Local 375 Marched for Climate, Jobs and Justice

Local 375 members participated in March for Climate, Jobs and Justice in Washington DC on April 29th.

Local 375, Ch. 7 (Parks) President Ricardo Hinkle spoke at the rally. He said, "we have heard the right wing in this country routinely demonize our country's public workers and question our work ethic. But, after 23 years on the shop floor I can tell you our people are hard-working, conscientious, and committed to serving the public, while demonstrating the highest level of Ethics. Yes, Ethics, a concept sorely missing during the failed "reign of error" of Donald Trump.

Hinkle added, "Trump has a self-serving and dystopian vision of America's future  with dirty energy,  smoggy skies,  polluted waters, hotter temperatures and frequent flooding. Continued fossil fuel addiction would brings more Human Exploitation,  Wealth Concentration,  Land Consolidation, Habitat Degradation and Environmental Devastation."

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in the rally. People were holding signs like "Good planets are hard to find," "Make Earth Great Again!," "May the forest be with you," and Reduce, Reduce, Recycle, Resist," "The oceans are are rising so are we!" etc.

Local 375 Ch. 25 (NYCHA) President Joshua Barnett and Ch. 38 (HPD) President Elizabeth Eastman also marched for Climate.

Founder of the DC 37 Climate Justice Committee, former Local 375 1st VP and  Grievance Rep. Jon Forster also helped organize and participated in the March along with many other Local 375 and DC 37 members. He said, " The United States must very quickly undertake an economic shift to renewable energies on a scale that we have not seen since World War II, if we are to avoid slipping into far more catastrophic conditions.  We can still do this and preserve our democracy, while creating good, union jobs, but as the marchers routinely chanted, we must do this NOW!"

He added, "We marched for environmental justice and the recognition that climate change discriminates and disproportionally impacts low-income communities and communities of color. "
Climate Crisis is growing and rapidly becoming one of the most significant concerns of our time. It will affect everyone in this world. Sea levels will rise by 6 to 10 feet by 2050, devastating many of our most vulnerable communities.

The Trump Administration has attacked our environment through 20 executive orders and legislative actions in only 70 days.

Trump Administration is attacking our environment every day, as he eliminates regulations on the coal, oil and gas corporations and rolls back the efforts of President Barack Obama to limit the burning of fossil fuels and protect the only earth we have.

Photos: Liz Eastman and Jon Forster