https://themilitant.com/2019/06/01/nationalize-pge-put-it-under-workers-control/
???Nationalize PG&E, put it under workers control???
By Jeff Powers
Vol. 83/No. 23
June 10, 2019
Bianca Alvarado, right, talks with Jeff Powers in Chico, California, in
February after wildfire destroyed nearby Paradise, killing scores. Fire
was caused by PG&E bosses??? disdain for safety.
Militant/Eric Simpson
Bianca Alvarado, right, talks with Jeff Powers in Chico, California, in
February after wildfire destroyed nearby Paradise, killing scores. Fire
was caused by PG&E bosses??? disdain for safety.
OAKLAND, California ??? The California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, the state regulatory agency that deals with forest fires,
reported May 15 that last fall???s Camp Fire that killed at least 85
people and destroyed nearly 19,000 homes and other buildings was caused
by ???electrical transmission lines owned and operated??? by utility
monopoly Pacific Gas & Electric.
PG&E bosses failed to replace a 99-year-old tower after it was
determined to be unsafe, didn???t adequately maintain their power lines
and the underbrush beneath them, and didn???t shut off electricity when
weather conditions warranted on the day of the fire ??? even though their
own protocols required them to do so.
PG&E management filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, saying they
faced $30 billion in wildfire liabilities, including $10.5 billion from
the Camp Fire. Their track record throwing safety and protection of
their customers aside in search of profits has been consistent.
???PG&E should be nationalized and run under workers control. All of their
transactions must be made transparent,??? Joel Britton, Socialist Workers
Party candidate for mayor of San Francisco, said. ???That is the only way
to enforce safety on the job and prevent PG&E from causing more disasters.???
???Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature???s proposal to replace and
break up PG&E won???t solve anything,??? Britton said. ???The problem is the
profit-driven system of capitalist exploitation that puts making money
over the safety of PG&E???s own workers and the lives and property of the
people who live in the communities the company serves.???
???PG&E should be held accountable,??? Bianca Alvarado, a Militant??
subscriber who lives in Chico told me on the phone. ???Declaring
bankruptcy will only mean our rates will go up.???
???Many people moved here after the fire that destroyed Paradise. It is
almost impossible to find a home to buy or an apartment to rent,??? she
said. ???There are few jobs and the price of everything like housing has
gone up.???
???We need to fight for a federally funded crash program to put people to
work at union-scale wages building homes, schools, hospitals and
replacing the worn-out power systems and other infrastructure in
California and in the United States,??? Britton said. ???Such a program
could put to work all of those from Paradise and neighboring towns who
lost everything.???
In This Issue
Front Page Articles ???Thousands rally, demand women???s right to abortion!
???US hands off Venezuela! US hands off of Cuba!
???Rulers political crisis grows as UK workers say, ???Get out of EU!???
???Over the top! ???Militant??? goes over goals in paper, book, fund drives
???2019 version of Roosevelt New Deal no road forward for working people
???Join fight against new censorship of ???Militant??? in Florida prisons!
Feature Articles ???Socialist Workers Party 2019 election campaign program
???SWP: Oppose US threats on Iran, protest anti-Semitism
Also In This Issue ???Every ???Militant??? issue from 1928 to today is online!
??????Nationalize PG&E, put it under workers control???
???Australia election ???shocker??? reflects working-class anger
???US capitalist rulers ban Huawei in trade squeeze on Beijing
???Washington???s moves against Iran hit workers hardest
???Campaign to expand reach of ???Militant,??? books, fund April 6-May 28
(final chart)
On the Picket Line ???Union City, South Hayward teachers strike for higher pay
Books of the Month ??????Cuba???s revolution taught us we could do the same
thing here???
25, 50 and 75 years ago
?? Copyright 2019 The Militant?? -?? 306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor -?? New
York, NY 10018?? -?? themilitant@xxxxxx
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Carl Sagan
??? Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. ???
??? Carl Sagan