drafting committee than there are climate activists or millennials.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will chair the drafting committee, Biden adviser Carmel Martin will be a non-voting member, and Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.) will be an ex-officio member. The other members are Tony Allen (Del.), Stuart Appelbaum (N.Y.), Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (Texas), Heather Gautney (N.Y.), Don Graves (Ohio), Rep. Deb Haaland (N.M.), Analilia Mejia (N.J.), Josh Orton (Wis.), state Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez (Fla.), Julianne Smith (D.C.), Richard Trumka (Penn.), and former Gov. Tom Vilsack (Iowa).
\u201cBreaking: DNC announces membership of the 15-person #DemPlatform2020 Drafting Committee. A sub-committee of the 187-person Platform Committee, it will draft the Platform & then pass it to the larger Platform Committee.\u201d— DNC Environment and Climate Council (@DNC Environment and Climate Council) 1592868223
Atkin created a spreadsheet of all the committee members with identifiers such as age, gender, and race as well as parts of their political histories--including whether they endorsed Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who were the two most progressive 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidates before suspending their campaigns.
Haaland is the only elected official on the committee who has signed the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge, and she and Clark are the only two members who supported Warren's presidential run, according to the spreadsheet. Just Gautney, Mejia, and Orton backed Sanders--who, as Atkin noted, "had the most aggressive climate plan."
Atkin's analysis came after she reported for HEATED last month that Michelle Deatrick, who chairs the DNC climate panel, was worried that the platform drafting committee "would be filled with people who don't prioritize progressive climate policy like the Green New Deal." As Atkin put it Tuesday: "Her fears were founded."
\u201cThe DNC's powerful platform drafting subcommittee announced yesterday does not include anyone from the DNC climate council, which was created after the climate debate debacle to ensure a bold climate policy platform\n\nhttps://t.co/pw7vtd35F0\u201d— Emily Atkin (@Emily Atkin) 1592923892
The DNC council launched in February to pressure the party to pursue more aggressive policies in the wake of Perez refusing to hold a climate-focused primary debate. Deatrick is a former Sanders campaign surrogate and the panel's platform recommendations largely align with the former presidential candidate's climate plan.
The panel suggested spending $10-$16 trillion on tackling the climate crisis over the next decade and committing to various emissions and renewable energy targets--specifically, "near-zero emissions by 2040; 100% clean renewable energy by 2030 in electricity generation, buildings, and transportation; and 100% zero-carbon new building infrastructure by 2025."
The council also called for prioritizing "working families above fossil fuel corporations by ensuring a just transition and building a green economy with millions of new, family-sustaining jobs" and addressing "the disproportionate environmental and climate harms to frontline and vulnerable communities"--and detailed various policies for each of those demands.
\u201cExcited by @greenpeaceusa's endorsement of @DNCClimate Council's bold, science-based Recommendations for the 2020 DemPartyPlatform! https://t.co/Y0e5epxvKA\u201d— Michelle Deatrick, DNC Climate Council Chair (@Michelle Deatrick, DNC Climate Council Chair) 1592924262
In Greenpeace USA's endorsement of the recommendations, Jiang celebrated that the council decided to "stake a bold and much-needed new direction for the Democratic Party" and expressed hope that "the many visionary and essential elements of this proposal [will be] included in the official DNC platform to be finalized in August."
"It's critical that candidates and elected officials champion a Green New Deal and a managed transition away from fossil fuels, including the end of federal permits, subsidies, and financing for oil, gas, and coal," he said. "A world beyond fossil fuels--one that prioritizes justice for workers and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis over corporate profit--is possible if our elected officials are willing to fight for us."
"As platform negotiations continue, we hope to see more details emerge as to how the part plans to meet its important goals for achieving 100% clean power, transportation, buildings, agriculture, and industry; deploy federal investments quickly and equitably; and meaningfully engage with impacted workers and communities," Jiang added. "We must prioritize racial and economic justice for frontline communities while mobilizing the full power of the federal government to tackle the historic crises we face."