[Themaintainers] Utility workers come to the forefront

Fri Apr 3 04:48:28 EDT 2020

I once did door to door fundraising for PIRG in palo alto Ca (i was
actually scared to go to these expensive homes and knock on the door and
ask for money--i was scared i'd get shot or bitten by a dog).  i also
lost my ID there ( 3rd time---the other 2 times i lost them in West
Virginia and one was sent back to me and the other my 'neighbor' (ie lives
about 1/4th a mile away off and on when he's hunting said he found it on
the mountain)--he's a fundamentalist christian but basically a nice
guy---and a retired fire department employee who worked in some of the most
dangerous areas around here---people throw rocks at fire trucks, and they
do the same for metro buses (public transportation).  (some bus drivers
refuse to go on certain streets even if its their official route---they
just let people off somewhere nearby and say you are on your own and walk
back safely).

So is the 'right to epair' a new entitlement'---like the 'right to work',
'right to free speech'--1st amendment, and the 2nd amendment 'right to own
guns', 14th amendment 'right to vote' and citizen's united 'right to buy
elections' and 'corporations are persons with the right to vote and
buy elections and own guns and blackwater security (private well armed and
regulated militia) ' .
   ( i forget who said it ---maybe dave chapelle who went to one of the
same schools i went to (though to see his shows it costs 100$/ticket while
to see my shows its free tho some people throw a bit of money at me even if
i'm not begging---i may go back to that since i may not be able to cove my
next month's rent ) 'if the 1st amendment doesn't work, you use the second
amendment'.

i think Ralph Nader started PIRG  and as a green party candidate helped
make america an ecologically sustinable , socially and economically just
democracy by helping G W Bush get elected who created a 'green new deal or
jobs' program in Iraq and Afghanistan --- lots of maintenance work to do.
I think the later GP candidate helped further the tradition by helping
Trump get selected.  Trump employs alot of maintenance workers at his
resorts. Some may need ventilators.

On Thu, Apr 2, 2020 at 10:54 AM Nathan Proctor <nproctor at pirg.org> wrote:

