Texas

Flooding Increasingly Pummels The Southeast; Organizers Fight Back

March 6, 2023 Cameron Oglesby, Next City. Organize! climate crisis, Flooding, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas

Beverly May, retired nurse practitioner and current epidemiologist at the University of Kentucky, lives maybe 100 feet from the house she grew up in Floyd County, Kentucky. She characterizes her community as “hillbilly country,” an area in central Appalachia that once served as a critical cog in the coal industry’s wheel. When historic floods ravaged the area in late July 2022, May decided to trade in her medical work for flood research and activism with the nonprofit community well-being organization Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I could not believe it when I saw helicopters going out to rescue people,” she says. “Never has there been this many deaths.”

Texas Environmental Workers Fight Fossil Fuels And Their Bosses

February 22, 2023 Jules Taylor, The Real News. Resist! Climate Justice, Fossil Fuels, Texas, Worker Rights

After five months of the Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) not recognizing their union, members of the Texas Environmental Workers Union unanimously agreed to a one-day strike, which took place on February 6, 2023. Working People producer Jules Taylor sat down with Brandon Marks and Chloe Torres for an in-person interview ahead of the strike to discuss the struggle Texas Environmental Workers Union members are facing in their workplace. Union members are requesting that listeners sign on their letter urging the TCE to recognize their union, and consider donating to their strike fund.

Dozens Of Texas Prisoners Are Hunger Striking Against Solitary Confinement

February 14, 2023 Mansa Musa, The Real News Network. Resistance Report Criminal Justice and Prisons, Hunger Strike, Solitary Confinement, Texas

Across the US, some 50,000 incarcerated people are kept under conditions of solitary confinement. Advocates and prisoners have pushed to define the practice as a form of torture, pointing to the devastating psychological and physical effects it has on victims. In Texas, dozens of prisoners are now hunger striking against the use of solitary confinement in the state’s prisons, which they say disproportionately targets Latinos. Jorge Antonio Renaud, National Criminal Justice Director of Latino Justice, joins Rattling the Bars to discuss the hunger strike and conditions of solitary confinement in Texas.

The Food Rescue Project Fighting Hunger And Food Waste In El Paso

February 13, 2023 Christian Betancourt, Next City. Create! Food and Agriculture, Food Security, Food Waste, Texas

El Paso, Texas - Medical student Preetha Rajkumar is studying to become a surgeon. But the 24-year-old El Paso resident has already impacted hundreds of local families’ well-being, through the work she began as a college student. While studying cell and molecular biology at the University of Texas at El Paso five years ago, Rajkumar – a self-described foodie – came across the concept of food rescue. Working with a group of friends on campus, she founded the volunteer-run nonprofit organization No Lost Food. “I have the luxury to go to a restaurant and eat what I want,” she says. “I can cook with all these expensive ingredients, but there are people who can’t even have a basic morsel of rice. That’s how my love for food turned into a community service passion.”

Harris County Jail Crisis In Houston, Texas Kills Dozens

February 12, 2023 Arturo Dominguez, Unicorn Riot. Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Deaths, Human Rights, Texas

Houston, Texas – The Harris County Jail is the third-largest jail in the U.S. and the largest jail in Texas. Located in Houston, it also confines the most people with mental illness in the state. Despite its complicated history, the public is largely unaware of the myriad issues at the jail. This report covers how the massive backlog of felony cases and pretrial detention contribute to the deaths of dozens **of detainees amid overcrowding, medical crises, and a lack of mental health services. Multiple times between September and January, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) slapped the jail with notices of non-compliance.

