ACTIONS
- In the early hours of March 18, Israel launched airstrikes across besieged and starved Gaza — killing more than 400 Palestinians, including 174 children, and injuring more than 600 Palestinians. Email your congressional representatives: End the funding for the genocide! Stop the $12 billion in weapons to Israel! Join Doctors Against Genocide in speaking out!
- Join GreenLatinos, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and Climate Justice Alliance in pushing back against the rollback of critical NEPA regulations. They’ve drafted an EJ-specific comment letterthat needs your sign. Sign on here before Tuesday March 25
- Join the Virtual Comment Party: No to the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project. April 1 • 6.30 pm
- Sign on to the letter: Tell the World Bank to stop financing factory farming. Organized by Stop Financing Factory Farming
- Action: Don’t let NC legislators gut NC’s climate law.Contact your House Representative TODAY about SB 261!What would SB 261 do?
- Remove the 2030 carbon reduction goals that Duke Energy is required to meet by law, which would:
- Pave the way for more gas projects, like pipelines & powerplants
- Might allow coal plants to run longer (at the same time as huge new gas plants!). That’s a lot of air pollution and MORE COAL ASH… doubling down on environmental injustice.
- Let Duke Energy charge customers for new projects while they are under construction. SB 261 takes away any financial risk from Duke, and puts it on the customers for investments that don’t pay off. Do you want to pay for a powerplant that you might never get to use?
- Duke has a lot of plans with new technology that isn’t here yet, and would be expensive (like mini nuclear reactors). We know they have some financially risky plans.
Call/email your House Representative TODAY about SB 261!A few other points to focus on: financial risk to customers, higher electric bills, and that the EPA has just loosened coal ash regulations. Making it easier for Duke to use coal for longer is not safe for our WATER.
EVENTS
- Register: Silicon Valley, Sacramento and Trump Virtual. The technology industry and its key players have never wielded more influence—or had more at stake—in American policy and politics. Join POLITICO on Today, March 20 • 3:00 PM, for a bicoastal briefing on how Silicon Valley leaders are shaping policy debates in Washington and Sacramento—and how government officials are either advancing or obstructing their agenda
- This Spring Equinox, Saturday March 22nd, Connect with local projects from anti-capitalist organizations, labor unions, tenant unions, mutual aid organizations, and more!• Durham Organizing Fair will be at CCB Plaza, 201 Corcoran St, Durham at 10 AM, RSVP• Raleigh Organizing Fair will be at Pullen Park Shelter #3, 408 Ashe Ave, Raleigh at 3 PM, RSVP
- Governor’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council Meeting. Tuesday, March 25 • 2-5 PM, at 325 North Salisbury Street, Albemarle Building Room 245, Raleigh. If unable to attend in person, join via zoom here
- Register: Join Clean Economy Coalition of Color and the National Wildlife Federation at the National Wildlife Federation’s Environmental Justice, Health, and Community Resilience and Revitalization program for a critical roundtable discussion on the urgent threats facing environmental justice under the current wave of regulatory rollbacks, funding cuts, and weakened enforcement on Tuesday, March 25 • 6:00 PM
- Event: Join the Rachel Carson Council (RCC) in convening scientists, advocates, students, and environmental professionals to confer about the wood pellet biomass industry.The 2025 National Wood Pellet Forum, Friday, March 28 • 9 AM -5 PM at 415 New Jersey Avenue Northwest Washington, DC
- Event: Join Merrick-Moore Community Development Corporation (MMCDC) for an Earth Day Event: Planting wetland and Pollinator gardens, Tuesday, April 22 • 9 – 11 AM, at the Samuel Green Sr. Community Garden, 2421 Cheek Rd in Durham, NC
NEWS
NORTH CAROLINA
- Read: $524 million is heading to western NC for Helene aid. What’s in the bill, and what got left out. (March 20)
- Read: Donald Ensley: A legacy of leadership, friendship, stewardship (March 18)
- Read: Duke Energy Files Motion to Dismiss Carrboro’s Climate Change ‘Deception’ Lawsuit (March 18) ==> As NC WARN wrote in its newsletter, “Duke Energy has not yet addressed the allegations of climate deception. Instead, Duke’s lawyers sought to redirect the focus to emissions. They say that only the politicians and regulators – not towns and courts – have the authority to challenge Duke Energy’s actions. In doing so, Duke Energy is attempting to stay in arenas where it has maximum influence. Duke also says it’s not the only one wrecking the climate; everyone does it! The Town’s attorney disagrees with the motion and plans to file a full response by May 1.”
- Read: EPA science office faces deep cuts, putting North Carolina jobs and research at risk (March 18)
- Read: NC Legal Community: ‘Tens of Thousands of Voters Will Lose Their Voice’ If GOP’s Supreme Court Lawsuit Succeeds (March 19)
- Read: The system is not designed to protect you (March 18)
NATIONAL
- Read: ‘Travesty of Justice’: Jury finds Greenpeace must pay over $600 million in Dakota access pipeline case (March 19)
- Read: Park, poultry processors win line speed victory: USDA has announced that The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will extend current waivers for poultry and pork facilities to run processing lines at higher speeds and “begin immediately” with rulemaking to permanently allow lines to run faster. Plants are also no longer required to submit ‘redundant worker safety data.’ (March 17)
- Read: Whole Foods sells scarred Frankenchicken meat with evidence of muscle abnormality, Mercy for Animals report shows (March 19)
- Read: Data defenders make information accessible again – SELC (March 19)
- Read: Report highlights how communities hardest hit by climate change can build resilient water systems (March 18)
- Read: Five principles for advancing racial, economic, and health justice through state climate policy (March 19)
- Read: Congress wants to keep a carcinogen ravaging our communities in use — we can’t let that happen (March 19)
- Read: I’m the Canadian who was detained by ICE for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped (March 19) => “Ice detention isn’t just a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s a business. These facilities are privately owned and run for profit. Companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group receive government funding based on the number of people they detain, which is why they lobby for stricter immigration policies. It’s a lucrative business: CoreCivic made over $560m from Ice contracts in a single year. In 2024, GEO Group made more than $763m from Ice contracts.”
