Nurses, 1199 take up anti-Keystone cause
David Giambusso
The New York State Nurses Association and 1199 SEIU, which together represent about 300,000 health care workers in New York, have announced they oppose the Keystone XL pipeline and will work to mobilize their members to join in the People's Climate March in September—a citywide demonstration against climate change in advance of a U.N. summit.
"For 1199 SEIU, support for the upcoming People's Climate March is a natural," said Estela Vazquez, executive vice president of 1199SEIU, in an interview. "We saw the impact of Hurricane Sandy in New York City and in the community's hardest hit, in Staten Island, in the Rockaways, in communities where many of our members live."
By opposing the pipeline, a stalled project that would connect Canadian oil sands to U.S. markets, the unions are declaring a larger opposition to fossil fuels, among the biggest culprits in pumping carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
"As health care workers, how can we keep silent about the impact of the pipeline and climate change?" Vazquez said. "It's a question of public health for everyone."
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/energy/2014/07/8549435/nurses-1199-take-anti-keystone-cause?top-featured-3
