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“Mike Greco was worried. In early March 2020, New York City had confirmed its first case of Covid-19, and the vice president of Local 2507, the union representing employees of the city’s emergency medical services (EMS), knew how overworked and exhausted EMS workers already were. At a special City Council hearing on March 5, he testified that EMS was already handling 1.5 million calls a year. “If you were to have another half million calls in a pandemic, you would overwhelm the system,” he said….Continue Reading “The Nation: Saving Lives and Going Hungry: NYC Ambulance Workers Demand Higher Pay” →

I wrote for the Lost on the Frontline series of The Guardian about the sacrifices New York City’s EMTs and paramedics have made over the past year, and their demands for fair compensation. — In his 17 years as an emergency medical provider, Anthony Almojera thought he had seen it all. “Shootings, stabbings, people on fire, you name it,” he said. Then came Covid-19. Before the pandemic, Almojera said it was normal to respond to one or two cardiac arrest calls a week; now he’s…Continue Reading “The Guardian: ‘It doesn’t feel worth it’: Covid-19 is pushing New York’s EMTs to the brink” →

I wrote for NACLA on the fracking industry in Mexico. “The promised fracking boom in Mexico, hyped in U.S. media and pushed by the U.S. government, has yet to materialize. Local communities and environmental organizations want it to stay that way. Anti-fracking activists see a window of opportunity to push President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to put a fracking ban into law. They worry that if fracking does eventually pick up, before or after AMLO leaves office, it could drain and contaminate dwindling water resources.”…Continue Reading “NACLA: Mexico’s Fracking Impasse” →

“The coronavirus pandemic and record-low oil prices dealt a blow to the fossil fuel industry this year. But the new trade deal between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, known as the USMCA, will provide a boost as it replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The deal goes into effect July 1. Reading between the lines of the 2,000-plus page deal, environmentalists say it is bad news for North America’s climate future. Far from addressing the crisis, the deal provides loopholes for oil, gas,…Continue Reading “Desmog: New NAFTA Trade Deal Deepens Oil and Gas Dependency During Climate Crisis” →

Promises of consultation are not enough for Indigenous communities in the path of pipeline construction in Mexico, an important market for the Texas shale fields. I wrote for NACLA about the El Encino-Topolobampo natural gas pipeline, which TransCanada (TC Energy) built through the territory of Rarámuri communities in the Sierra Tarahumara of Chihuahua. While communities demanded a consultation process, it was too little too late, and the pipeline was inaugurated in late 2018. This pipeline is one of several that connects Texas fracking industry to…Continue Reading “NACLA: In Mexico, Cheap Gas Wins” →

I wrote for OneZero, a tech publication at Medium, about how Uber Eats delivery workers are keeping each other safe in Mexico City. “On a recent Tuesday night, Luisa Amezquita, a Rappi company delivery worker, was headed home after her last drop-off of the evening when her motorcycle broke down. She was miles from home, and nervous. So she reached out for the only help she could think of. ‘Is anyone awake? I’ve been trying to get home since 10 p.m. and still I haven’t…Continue Reading “OneZero: Uber Delivery Workers in Mexico Are Tracking Thieves Through Google Maps and WhatsApp Networks” →