> Thanks Ellen! Some might be interested in what Right to Repair campaigners
> are doing related to this.
>
> Right to Repair -- which was a topic at Maintainers III -- has been
> working to both eliminate the barriers to repair to repairing ventilators,
> pressuring manufacturers to provide access to repair tools (service
> software, manuals, etc), and using this example as a way to highlight how
> the system this crisis inherited is much more fragile that it needs to be
> because manufacturers have tried to monopolize repair to seek rents or
> drive a faster rate of replacement.
>
> https://www.engadget.com/2020-03-19-medical-equipment-open-repair-call.html
>
>
> Meanwhile, iFixit has compiled 150 some ventilator service manuals to help
> technicians more easily service the vents that are coming in and out.
>
> https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Ventilator
>
> If you have access to ventilator manuals or know anyone in the biomedical
> engineering or clinical engineering field, we are trying to build some
> support for these efforts.
>
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 2, 2020 at 10:40 AM E.F. Spero <efs8 at mit.edu> wrote:
>
>> Many of you in the US have probably already seen this - but nevertheless
>> I pass it along
>> "A Ventilator Stockpile, With One Hitch: Thousands Do Not Work: While
>> President Trump has assured states that thousands of ventilators remain at
>> the ready, thousands more are in storage, unmaintained or otherwise
>> unusable."
>>
>> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/us/politics/coronavirus-ventilators.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_NN_p_20200402&instance_id=17271&nl=morning-briefing&regi_id=68011755&section=topNews&segment_id=23606&te=1&user_id=27f84bd98615861dacf04227a3e2567c
>>
>>
>> ---
>> Ellan F. Spero, Ph.D.
>>
>> Lecturer
>> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>> efs8 at mit.edu
>>
>> Co-Founder and Chief Curriculum Officer
>> Station1
>> ellan at station1.org
>> www.Station1.org
>>
>> Twitter (@ellanfei) <https://twitter.com/ellanfei> LinkedIn
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellan-spero-b1126a18/> Skype: efspero
>> (she, her, hers)
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155006/>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Il giorno mer 1 apr 2020 alle ore 13:52 Ishi Crew <mediaentropy at gmail.com>
>> ha scritto:
>>
>>> My area is on semi-lockdown.    I do sort of wonder what would happen if
>>> all electricity is lost, or there are major problems with water
>>> infrastructure--pipes start bursting, or even   the local youth and drug
>>> addicts get feeling so deprived , cooped up and  angry we get alot of
>>> violent crime.
>>>
>>> (I live in an apt.---i worry about the maintenance people ---people who
>>> clean and maintain this place, plant the beautiful flowers, empty the
>>> dumpster, deal with the contiual problems with the plumbing system---its an
>>> old building, so pipes fail.) Not to mention utlity crews who have to deal
>>> with power lines every time a tree falls down. Most people in this area are
>>> very considerate so there is not much to clean, but some are careless or
>>> inconsiderate--leave their trash everywhere or worse.).
>>>
>>>
>>> I could sort of see some sort of 'Darwinian evolution' in which
>>> different classes of workers become different species.  You have the tech
>>> workers, utility workers, people who empty the dumpsters, the landscapers,
>>> the gorcery workers, police , fire dept etc all of whom self-segregate ,
>>> create ther own self-sufficient communites (in part) and become different
>>> species.
>>>
>>> On Wed, Apr 1, 2020 at 12:23 PM Piper Wilder <
>>> piper.wilder at 60hertzenergy.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Thanks for sharing this, Jasmine.
>>>>
>>>> My software company, 60Hertz <http://www.60hertzenergy.com>  provides
>>>> maintenance software for very remote utility workers who look after
>>>> microgrids in villages, commercial/industrial sites, telecomm, mines  etc.
>>>> We hadn’t considered the role of COVID-isolated, utility workers, but our
>>>> platform could be well-suited to help. Thank you again for sharing this
>>>> article.
>>>>
>>>> Is anyone on this listserve looking at the role of isolated maintenance
>>>> workers and mental health? This is a strong thesis for 60Hertz and shapes
>>>> our work; we would like to find likeminded researchers or colleagues with
>>>> whom to engage on the topic.
>>>>
>>>> Best regards,
>>>> Piper
>>>>
>>>> On Apr 1, 2020, at 9:34 AM, Jasmine McNealy <jmcnealy at ufl.edu> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hello All,
>>>>
>>>> Delurking to alert you to this really important NBCNews.com story
>>>> <https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1173171> on utility workers -
>>>> particularly electrical grid workers – during the pandemic. This part is
>>>> particularly compelling
>>>>
>>>> “Some utilities have started to lay in beds, ready-to-eat meals, all of
>>>> those kinds of things so their workers can stay on site and not have to mix
>>>> in society,” Robb said. “Utilities in other parts of the country that
>>>> aren’t quite at that level of severity are getting prepped for moving into
>>>> that mode right now.” ~https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1173171
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Take care,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Jasmine McNealy, JD, Ph.D
>>>> Associate Professor | University of Florida, College of Journalism
>>>> and Communications
>>>> Associate Director | Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project
>>>>
>>>> Faculty Associate | Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society
>>>> Chair | ICA Communication Law & Policy Division
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Themaintainers mailing list
>>>> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
>>>> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Piper Foster Wilder | Founder/ CEO | 1300 W 7th #406 | Anchorage AK |
>>>> 99501 | 970-355-9221
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Themaintainers mailing list
>>>> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
>>>> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Themaintainers mailing list
>>> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
>>> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Themaintainers mailing list
>> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
>> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>>
>
>
> --
> Nathan Proctor
> Director, U.S. PIRG Campaign for the Right to Repair
> (203) 522-3860
> _______________________________________________
> Themaintainers mailing list
> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.stevens.edu/pipermail/themaintainers/attachments/20200403/103e1cf3/attachment-0001.html>