Media Advisory: Labor and Community Groups to Document Air Pollution Outside North America’s Largest Inland Port
Local Will County organizations led by the Warehouse Workers for Justice will launch a multi-month community air testing project that will shed light on air quality surrounding North America’s largest inland port
Joliet- Building on the landmark announcement that the nation’s largest electric freight and bus manufacturer plant will be making Joliet its home, the Warehouse Workers for Justice have announced they will be launching a multi-month air monitoring project outside of North-America’s largest inland port. The goal of the project is to shed light on the depth of air pollution caused by the area’s massive warehousing and logistics industry, while making the case that these local businesses need to be some of the first customers of locally made Lion Electric trucks.
“Warehousing and logistics are here to stay, but the recent announcement of Lion Electric coming to the area points to the direction this industry is headed.” said Yana Kalmyka, Labor and Environment Organizer for Warehouse Workers for Justice. “We want these local warehouses to be some of the first to invest and buy these electric freight vehicles. It’s a win/win that cleans up the local environment, while creating new jobs and safeguarding existing ones.”
This first-of-its-kind community-led research project will test air quality in the area until at least September with findings being published toward the end of the year. Along with the local group Sunrise Joliet, WWJ is also partnering with the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition and UIC School of Environmental Health in the air testing project and subsequent report.
“We believe certain parts of the industry are well suited for electric right away. Drayage trucks, last mile delivery vehicles and trucks that never even leave the port or even a train yard are great places to get the ball rolling on this green industrial revolution,” said Roberto Clack, Executive Director of WWJ.
WHO: Warehouse Workers for Justice, Sunrise Movement Joliet, Councilman Cesar Guerrero
WHAT: Community Air Testing Research Launch
WHEN: Saturday, May 15th, Noon
WHERE: Nowell Park, 199 Mills Road, Joliet, IL (Near the Nowell Park Rec Center)
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:
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.
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