Carbon Capture Project Is ‘Band-Aid’ To Greenwash $10 Billion LNG Plant

February 4, 2023 Matthew Green, DeSmog. Resist! Carbon Capture, climate crisis, Gas export, greenwashing, Texas

As the Mexican Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, festivities drew to a close, Dina Nuñez called to order a meeting of women grassroots activists in a modest home in the heart of Port Isabel, Texas. Top of her agenda: how to stop a Houston-based oil and gas company from building a $10 billion project to export liquefied natural gas on a nearby stretch of coast. For Nuñez and her friends, the fight against the scheme — known as Rio Grande LNG — is about protecting their community from air pollution; preserving shrimping and tourism; and defending habitats for pelicans, endangered ocelots, and aplomado falcons at the project site on unspoiled wetlands between Port Isabel and the larger city of Brownsville. The claim by developer NextDecade to be building the “greenest LNG project in the world” has thrust the women to the forefront of a global struggle.

Fort Worth Journalists Win Only Newspaper Union Contract In Texas

January 12, 2023 Gus Bova, Portside. Resist! Journalism, News, Texas, Unions, Victory, Worker Rights and Jobs

On the heels of an unprecedented 24-day labor strike late last year, around 20 journalists at the 117-year-old Fort Worth Star-Telegram have ratified the only union contract at a Texas newspaper. The union victory comes after more than two years of difficult negotiations and forms part of a surge in nationwide newsroom organizing since the mid-2010s as journalists have increasingly fought back against corporate predation in a struggling industry. Workers at two other Texas papers, in Dallas and Austin, are still bargaining for union contracts after roughly two years. Before launching the labor strike on November 28—likely the first open-ended newsroom work stoppage in Texas history—Kaley Johnson, a justice reporter at the Star-Telegram and vice president of the paper’s union, the Fort Worth NewsGuild, said negotiations were largely stuck in the mud.

Death Row? Hell No!

October 29, 2022 Gloria Rubac, Workers World. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Death Penalty, Legal System, Texas

Austin, Texas - It was a perfect weather day at the Texas Capitol in Austin Oct. 22, for hundreds who participated in one march and two rallies against the racist anti-poor death penalty. In three emotional hours, love, solidarity, determination, anger, heartbreak and resilience filled the crisp autumn air as activists held the 23rd Annual Texas March and Rally to Abolish the Death Penalty. A carload of people came from the Rio Grande Valley near the Texas-Mexico border and others from nearby cities. The Kids Against the Death Penalty led a loud and militant march around the capitol to the governor’s mansion and through downtown, totally disturbing the peace. Austin’s progressive singer/songwriter Sara Hickman warmed up the crowd early on with her vocals.

In First Public Action, Sodexo Workers Demand Fair Process For Unionization

October 11, 2022 Unite Here. Resist! Airport, Texas, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Austin, Texas – Sodexo workers normally spend their time at the Austin airport serving frequent travelers in the United and Delta lounges – an oasis for customers during chaotic travel experiences. Today, however, lounge workers alerted customers of their demand that Sodexo grant a fair and neutral process for workers to decide on unionization. UNITE HERE Local 23 represents food service workers for HMS Host, Delaware North, and LSG Sky Chefs at the Austin airport. Because of their union contract, these workers receive regular wage increases, affordable healthcare, and other benefits. “I’ve been working since I was 14 and have 16 years of experience in the service industry. Now, at 38 years old, all I want is to start a family and own a home.

Border Crossings, Government Harassment, And How To Protect Yourself

September 29, 2022 It's Going Down. Educate! Borders, ICE, Police, Repression, Texas

Austin, Texas - Last weekend, an activist from Austin was detained at the Austin airport by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) upon reentry to the U.S. after traveling abroad. They were held for about 3 hours and questioned about their political beliefs and associations and their protest activities. CBP also searched their phone and likely copied the entire contents of the phone for later analysis. We are releasing this statement to shed light on this aspect of government surveillance, harassment, and repression, and to provide important lessons for other activists to better protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities in the future. CBP is a large but seldom discussed federal law enforcement agency with broad powers at the border and ports of entry, including all international airports. The more notorious Border Patrol is a division within CBP, whereas ICE is a separate agency.

