Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where Payday has been tracking a key national story on why Kamala Harris reversed her position on having a fracking ban.
We have a big newsletter today on how right-wing construction union leaders in Western PA likely played a big role in this, and much more.
Pittsburgh #1 Media Market for Watching the Debate
Yesterday, when Kamala Harris was asked in ABC's debate about her previous support for a ban on fracking, Harris upset many progressives. She said she had reversed her long-held position on opposing fracking.
"I will not ban fracking," said Harris in the debate. "In fact, I was the tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which opened new leases for fracking."
While statewide polling in Pennsylvania shows that the majority of the state is opposed to fracking, the issue is much more politically divided in Western PA, where fracking is a significant employer and revenue source.
Did Labor Leaders Push Kamala to Reverse Position on Fracking Ban?
Organized labor in Western PA has traditionally supported fracking. If Kamala opposed fracking, she could blunt the momentum that has seen her support among union members dramatically flip in her favor.
A poll released by Emerson College in late August showed that while Trump had been leading among union voters by a margin of 50% to 45% in July, the trend has now reversed dramatically, with Kamala Harris leading among union voters by a whopping margin of 56.8% to 42%.
Since the poll was conducted, the Biden-Harris Administration has vowed to block the sale of US Steel in Pittsburgh, a move that has proven very popular with the Steelworkers union.
The Vice President's decision to make Pittsburgh a "home away from home" for nearly a week while here preparing for the debate was an attempt to cultivate these union voters, many of whom were enamored with Kamala's decision to spend so much time in Pittsburgh when she could have gone home to prep for the debate.
(See our story "Yinzers Embrace Kamala Making Pittsburgh a "Home Away from Home.")
Kamala's bet to make Pittsburgh a "home away from home" appears to have paid off, with curious Western Pennsylvanians tuning in in unprecedented numbers.
Nielsen ratings show that Pittsburgh was the #1 media market in the US for debate watching. According to Nielsen, approximately 44% of television-owning households in Pittsburgh watched the debate.
Kamala's comments were almost certainly swayed by union voters, whose union leadership has told them for years that fracking helped their unions.
Many of these pro-fracking construction union leaders are right-wing and have proven overly vindictive against even incumbent Democrats in Western PA who have opposed fracking.
Even as an incumbent Congresswoman this year, Lee was unable to gain the endorsement of the local Pittsburgh area AFL-CIO due to the influence of the construction unions. However, this year, she did get the endorsement of the statewide PA AFL-CIO, where pro-fracking Western PA construction union leaders have less influence.
If Kamala had turned against fracking, she would have likely incurred the wrath of these same construction union leaders, who have spent heavily against Congresswoman Summer Lee.
Western PA Veteran Anti-Fracking Activists Talk About How to Pressure Kamala
Many progressive activists were rightfully disappointed in Kamala's comments embracing fracking. However, activists in Western PA say that there are still ways to pressure Kamala to prevent the most harmful effects of fracking.
No political leader in Western PA has faced the wrath of the fracking industry more than former state Representative Jesse White, whose district includes parts of Washington County, one of the most fracked regions in the United States.
His efforts to regulate the industry led the fracking industry to make him their number one target in Western Pennsylvania, defeating him in 2014.
White says he understands why Kamala's comments may deflate anti-fracking activists but says there is still room to push her to regulate more.
"I get why she would say she's not going to ban fracking. And by the way, saying you're not going to ban fracking is different than saying I'm in favor of fracking," says White.
He says passing a nationwide fracking ban would be politically and legally challenging. Still, White has seen Republican administrations in Pennsylvania regulate fracking, and Democrats regulate fracking, and says there is a difference.
As a crusader against fracking in Western PA for many years, White's advice to activists is to keep pushing Kamala to be in favor of specific regulations that limit fracking's environmental harm.
"When the regulator becomes a partner, that's where you have problems, and under Donald Trump, he will be a partner to let them do whatever they want, as compared to Kamala Harris, who will be, I think, a much fairer arbiter," says White.
For more information, check out Philly Inquirer's Will Bunch column, "Everything you know from TV about Pennsylvania and fracking is wrong."
Donate to Help Us Keep Covering Western PA
Folks, I grew up in Pittsburgh, and no region is more complicated to understand than this one. However, this coverage is labor-intensive.
Delaware State House Speaker Defeated by Working Families Party
In Delaware, yesterday, health equity activist Kamela Smith, a member of the Working Families Party, defeated Delaware Speaker of the House, Valerie Longhurst, a 20-year incumbent.
Working Families Party members in Delaware had felt Longhurst failed to move progressive legislation and celebrated her defeat.
"This is the cost of blocking legislation that's vital for working people across Delaware. We look forward to working with a new Speaker of the House on the issues that matter for families across the state, including earned sick time and safety leave, universal school meals, and rent stabilization," said Karl Stomberg, Delaware Political Director for the Working Families Party, in a statement sent to Payday Report.
For more on the race, check out Delaware Public Media.
AFT Calls for Release of the Palestinian Teachers Union Leader
Earlier today, the 1.7 million members of the American Federation of Teachers, whose president, Randi Weingarten, is one of the prominent labor leaders in the United States, called for the release of Palestinian teachers union leader Fatima Al Rimawi.
"We stand in solidarity with Fatima Nimer Al-Rimawi, a 54-year-old Palestinian teacher and union leader, unjustly detained since January without trial," tweeted the AFT earlier today. "Fatima's only "crime" was advocating for her people's rights. Let's unite to demand her immediate release!"
The AFT directed us to check out the website FreeFatimaRimawi.com.
Parents of Slain Springfield 11-Year-Old Call for Ending Hate Against Haitians
In last night's debates, Trump claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were coming to the town and eating their pets.
Trump's comments highlighted conspiracy theories about the city of Springfield, Ohio. In August of 2023, a 36-year-old Haitian immigrant, Hermanio Joseph, hit a school bus, killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark. Joseph was later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Since Joseph was in the country on a Temporary Protected Status visa issued by the Biden Administration, anti-immigrant bigots have used Clark's death as a rallying cry.
Yesterday, Nathan Clark stood next to his wife, Danielle, at a packed city council meeting and urged people not to use his son's death as a rallying cry against Haitian immigrants.
"I wish that my son, Aiden Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man. I bet you never thought anyone would say something so blunt, but if that guy killed my 11-year-old son, the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone," Clark told the city council. "The last thing that we need is to have the worst day of our lives violently and constantly shoved in our faces, but even that's not good enough for them. They take it one step further. They make it seem that our wonderful Aiden appreciates your hate, that we should follow their hate."
For more, check out the Springfield News-Sun.
Links
- As contract negotiations resume, CWA authorizes strike at AT&T West
- Vancouver workers' vote reflects new pharmacy union organizing
- Farmworkers' statement in defense of Haitian immigrants
- Brookings report show that allowing states to manage unemployment insurance during the pandemic delayed the recovery
- Hundreds of workers strike at major Samsung factory in India
- Finally, SAG-AFTRA has a 1979 SAG magazine article on James Earl Jones and his father, Robert, also a SAG member
Alright yinz, that’s all for today. Keep sending story ideas, tips, comments and complaints to melk@paydayreport.com
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Love & Solidarity,
Melk
