Prepare For The Storm

It’s been a week of big swings. Tens of thousands took the streets ahead of Climate Week in New York calling out the banks and billionaires profiting off pollution. In the courts, a conservative appeals panel took another bite out of the NLRB’s power to hold union-busting bosses accountable.

Meanwhile, a top global insurer warned that unchecked warming could break the basic machinery of capitalism, and new reporting shows clean energy job growth colliding with a federal freeze that hits red states the hardest. We close with a timely video road trip that asks whether plain-spoken economic populism can still win in deep-red America.

Make Billionaires Pay: Climate Week protests target Wall Street’s role in the crisis

Thousands marched through Manhattan to kick off Climate Week, part of a coordinated global day of action. Protesters carried a 160-foot “climate polluters bill,” stopped outside Trump Tower, and linked climate justice with economic inequality, immigrant rights, and peace. The message was simple: those profiting off the crisis should pay for the damage, and public money should accelerate the transition, not subsidize it.

“Make billionaires pay.” AP News

What we can do: Move your money. If you bank with a top fossil financier, switch to a credit union or a bank with a clean-energy policy. Pair it with a local action: show up to Climate Week satellite events, push city council to adopt a fossil-free finance ordinance, and share photos to keep the pressure high.

A legal blow to workers: Fifth Circuit kneecaps the NLRB’s ability to hold law-breakers accountable

In August, the Fifth Circuit upheld injunctions that block the NLRB from prosecuting cases against major employers, finding parts of the Board’s structure unconstitutional. For workers, this slows enforcement on illegal firings and bargaining delays. Taken alongside a House push to widen the “independent contractor” loophole, it’s a coordinated effort to shift power away from workers and toward union-busting employers.

“For now, the NLRB cannot prosecute cases… forcing a party to participate in administrative proceedings before officials who are unconstitutionally insulated… constitutes an immediate and irreparable harm.” CDF Labor Law

What we can do: If you’re organizing at work, document everything, file charges anyway, and connect with local worker centers and unions to coordinate public pressure. Call your House member and oppose H.R. 1319 and related bills that would misclassify workers and weaken protections.

“Capitalism as we know it ceases to be viable” at 3°C, warns Allianz

A senior executive at Allianz, one of the world’s biggest insurers, says climate damage is pushing regions toward “uninsurable,” which then collapses mortgages, investment, and basic credit. Translation: delay is expensive, and the bill comes due for everyone, not just frontline communities. The fix is no mystery: cut combustion, scale clean energy, and move faster.

“Heat and water destroy capital… Entire regions are becoming uninsurable.” The Guardian

What we can do: Push your city and pension fund to adopt strong climate-risk policies and divest from companies expanding fossil fuels. Ask your insurer and mortgage lender how they are de-risking climate exposure, then share their answers publicly.

Clean energy jobs are booming and a federal funding freeze is hitting red states hardest

Clean energy added roughly 100,000 U.S. jobs last year and now employs over 3.5 million workers, but the administration’s freeze on clean energy grants and loans has thrown projects into limbo. Analysts note most IRA-linked manufacturing growth landed in GOP districts, which means the freeze hurts the very communities promised “cheap energy and good jobs.” Offshore wind permits are also being yanked, spooking investors.

“About 80 percent of manufacturing investments spurred by a Biden-era climate law have flowed to Republican districts… efforts to stop federal payments are already causing pain.” SEJ

What we can do: If your town has a stalled solar, EV, or grid project, ask your mayor or county commission to join or file suit with states challenging the freeze. Organize site tours and press events that center local workers whose jobs are on hold.

Video pick: Bernie in deep Trump country — can a class-first message break through?

This week’s watch follows Bernie Sanders into one of the reddest corners of America to see whether a straight-talk case for unions, higher wages, and climate jobs can move the needle with skeptical voters. It’s a useful gut check for anyone organizing in purple or red areas.

“What happens when you put Bernie Sanders in the second reddest state in the country?” YouTube

What we can do: Try a “kitchen-table canvass.” Pair economic pain points like power bills and food prices with concrete climate-jobs solutions in your county. Invite neighbors to a watch party, then collect two commitments: one call to a lawmaker and one local action.

Closing thought

The through-line this week is power. People are building it in the streets, courts are rearranging it at the agency that protects workers, and the climate crisis is eroding it for anyone who still thinks they can insure their way out. Our job is to keep organizing at every level, link economic fights to climate action, and refuse to be divided. If this newsletter helps, tap like, leave a comment with what you’re working on, and share it with three friends who are ready to roll up their sleeves.

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