Hi John,

This month, I’ve been thinking about the Inflation Reduction Act — what we can learn from how it passed, and what it means for our climate justice organizing.

While the bill doesn’t do nearly enough to meet the needs of frontline communities, it is the most significant piece of federal climate legislation in years. It passed in large part because organizers built the momentum and urgency needed to ensure that policymakers felt compelled to act, and to fight for the major climate provisions in the bill.

The IRA is far from a climate justice bill, but in many ways its real impact on our communities will depend on what we all do now. The bill directs billions towards state and local governments — which means making sure that communities are shaping equitable public investments is critical. 

We’ve seen what happens when cities receive federal dollars, for better and for worse. Early in the pandemic, the city of Chicago prioritized corporate interests over community demands by directing more than $280 million in federal relief funds to the police department. Contrast that with Boston, where elected leaders have listened to communities and directed American Rescue Plan dollars to help build clean energy microgrids (read more in our spotlight below).

I am encouraged by stories like this one, where community members are wielding power in their cities. It takes a tremendous amount of effort, but this is how we achieve energy democracy and true climate justice.

A conversation about building climate resilience and energy democracy

In Massachusetts, our affiliate Community Labor United (CLU) is co-leading efforts to democratize energy and build climate resilience through the development of microgrid projects in Boston’s Chinatown and Chelsea neighborhoods. Our Climate Justice Lead, Dieynabou Diallo, sat down with Lee Matsueda (Executive Director of Community Labor United), Sari Kayyali (Microgrid Manager at Resilient Urban Neighborhoods-Green Justice Coalition), Lydia Lowe (Executive Director of Chinatown Community Land Trust), Maria Belen Power (Associate Director of GreenRoots), and Jen Stevenson Zepeda (Associate Executive Director at Climable).

Dieynabou: How does a microgrid work, and how does this microgrid project differ from others?

Sari: In a traditional electric grid, there is a power plant some distance away from where people live that generates all of a community's electricity. That electricity is distributed over long distances and then delivered to homes, businesses, and other buildings within a local area. The way a microgrid differs is it generates the electricity onsite. A traditional microgrid will be the size of a college campus or a hospital, and that brings a number of advantages — you lose less energy in transmission, and can save money by generating your own power when electricity rates are highest. 

Jen: One of the unique features of our microgrids is that they use as many clean and emissions-free technologies as possible. They both create clean power, and make communities more climate resilient.

As the Frontline Worker Pay program was being rolled out in Minnesota, some politicians were pushing to exclude certain workers and industries that are staffed predominantly by women and people of color. ISAIAH fought against these efforts and won Frontline Worker Pay for all people working on the frontlines during the pandemic. To date, over 1 million Minnesotans have applied for the benefit.

The 2022-2023 Enacted Budget for Pennsylvania includes $7.6 billion in basic education funding. The budget will also provide $225 million in funding to the LEVEL UP program, which aims to close the state school funding gap. Thanks to POWER’s organizing for implementation and use of PA’s Fair Funding Formula, that money will go to 100 of the most shortchanged school districts.

Earlier this month, over 150 Amazon workers walked off the job at a warehouse in San Bernardino, CA. With support from the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, hundreds of workers at the company’s San Bernardino Air Hub (KSBD) are organizing for better wages and safe conditions — and winning. Read about them in The Washington Post, add your name to their pledge, and check them out on Twitter.

Last week, over 150 workers and labor advocates marched to the Facebook HQ to call on the corporation to protect service workers’ livelihoods and support workers' right to have a voice on the job. Working Partnerships USA is supporting the workers as they demand that Facebook address unfair labor practices within the company and put forward a responsible contractor policy so that the corporation only works with companies that respect the rights of workers to join together in union.

We are seeking experienced individuals to join our team! If you know anyone who would be a great fit, please send them our way. The ideal candidates will have a deep commitment to social, racial, gender, economic and environmental justice.

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