- Read: LAPD surveilled Gaza protests using this social media tool (March 17)
- Read: America’s constitutional crisis. (March 19)
- Read: What Aaron Bushnell is still teaching us (March 19) => His protest was both a rejection of the idea that human life is expendable, and an acknowledgement that, for so many, it already has been.
- Read: Top experts of the law of the sea confirm: coastal and flag states have an obligation to stop complicity in illegal maritime transfers for Israel (March 19)
- Read: Return public lands to Indigenous people
- Watch: Trump Administration Closes DEI and “Environmental Justice” Arms of EPA – YouTube
- Watch: Do pigs deserve to turn around? Supreme Court weighs in – Youtube
INTERNATIONAL
TRAININGS + JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Apply Now: Calling all activists, storytellers, journalists, documentarians, and people directly impacted by migration and the criminalization of migrants! Migrant Roots Media (MRM) invites you to a weekend-long, in person training retreat focused on telling stories about migration with a root cause analysis. Apply by April 18. The training will be held June 27-29 in Durham, NC
- Apply: The Democracy North Carolina Bridge Fellowship Program is a 6-month fellowship program for 18-29 year old young people not enrolled in or a graduate of a community college, college, or university. It pays a $10,000 stipend (taxable) and will only require a 10-15 hour a week commitment (to accommodate those with young children and other full or part-time work) Close Date: Friday, May 9
- Job Announcement: Democracy NC is hiring a Digital Media Associate to support digital and multimedia content creation, management of all social platforms and digital communications (including our podcast Built By Us), oversight of summer interns/fellows, and support of cross-team communications initiatives
- Job Announcement: NC Conservation Network (NCCN) is hiring an Organizer, statewide but preferably someone residing near Greensboro or Wilmington. Close Date: April 4, 2005. The Organizer will play a critical role in the Conservation Network’s issue advocacy, public outreach, college campus program, and non-partisan voter turnout work in North Carolina
Reflection: On The Working Conditions of Airport Workers in NC
Jet Bridges
While working at Prospect, I encountered several serious health concerns, some of which affected me personally. One of the biggest issues was the condition of the jet bridges. Some, especially in concourses B, C, D, and E, were outdated and had little to no air conditioning.
As a PSA, you’re required to wait on the jet bridge for 20–30 minutes before the plane arrives to pick up your assigned passenger with a wheelchair.
During the peak of summer, these jet bridges became unbearably hot, especially the ones without air conditioning. I saw coworkers faint, become dehydrated quickly, struggle to breathe, and even heard about a passenger passing out. Personally, I experienced fatigue and lightheadedness more times than I can count.
To make matters worse, break policies were strict. Some supervisors wouldn’t allow us to get water until we finished our task, and stepping away without permission could result in a write-up. It was a tough and dangerous environment, yet we were expected to push through it without proper support.
Foul Odors
In some areas of the airport, especially near construction zones or close to aircraft, foul odors made working conditions even worse. The smells came from jet fuel, aging equipment, and construction machinery, creating an overwhelming and unpleasant atmosphere.
The fumes were so bad that I saw Prospect workers vomit, feel nauseated, and even get sick from prolonged exposure. I experienced nausea from these odors as well. Fortunately, since I worked in the international concourses, I didn’t have to deal with them as much.
Over in the domestic concourses, the stench was far more intense, making the job even more unbearable for those stationed there. Despite these concerns, nothing was done to address or improve this issue while I was there.
Unfair Breaks During Shifts
Unfair break policies were a huge issue at Prospect and one of the main reasons I decided to leave. Working an eight-hour shift and only getting a 30-minute lunch break simply wasn’t enough, especially in an airport where finding food takes time. We should have been given at least an hour to rest, eat properly, and rehydrate after hours of strenuous physical activity in pushing wheelchairs.
On top of that, Prospect had a strict rule: if you weren’t actively pushing a wheelchair, you weren’t allowed to sit, under any circumstances. This led to workers sneaking moments to rest, only to get written up for it. I came home with pain, soreness, and even blisters on my feet from constantly being on them with no real break. At times, I had to find hidden spots just to sit down without getting caught.
With the level of physical activity required for this job, workers should be given proper breaks to recover before assisting the next passenger. But at Prospect, that just wasn’t the case.
Working at Prospect Airport Services was an eye-opening experience. From extreme heat on the jet bridges to unbearable fumes, unfair break policies, and exhausting physical demands, the job came with far more challenges than it should have. I saw coworkers struggle, get sick, and push themselves past their limits just to avoid being written up. I experienced it myself: fatigue, nausea, soreness, and the frustration of working for a company that seemed to prioritize cutting costs over the well-being of its employees.
At the end of the day, no job should put workers’ health and safety at risk like this. I hope sharing my experience sheds light on the struggles many workers face and sparks change for those who don’t have the option to just walk away.
-Nick Johnson, undergraduate student at the UNC-G Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences
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