Another article about our first meeting a couple of weeks ago! The Ohio Organizing Collaborative and the Communities United for Responsible Energy hosted a town hall meeting at the Church of Christian Disciples in Carrollton July 10. Attorneys Emily Collins and Dave Armstrong of Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, Spencer Wells, community manager of the Rental Housing Information Network in Ohio, Cody Coleman-Chrisman and Erin Gray of Ohio Valley Renters Advocates, Paul Feezel of Carroll Concerned Citizens and Scott Trekel of Laborers International Union Local 809 were on hand to share information and answer questions. More than 60 people from Belmont, Carroll, Harrison and Tuscarawas Counties attended the event organized to help residents understand their rights as unconventional energy extraction by the oil and gas industry continues to develop in the region. A variety of questions were posed to the panel, including why so may industry related jobs are going to out-of-state workers even when qualified workers are available locally. “Eighty-five percent of the workers around here are from out of state,” Scott Trekel said. “They’re hiring who they want to hire. When they bring their people with them, they have loyalty.” Trekel explained these workers are willing to work off the clock and companies can get away with paying lower wages. According to Trekel, a union wage on the pipeline is just over $27 an hour. Most companies without union employees are paying $14-16 per hour. One resident asked about forced pooling or unitization. Forced pooling is the act of being forced by state law into participation in an oil and/or gas-producing unit. “If you are subject to one of these forced pooling orders, you will receive a notice about it,” Dave Armstrong said. “I have heard of a lot of forced pooling orders, but I have only ever heard of one that was rescinded.” “The protection of your land is primarily left to you,” Paul Feezel said. “The reality is if you don’t call foul and you don’t go through the proper procedures, it is pretty tough to be able to protect your land.” Feezel urged residents to take an active role in managing any contract made with the oil and gas industry, as no one at the state, county or local level is going to do it. The influx of out-of-state workers has displaced many locals as rent prices have increased. There is no limit on how much a landlord can charge for rent in the state of Ohio. “Know where affordable housing units are,” Spencer Wells said. “If possible, get on those waiting lists. Negotiation is powerful. If you’ve got a good rental record, you can go to someone and tell them you’re going to be a decent long-term tenant. That’s going to ring a bell for some landlords in the community that are more interested in stability than making a big buck.” Other concerns raised included heavy traffic, reckless driving, undocumented workers, water contamination and the lack of litigation by the office of the Ohio Secretary of State where foreign entities are concerned. (Foreign entities are businesses not registered to do business in the state of Ohio.)
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 23:36:16 +0000
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