Person

Patrick Young

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Patrick Young is one of the main organizers of Shut Down DC, an environmentalist activist coalition that conducted demonstrations blocking roadways in Washington, D.C. in September 2019. 1 He is an organizer and campaigner, and works with labor unions including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Teamsters, environmentalist activist organizations, and left-of-center community-based nonprofits. 2

Career

Young is currently a senior research analyst at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. 3 He has previously worked to organize workers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) while working for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and is a former strategic campaigner for the United Steelworkers. 4 Young was also president of a Steelworkers local. 5

He previously worked at Rising Tide for 15 years where he organized various environmentalist demonstrations and events. 6 7

Young served on the board of both the Responsible Endowments Coalition and the Center for Coalfield Justice. 8

Supported Protests

Young supports and works with groups that organize both labor and climate change demonstrations and events. Such efforts include a union protest of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Pittsburgh in 2016,9 and multiple rallies of United Steelworkers union members in 2015 that took place in Pittsburgh and two other cities. 10

While working with Rising Tide, Young was part of organizing actions against the continued development of fossil fuel resources, including the 2013 march targeting the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Southwest regional office,11 and a 2017 traffic blockage outside the Southpointe office park, where several large energy companies are located. 12

Shut Down DC

Young is a leading organizer of Shut Down DC, a coalition of at least 24 different left-wing and far-left groups that have conducted demonstrations blocking roads in the nation’s capital. 13 According to a press release, these groups include 198 Methods, 350 DC, Backbone Campaign, Beyond Extreme Energy, Black Lives Matter DMV, Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, Code Pink, Extinction Rebellion DC, Friends of the Earth Action, Friends Meeting in Washington Social Concerns Committee, Labor Network for Sustainability, Metro DMV Democratic Socialists of America, Movement for a People’s Party, and Rising Tide North America. 14 15

Shut Down DC has aligned its demands with the platform put forward by Strike With Us, which includes the socialist policy package known as the Green New Deal, which would halt all conventional fuel extraction and planned infrastructure projects. 16 17

References

  1. Recker, Jane. “Meet the Folks Planning to Ruin Your Commute on September 23: Washingtonian (DC).” Washingtonian, September 13, 2019. https://www.washingtonian.com/2019/09/13/meet-the-folks-planning-to-ruin-your-commute-on-september-23/.
  2. “Escalate and Build Power.” pjyoung.info. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://www.pjyoung.info/.
  3. “Patrick Young.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 18, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickjyoung.
  4. “Patrick Young.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickjyoung.
  5. “Patrick Young.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickjyoung.
  6. “Patrick Young.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 18, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickjyoung.
  7. Recker, Jane. “Meet the Folks Planning to Ruin Your Commute on September 23: Washingtonian (DC).” Washingtonian, September 13, 2019. https://www.washingtonian.com/2019/09/13/meet-the-folks-planning-to-ruin-your-commute-on-september-23/.
  8. “Patrick Young.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 18, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickjyoung.
  9. Lindstrom, Natasha. “Protesters Burst into ALEC Banquet in Pittsburgh; 1 Arrested.” Trib Live, May 6, 2016. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://archive.triblive.com/news/protesters-burst-into-alec-banquet-in-pittsburgh-1-arrested-2/.
  10. Boselovic, Len. “United Steelworkers Union Rally for Fair Contracts in Downtown Pittsburgh.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 1, 2015. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://www.post-gazette.com/business/pittsburgh-company-news/2015/09/01/United-Steelworkers-union-rally-Downtown-calling-for-fair-contracts-as-labor-unrest-continues/stories/201509010193.
  11. “Earth Day, Every Day – Make it our DEP!” Three Rivers Rising Tide, April 22, 2013. Accessed September 30, 2019. http://threeriversrisingtide.org/earth-day-every-day-make-it-our-dep/.
  12. Conley, Julia. “Anti-Fracking Protest Shuts Down Traffic at Energy Companies’ Offices.” Common Dreams, November 20, 2017. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/11/20/anti-fracking-protest-shuts-down-traffic-energy-companies-offices.
  13. Recker, Jane. “Meet the Folks Planning to Ruin Your Commute on September 23: Washingtonian (DC).” Washingtonian, September 13, 2019. https://www.washingtonian.com/2019/09/13/meet-the-folks-planning-to-ruin-your-commute-on-september-23/.
  14. Petworth, Prince Of. “‘Climate Groups to Shut Down Washington D.C. with Mass Nonviolent Act of Civil Disobedience September 23rd; On September 20th, Young People Will Kick off a Worldwide Week of Action with an International Strike.” PoPville, September 17, 2019. https://www.popville.com/2019/09/climate-groups-to-shut-down-washington-dc-strike/.
  15. “Find an Affinity Group.” Shut Down DC. Accessed September 18, 2019. https://www.strikedc.org/index.php/find-an-affinity-group/.
  16. “Demands.” Shut Down DC. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://www.strikedc.org/index.php/demands/.
  17. “US Climate Strikes.” Strike With Us. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://strikewithus.org/#demands
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