Asylum, Migration And US Foreign Policy

September 25, 2022 Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report. Educate! Asylum, Florida, Migrants, Texas, US Foreign Policy

Every day the republican governors of Texas, Greg Abbott, and Florida, Ron DeSantis, eagerly announce that they are sending people generically labeled as migrants to what are known as sanctuary cities. The corporate media report that thousands of people have been convinced to board buses to New York City or Washington DC or Sacramento or Chicago or even chartered flights to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. What they don’t explain is who these migrants are and why their status is highly problematic and a function of imperialist foreign policy. Republicans rail against what are called sanctuary cities and imply that federal law doesn’t apply in these places or that undocumented people get some sort of special deal. However, the term sanctuary city doesn’t really mean very much.

Grapevine Students Walk Out In Protest Of ‘Transphobic’ Policies

August 27, 2022 Talia Richman, Dallas News. Resist! Student Activism, Texas, Trans Rights, Walkout

Grapevine, Texas - More than 100 Grapevine High School students walked out of class Friday morning in protest of new district policies that limit how teachers talk about race, gender and sexuality, impact which bathrooms transgender students can use and give trustees a greater say over what books are available in libraries. The teenagers left class during third period as a stand against ideas they decry as transphobic and amount to a “gag” on teachers. “We are here to show that the school board cannot get away with treating our education, our lives, as a playground for politics,” one of the organizers, Marceline Temple, said in written remarks. “We will not let this school board treat the existence of minorities as a controversy.”

Refugees Are Being Stranded In NYC

August 16, 2022 Sam Carliner, Left Voice. Organize! Democratic Party, Immigration, New York (NY), Republican Party, Texas

For several days, buses have been dumping refugees from Texas in New York City, along with buses that have been going to Washington D.C. for months. Mutual aid groups are receiving these refugees and providing them with mental health, legal support, and other resources. This mutual aid has formed in the absence of a citywide policy to welcome refugees. In recent years, more and more refugees from Latin America are migrating to the United States. This increase in migration is a direct result of the climate crisis and centuries of imperialism ravaging and underdeveloping the Global South. Wealthy countries in the Global North are responding with callous disregard for the basic right to migrate, even as they create the conditions for it. For example, many of the refugees are migrating from Venezuela, a country being economically devastated by some of the most intense U.S. sanctions regimes.

The Renewables Rush In Texas

August 12, 2022 Nathan Jensen and Isabella Steinhauer, Consortium News. Educate! climate crisis, Fossil Fuels, Renewable Energy, Texas

Texas is known for fiercely promoting its oil and gas industries, but it’s also the No. 2 renewable energy producer in the U.S. after California. In fact, more than a quarter of all the wind power produced in the United States in 2021 was generated in Texas. These projects benefit from a lucrative state tax incentive program called Chapter 313. That incentive program expires on Dec. 31, 2022, and the rush of applications for wind and solar energy projects to secure incentives before the deadline is providing a rare window into a notoriously opaque industry. By reviewing the applications and ownership documents, we were able to track who actually builds and owns a large portion of the nation’s renewable energy, when and how those assets change hands, and who ultimately benefits from the tax incentives.

Dallas Delays Moving Homeless Camp After Activists Show Up

July 24, 2022 Andrew Little, Dallas News. Resist! Dallas, Homeless, Homeless encampment, Texas

Dallas, Texas - Over 40 people delayed the sweeping of a South Dallas homeless encampment on Friday morning, blocking off the camp with their bodies and cars. Some were armed with rifles. “We’re just trying to move people, trying to minimize any risk coming up,” said Jonathan Guadian, who was unarmed and frequently volunteers to help residents of the camp. City staff, which included city marshals, homeless solutions and code compliance, stood at the camp’s edge negotiating with residents and activists before deciding they’d give them more time to move people’s belongings. “We’re here just in peace, we’re not going to use force…it’s never the intent to harm,” said Clifton Knight, a chief deputy with the Dallas Marshal’s Office.

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