Energy, power, and environment

Carolyn DesJardins Papers

aorchard — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 17:22:25 -0500

In June 1982 Carolyn DesJardins (formerly Carolyn Larry) began working as a security officer at Detroit Edison’s Fermi 2 nuclear power plant located in Newport, Michigan. DesJardins later moved into a staff position where she was responsible for safeguarding security information about the plant’s operation, construction, and equipment. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission enforces rules about the accessibility of the information that DesJardins was protecting. During DesJardin’s tenure, the Fermi 2 Director of Security sent information through the computer system outside of the plant, which was in opposition to the Commission’s rules. Desjardins informed the director of this error, and after continued infringements, DesJardins alerted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, thus becoming a whistleblower. This resulted in her demotion to her previous position of security officer. In response, DesJardins sued to return to her former position. While she won her lawsuit, DesJardins never returned to her position. Instead DesJardins worked as a nuclear security investigator, conducting background checks and investigations.

The Carolyn DesJardins Papers document DesJardin’s whistleblower lawsuit and include correspondence, primarily from Detroit Edison and DesJardin’s lawyer, and materials related to the lawsuit, including a transcript of the trial.

Citizen Action Records

drice — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:24:20 -0500

Citizen Action (CA) was founded in 1979 by former members of Students for a Democratic Society and the Indochina Peace Campaign as a coalition of state and national liberal consumer and activist groups. It organized door-to-door canvassers to work on the state level promoting CA membership and educating the public on issues such as health care, energy, environmental concerns, and auto insurance. Citizen Action was also active in election campaigns on the local, state and national level to recruit and support candidates who espoused the same ideas on various issues. Citizen Action affiliates, such as Ohio Citizen Action and Connecticut Citizen Action Group, played a key role in get-out-the-vote campaigns and issue-specific canvassing and lobbying, especially regarding health care. On the national level, Citizen Action lobbied Congress and the federal government, often testifying before committees, working to introduce bills and interacting with federal departments and commissions. Citizen Action was shut down in 1997 after a scandal emerged involving illegal funds from the Teamsters.

The records in this collection are primarily from the national office of Citizen Action, though there are documents dealing with issues and activities in specific states. Also among these records are documents from affiliate organizations: Citizens/Labor Energy Coalition (C/LEC) and Energy Action.

Event Announcement: Sarah Stanford-McIntyre Speaks on Oil, Labor, and Environmental Change

Public Relations Team — Wed, 13 May 2015 16:34:14 -0400

The Reuther Library is proud to announce an upcoming brown-bag lecture presented by Sarah Stanford-McIntyre, a doctoral candidate at the College of William and Mary. This event will take place at noon on Thursday, May 21, in the Reuther Conference Room of the Walter P. Reuther Library. Ms. Stanford-McIntyre will present on her current research in her talk “Working Landscapes: The Labor of West Texas Oil, 1920-1970,” a regional history of oil, labor, and environmental change during the Permian Basin oil boom, including corporate imagery of technology, the mythology of the oil prospector, and the vital role of wage workers across the industry. The presentation is free and open to the public. read more »

Guest Post: Detroit Incinerator

Public Relations Team — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 11:40:30 -0400

Please note: The oral history course collections mentioned in this post have been consolidated into one collection: Wayne State University Oral History Methodology Course Oral Histories. Please refer to the finding aid here: https://archives.wayne.edu/repositories/2/resources/3381.

The history of the Detroit Incinerator, later rebranded as Detroit Renewable Power, is a microcosm of the history of intersections of environmental and social justice. The Reuther Library has many collections related to the community response surrounding the Incinerator’s building and operation. It was originally built in 1986 near the corner of Russell and East Ferry Street. Billed as the “world’s largest” trash incinerator, read more »

(29426) Joint Council 33, Local 668, Demonstration, New Jersey, 1979

aorchard — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:55:16 -0500

Joint Council 33 (New Jersey) and Local 668 Citizens/Labor Energy Coalition Demonstration in 1979.

(29427) Max Wolf, Joint Council 33, Local 668, Demonstration, New Jersey, 1979

aorchard — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:55:17 -0500

Max Wolf at the Joint Council 33 (New Jersey) and Local 668 Citzens/Labor Energy Coalition Demonstration in 1979.

(29428) Demonstrator, Joint Council 33, Local 668, Demonstration, New Jersey, 1979

aorchard — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:55:17 -0500

A demonstrator participates in the Joint Council 33 (New Jersey) and Local 668 Citzens/Labor Energy Coalition Demonstration in 1979.

Chemical Worker

kchinery — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:11:14 -0400

Unprocessed. International Chemical Workers Union.

Convention Proceedings and Reports

kchinery — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:39:47 -0400

Processed. Independent Union of Petroleum Workers, National Convention Proceedings, 1957 (8th); Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, Individual Reports of the Administrative Officers and the Executive Board, Constitutional Convention, 1957-1963 (3rd-7th); Oil Workers International Union, Convention Proceedings, 1950, 1953-1955 (20th, 23rd, 24th).

International Oil Worker

kchinery — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:06:46 -0400

Processed. Several issues missing.

The Bugle

kchinery — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:50:59 -0400

Processed

Union News

kchinery — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:54:10 -0400

Processed. Some years incomplete.