Oakland (from a distance) – Margaret Gordon, a friend of this blogger, and an Oakland legend, and who aligns herself with an effort called “No Coal In Oakland”, just wrote a piece in The Oakland Post that only an ememy of what she’s doing would convince her to write.
First, let me explain that while Insight Terminal Solutions is Zennie62Media’s content distribution client, I am not the firm’s spokesperson – I wasn’t asked to write this; I just did it. This is me posting as a reaction to the completely unfortunate post I just read by my friend, and I do regard Margaret Gordon as such. But, I digress. What Margaret wrote in “Opinion: Backers of Shipping Coal to Oakland Mislead the Public” was baseless. First, the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal is designed by Phil Tagami, and not a coal terminal. Second, John Siegel has a background not just in coal, but in minerals. Third, the intent of the transport of the minerals to the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal is for that to happen with as low emissions as possible – period.
That was the City of Oakland’s intent when it developed, with Phil Tagami, the OBOT:
Second, for Insight Terminal Solutions CEO John Siegel to state any intent to have transport of coal or any mineral done with regulations should be considered an asset. The trouble with Margaret Gordon’s approach, is she does the problematic habit so common in Oakland, of trying to play “gotcha” with a specific point of information, rather than actually think through what she’s writing. Right or wrong about the EPA, the obvious fact is that John intends to follow Phil’s edict and ship with as low emissions as possible via the employment of state-of-the-art technology, including the use of covered hopper cars and the low-emissions Oakland Global Rail Enterprise engine. And covered hopper cars are in wide use around the United States, contrary to the fake news game that’s played in the Oakland SF Bay Area. (It’s a good idea to get out and see what’s happening in America, folks.)
But what really got me about the Oakland Post entry by Margaret Gordon was that she wrote this: “Mr. Siegel claims the terminal would employ hundreds, which is unlikely in an automated facility. Any work there would be reserved for union members. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 is on record refusing to handle coal and opposing the use of this terminal for coal. If coal is such a desirable commodity, why did the Port of Oakland in 2014 turn down the use of the Howard Terminal to ship it?”
Margaret Gordon should know that Local 326 Union is a supporter of the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal. To present that Local 10 union as the only one in existence and then to blast the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal as being only for union jobs was shocking. Oakland’s a union town. Unions fight for the common person to get living wages. For Margaret Gordon to issue a statement in black and white and say “Any work there would be reserved for union members” as if that’s a bad thing, confirmed a number of fears I had, as much as it revealed a great problem with No Coal In Oakland.
No Coal In Oakland Is Anti-Union And Anti-Jobs When Oakland Homeless Need Help
Since Margaret Gordon, my friend, has elected to side with Tom Steyer-backed No Coal In Oakland, she has to wear this: that organization has not lifted one finger at all to advance any plan to create jobs in West Oakland. Meanwhile it’s fact that a giant number of homeless Oaklanders are in her backyard of West Oakland. So, what are we to think about her blast? Well, we are to think that they just don’t care. Because if they did, they would have advanced a plan that would help maintain jobs at the OBOT, yet land a plan for reduced emissions to as close to zero as possible.
This is why Oakland’s economic development effort is just plain toothless and worthless – I’ve never seen it in such bad shape! This is an outrage that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf herself should stop defending and get in and fix – now! Oakland Economic Development should be in here, offering subsidies to allow the development of the Insight Terminal Solutions Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal with the objective of zero emissions. Do not tell me that’s not possible.
My response is that you’re not of a Star Trek Generation, where we seek to apply technology to solve problems. Star Trek’s idea of a tech-created utopia on Earth is unknown to you. All you see is bad, negative, and ‘us versus them’. You are more the Star Wars / Game Of Thrones type, where that fantasy has zero to do with what’s happening today. In effect, no futurist thinking. You have done and will do a lot of harm to our society with your myopic viewpoint – please stop.
Technology can save us. The San Francisco Bay Area is suppose to be the technical leader of the World. So, let’s move to achieve that objective, get the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal going, and get people with basic skills employed, in housing, and yes, members of unions.
Stay tuned.