Help stop destruction of Blair Mountain

From our friends at Keeper of the Mountains:

 

Mountaintop removal coal mining is destroying the mountains and threatening the health and lives of communities across Appalachia. But people in Appalachia are standing up and today they need your support.

As I often say, "This is a reminder for everyone to stand as 99%, until we really start standing as 99%, we have yet to stand as the full 99%."  Let us take action and stand together.

 

Residents of Blair, West Virginia have noticed increased activity from mining company Arch Coal around Blair Mountain -- site of the largest labor uprising in American history. Residents are becoming increasingly concerned about Arch’s activities and fear they will move forward with plans to mine the historic location.

 

Take action today - Tell Arch Coal To Save Blair Mountain

 

Arch Coal has four planned operations on Blair Mountain, some of which intrude onto the battlefield. Tomorrow, this multi-billion dollar company will announce its profits from the fourth quarter of last year. Whatever those earnings are, the company has a responsibility to the community in which it operates.

 

Folks in Appalachia won’t stand for Arch Coal’s plan to destroy their community and our nation’s history just so they can increase their profit margin, and we shouldn’t either.

 

Call Arch CEO, Steven Leer today, on Friday, February 10 and tell him that Appalachian communities should not fall victim to pad his profit margin.

 

Call Arch’s St. Louis headquarters: (314) 994-2700

Call Arch’s Charleston, WV headquarters: (304) 760-2400

 

To allow Arch Coal to destroy Blair Mountain would be to tear out a crucial page of American labor history and burn it. But even more important than the history are the lives of the people living at the foot of this mountain today.

 

CALL SCRIPT:

Hello, my name is ____ and I am calling to ask you to abandon your plans to mine the historic Blair Mountain. The whole world is watching, and I am calling on your corporation to do the right thing and stop the destruction of Blair Mountain, along with all other mountains and communities in Appalachia. Mountaintop removal mining is wrong and harmful to the people and communities below it. Please cease and desist from your Blair Mountain plans.

 

Thank you!

Occupy movement takes off in Michigan

Like hundreds of cities throughout the U.S. and across the globe, the Occupy movement has begun in Michigan! Thousands of people who are struggling to make ends meet, take care of their families and find ways to stay in school are coming together in their communities to say "enough is enough!"

We demand justice and accountability from corporations and our government for their abuses and threats to our lives. WE ARE THE 99% and we demand change!

Many of us are in poverty with no prospects for living wage jobs, health care or affordable housing. The government safety net that was created to protect people from the turmoil of capitalism is being annihilated by self-serving politicians and corporate greed. Many other families are on the edge of poverty -- just one measly paycheck away from homelessness, hunger and illness.

Michigan residents have begun occupations in several cities and more cities will start soon. Among the Occupy Michigan cities are:

• Occupy Detroit
• Occupy Lansing
• Occupy Ann Arbor
• Occupy Grand Rapids
• Occupy Flint (facebook)
• Occupy Kalamazoo (facebook)
• Occupy Saginaw (facebook)
• Occupy Traverse City (facebook)
• Occupy The UP (facebook)
• Bay City 

The Occupy Michigan website has information and links to each Occupy city, plus a list of occupier needs for anyone who'd like to contribute.  The occupations are more than just the people who camp out each night -- they are about all of us! The occupiers bring visibility to our concerns in Michigan about home foreclosures, joblessness, poverty, food insecurity, education, poor public transportation, unaffordable health care and other universal basic needs.

You can share your concerns at Occupy cities during the "General Assembly" meetings where everyone has a voice. Go to the Occupy city nearest you and make change happen!

Image from dmcd18 at Occupy Lansing tumbler