February, 03 2015, 11:15am EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Lindsay Meiman,Senior U.S. Communications Specialist,lindsay@350.org,us-comms@350.org,+1 347 460 9082,New York, USA
Bill McKibben Responds to EPA Comments on Keystone XL
In response to comments issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the Keystone XL Pipeline, in which the agency advises that "development of oil sands crude represents a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions," 350.org Co-Founder Bill McKibben issued the following statement:
WASHINGTON
In response to comments issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the Keystone XL Pipeline, in which the agency advises that "development of oil sands crude represents a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions," 350.org Co-Founder Bill McKibben issued the following statement:
"In a city where bureaucrats rarely say things right out loud, the EPA has come pretty close. Its knife-sharp comments make clear that despite the State Department's relentless spin, Keystone is a climate disaster by any realistic assessment. The president's got every nail he needs to finally close the coffin on this boondoggle."
Read the EPA's comments here: https://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/20140032.pdf.
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
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May Day in Pictures: Workers Worldwide March Against Austerity, Right-Wing Attacks
"There is an alternative to the billionaire vision of the world."
May 01, 2025
With right-wing, pro-corporate political parties across the world aggressively pushing anti-immigration policies and sentiment as they worsen inequality and attack crucial services, working people across the world gathered on Thursday to mark May Day—the holiday memorializing the struggles and victories of the global labor movement—and to let those in power know they aren't fooled by xenophobic scapegoating.
"They tell people that migrants are to blame for failing hospitals, job insecurity, and rising rents," said Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European Trade Union Conference in Paris. "This is a lie—a dangerous lie. The true cause is austerity, it is underfunding, privatization, and a refusal to invest in people. It's price gauging, it's union busting, it's pay injustice."
Here are photos from demonstrations and marches worldwide:
May Day 2025 in Pictures
Protesters with red flags raise their fists as they march during a May Day (Labour Day) rally, marking International Workers' Day, outside the Greek Parliament in Athens, on May 1, 2025. (Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images)
Paris was the site of France's main May Day rally, but an estimated 260 protests kicked off throughout the country, hosted by the General Confederation of France (CGT).
In the United States, protests were expected in nearly 1,000 cities, with many participants tying the fight against union-busting, the high cost of living, privatization, and corporate greed to President Donald Trump's administration—which has spent the past three months working to secure $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy while pushing a mass deportation campaign and blaming working families' struggles on a so-called "invasion" by immigrants.
"This is a war on working people—and we will not stand down," a website for the U.S. May Day protests reads. "They're defunding our schools, privatizing public services, attacking unions, and targeting immigrant families with fear and violence. Working people built this nation and we know how to take care of each other. We won't back down—we will never stop fighting for our families and the rights and freedoms that propel opportunity and a better life for all Americans. Their time is up."
French union leaders also used the occasion to decry the "Trumpization" of global politics, and Italian protesters in Turin paraded a puppet of the U.S. president.
The global movement sent the message that "there is an alternative to the billionaire vision of the world," said the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Other May Day marches and rallies were held in countries including Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, the Philippines, Turkey, and Japan.
"Around the world, workers are being denied the basics of life like well-funded hospitals and schools, living wages, and freedom to move, while billionaires pocket record profits and unimaginable power," said Luc Triangle, general secretary of the ITUC. "A system built for the 0.0001% is rigged against the rest of us—but workers around the world are standing up and organizing to take back democracy."
"Workers are demanding a New Social Contract that works for them—not the billionaires undermining democracy," said Triangle. "Fair taxation, strong public services, living wages, and a just transition are not radical demands—they are the foundation of a just society."
On May 8, the ITUC plans to issue an open letter to heads of state and global institutions demanding a new social contract, including collective bargaining rights for all workers; minimum living wages; and governments that ensure universal healthcare, education, and other public services.
"Let us be clear: austerity is a political choice, not an economic necessity. And it is a choice that has caused and is causing enormous damage," said Lynch. "When governments slash spending under the guise of fiscal responsibility, the real result is increased hardship, unemployment, and insecurity—especially for working people."
"Jobs in the public and private sector are being lost across the E.U. due to austerity policies," she added. "Vital public services are being slashed, wages are being frozen, pensions cut and entire communities are being abandoned. In this vacuum, the far right grows stronger—not by offering solutions, but by spreading fear."
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Poll Shows 3 in 4 Oppose Medicaid Cuts as GOP Targets Program to Fund Tax Breaks for Rich
A majority also said the the Trump administration "is recklessly making broad cuts to programs and staff, including some that are necessary for agencies to function."
May 01, 2025
As congressional Republicans consider slashing the federal safety net to fund tax giveaways for the wealthy, polling published Thursday by KFF shows that a large majority of Americans oppose cuts to health programs, including Medicaid.
The research group asked respondents about potential funding cuts for various programs, and found that 84% oppose cuts to Social Security, 79% oppose cuts to Medicare, and 76% oppose cuts to Medicaid, a key target for the GOP's tax ambitions.
There is also strong opposition to slashing funds for mental health and addiction prevention services, tracking infectious disease outbreaks, medical research, HIV prevention, and helping people with Affordable Care Act premiums.
KFF found that 61% generally oppose "major cuts to staff and spending at federal government health agencies," a figure that rose to 72% after respondents heard arguments that the reductions "would negatively impact these agencies' abilities to serve the public."
Pollsters also asked about actions by President Donald Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk. A majority (54%) said the administration and DOGE had gone "too far" with cuts at federal health agencies.
