Media Advisory: Community and Labor Groups to Protest Senator Durbin and Duckworth’s Support of Controversial Northpoint Project
Media Advisory: Community and Labor Groups to Protest Senator Durbin and Duckworth’s Support of Controversial Northpoint Project
Organizers Say The State’s Two Standing Senators Are Out of Touch With Chicago’s Southland by Supporting the Project. At The Press Conference Organizers Will Demand the Senators Drop Their Support for the Project and To Prioritize Fighting for the Pro-Act & Green New Deal Legislation
Chicago- As part of the national launch for the Green New Deal Network’s Thrive Agenda, local groups led by the Warehouse Workers for Justice will be hosting a press conference and rally to demand Senator Durbin and Duckworth drop their support for the controversial Northpoint project and to sign on to support a Green New Deal instead. While proponents of Northpoint claim there will be good jobs from the project, organizers say the warehouse jobs are poor quality and have had issues with high COVID infection rates and discrimination. Worse, they claim these employers have a predatory relationship with communities of color when it comes to employment and that the Senators would be better off focusing their efforts on improving labor conditions for the hundreds of thousands of warehouse jobs that already exist.
“Will County has already been the largest job growth region in the state and we need Senator Durbin and Duckworth to understand that there is deep opposition to these projects in the southland because of the broken promises made by the warehouses and their developers,” said Roberto Clack, Executive Director of Warehouse Workers for Justice. “If they really want to help the state, they will focus on things like the Pro-Act and a Green New Deal, which will enhance labor rights and put people to work while protecting our environment.”
Organizers also claim that the Senators and Representative Bobby Rush don’t understand how problematic local proponents of Northpoint are when it comes to race relations in the state’s third largest city. “Out of all people, the trades of Will County just hosted renowned Trump supporter Brian Urlacher in their hall with a yes to Northpoint candidate,” said Clack. “This is not to mention Northpoint’s main proponent, Mayor O’Dekirk, who is under investigation for an altercation with BLM protesters in the city; something he has still not apologized for. Our representatives and senators need to be made aware of the toxic leadership they are working with to try and get this project done.”
WHO: Illinois Green New Deal Network and Warehouse Workers for Justice
WHAT: Press Conference Demanding Senator Duckworth and Durbin Drop Support for Northpoint and Say Yes to A Green New Deal & Pro Act
WHEN: Wednesday, March 31st, 10am
WHERE: Federal Plaza, Dearborn and Jackson, Chicago (230 S Dearborn), We will also be live on Warehouse Workers for Justice’s Facebook Page
PRESS CONTACTS: Roberto Clack, Warehouse Workers for Justice 312.450.1972, roberto@warehouseworker.org
Yana Kalmyka, Warehouse Workers for Justice, 347.930.9516 yana@warehouseworker.org
Official social media hashtags: #GreenNewDeal #JustSayNoToNorthpoint #ResponsibleDevelopmentJoliet #JolietNorthpoint
Based in Joliet Illinois, Warehouse Workers for Justice is a worker center fighting for stable, living-wage jobs in warehouses and distribution centers. We educate workers about labor rights, teach folks how to enforce their rights, organize in the workplace and community and fight for public and private policies that promote full-time work at decent wages in the warehouse industry.
# # #