Similarly, 59% of respondents—including 92% of Democrats, 65% of Independents, and 18% of Republicans—agreed that "the administration is recklessly making broad cuts to programs and staff, including some that are necessary for agencies to function."
Majorities said they oppose staffing cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Social Security Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy.
Sharing the poll on social media, KFF CEO and president Drew Altman said: "Everyone—Dems, R's, Independents—are against big Medicaid cuts. Not really surprising. What is: MAGA supporters are divided on cutting Medicaid."
"As Steve Bannon said: 'lots of MAGAs on Medicaid,'" Altman added, referring to the far-right media executive and former Trump adviser.
The fact that so many residents of "red states" rely on Medicaid could be a problem for GOP leaders attacking the program that provides healthcare for low-income Americans in hopes of lowering taxes for the rich. Some Republicans in both chambers have expressed concern about how major cuts would impact their constituents—and, as a result, their reelection chances.
Congressman Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a critical swing vote in the House of Representatives, said Tuesday that his "red line" for Medicaid cuts in the GOP's reconciliation package is $500 billion—a figure that, as Families USA executive director Anthony Wright noted, would be "the biggest cut in the history of Medicaid, one that would force millions of Americans to lose coverage."
Bacon also expressed support for adding work requirements to Medicaid, despite evidence that they strip coverage from people in need. A Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) analysis from February found that imposing such mandates for Medicaid recipients could put 36 million Americans, or 44% of the program's enrollees, at risk of losing their health insurance.
"Senate Republicans are closely watching how their House colleagues restructure federal funding for Medicaid, and will likely propose changes when the entire 11-bill package comes over from the House later this year," States Newsroom reported Thursday. "Several GOP senators told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday they will judge the package based on how changes to Medicaid will impact their constituents."
States Newsroom shared remarks from Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Josh Hawley (Mo.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), and John Hoeven (N.D.), who said that said "the challenge is going to be to find savings in line with what the president has described."
"He said he doesn't want any cuts to Medicaid," Hoeven continued. "But how do you make sure that you eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse? And that the folks that should be getting it are getting it, rather than an able-bodied person who should be out there working and is able to do that and take care of themselves."
Politico similarly reported Wednesday that "while Trump has agreed to target waste, fraud and abuse, he remains profoundly wary about pursuing anything that might be construed as 'cuts' to a program he has vowed over and over again to protect, according to six White House officials and top allies of the president."
Medicaid isn't the only program for the poor in the GOP's crosshairs. Republicans are also considering cuts to and work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
CBPP said Wednesday that "nearly 11 million people—about 1 in 4 SNAP participants, including more than 4 million children and more than half a million adults aged 65 or older and adults with disabilities—live in households that would be at risk of losing at least some of their food assistance" under Congressman Dusty Johnson's (R-S.D.) proposal.
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'Grotesque Spectacle' on May Day: CEO Pay Up 50% Since 2019 Compared to 0.9% for Workers
"This isn't a glitch in the system—it's the system working exactly as designed, funneling wealth ever upwards while millions of working people struggle to afford rent, food, and healthcare."
May 01, 2025
As people worldwide filled the streets Thursday to celebrate International Workers' Day and mobilize against attacks on the working class, a new analysis showed that average global CEO pay has surged 50% since 2019—56 times more than the pay of ordinary employees.
The Oxfam International analysis examined figures from nearly 2,000 corporations across 35 countries where CEOs were paid more than $1 million on average last year, including bonuses and stock options. Across those companies, the average pay of chief executives reached $4.3 million in 2024, up from $2.9 million just five years ago.
By contrast, average worker pay in those 35 nations rose just 0.9% between 2019 and 2024.
"Year after year, we see the same grotesque spectacle: CEO pay explodes while workers' wages barely budge," said Amitabh Behar, Oxfam's executive director. "This isn't a glitch in the system—it's the system working exactly as designed, funneling wealth ever upwards while millions of working people struggle to afford rent, food, and healthcare."
According to Oxfam, global billionaires "pocketed on average $206 billion in new wealth over the last year," or $23,500 an hour. That's more than the average annual income globally—$21,000—in 2023.
To begin redressing global economic inequality, Oxfam called for top marginal tax rates of at least 75% on the highest earners and wage increases to ensure worker pay keeps up with inflation.
"It's time to end the billionaire coup against democracy and put people and planet first."
Luc Triangle, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, said in a statement that the "outrageous pay inequality between CEOs and workers confirms that we lack democracy where it is needed most: at work."
"Around the world, workers are being denied the basics of life while corporations pocket record profits, dodge taxes, and lobby to evade responsibility," Triangle added. "Workers are demanding a New Social Contract that works for them—not the billionaires undermining democracy. Fair taxation, strong public services, living wages, and a just transition are not radical demands—they are the foundation of a just society."
"It's time to end the billionaire coup against democracy and put people and planet first," he added.
In addition to spotlighting the growing chasm between CEO and worker pay, the Oxfam analysis warned that the global working class "is now facing a new threat" in the form of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff regime. The humanitarian group argued that "these policies pose significant risks for workers worldwide, including job losses and rising costs for basic goods that would stoke extreme inequality everywhere."
"For so many workers worldwide, President Trump's reckless use of tariffs means a push from one cruel order to another: from the frying pan of destructive neoliberal trade policy to the fire of weaponized tariffs," said Behar. "These policies will not only hurt working families in the U.S., but especially harm workers trying to escape poverty in some of the world's poorest countries."
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